Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers #4) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,48

send her flowers. I also told him to chill and just let her see that he’s all about her and no one else.”

“Good idea. Try text messages telling her to have a good day, and good morning, goodnight, things like that,” Sawyer adds.

“Are you serious about her? You know that she’s family now.”

“Of course, he is,” the girls chime in.

“Didn’t you see the way they were looking at each other? Oh, and the dance at the wedding.” Layla fans herself.

“I’m serious.” Never been more serious.

“All right!” Royce claps his hands together. “Operation Win Aspen Over is in full force.”

“What? No. No. No. No. I can handle this on my own.”

“Clearly not if you went to Marsh for advice,” Owen retorts.

“Hey!” Marshall furrows his brow.

“Thanks, guys, but I don’t need help. Not yet anyway. Just give me some time to try and figure this out.” The five of them nod, but it doesn’t look very damn convincing to me. Who knows, maybe I need to rally the troops to convince her. I’m not marking the idea off the list just yet.

Chapter 17

Aspen

Today was exhausting. I didn’t sleep well last night. I couldn’t seem to turn my mind off. I kept replaying my time with Conrad at the cabin. There’s an ache in my chest that I don’t understand. How can I miss him? We spent a few short days together, but it felt like it was a lifetime.

Stepping out of the shower, I barely have my hair in a towel when I hear someone knocking on the door. Rushing to slip into my fluffy winter robe, I pad through the small apartment I used to share with my sister above our bakery, Warm Delights, and answer the door.

“Fuck,” Conrad murmurs. His eyes roam over my body. He can’t see anything, but we both know I’m naked under this robe, and the heat in his eyes tells me he’s imagining that very thing.

“Conrad, what are you doing here?” I pull at the robe to make sure I’m covered. Not that it matters, he’s seen all of me.

My question seems to pull him out of his stupor, and he raises his eyes to mine and holds up a bag of Chinese. “I brought you dinner.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but you were tired, and you had to get up early, and I wanted to see you.” His hand holding the bag drops to his side as he waits for me to invite him in.

I shouldn’t. It’s only going to prolong this… whatever this is, and then my heart will be the collateral damage at the end of it all. “Come on in,” I say, ignoring my own mental pep talk. The grin he gives me is one of victory, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “I need to put some clothes on.”

“Not on my account.” He winks.

“I’ll be right back.” After scurrying down the hall to my room, I slam the door, and for the first time, I engage the lock. I’ve never needed to before, but my resistance when it comes to him is weak, and I think the barrier will help.

Luckily for me, he’s a gentleman, and by the time I’m dressed and have my hair brushed, hanging wet down my back, I find him in the small kitchen, at the tiny dining table with our dinner laid out for us.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just bought a variety.” He motions toward the small table that is covered with Chinese takeout containers.

“Thank you. You really didn’t have to do this. You don’t need to feel guilty or obligated or whatever,” I ramble. I can feel my face heat from embarrassment, but I felt like the words needed to be said.

“Aspen.” The way he says my name affects me more than it should. “Babe?”

No longer able to resist, I look up at him. “Conrad.”

He grins. “I want to be here. I don’t feel obligated in any way to spend time with you. I wanted to bring you dinner, and I wanted to see you.”

I nod. I don’t have words. I’m glad he’s here, as I’ve missed him, which is crazy. However, there is still the fact that he’s Conrad Riggins. I’ve known him now for more than a year, and I’ve never seen him serious about dating. In fact, I’ve heard him give his brothers a hard time, so much so, I am convinced this isn’t what he wants. He’s still caught up in