Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,30
date.”
Gabriella tried not to wince. “Not actually a date.”
“She’s right,” Ryan called after Madison. “She likes me but thinks I’m too wild and childish.”
“I never said childish.”
“You thought it.” Ryan’s eyes sparkled in challenge. Why did she have to be so damn sexy? And why did they have the best give-and-take rhythm? It was frustrating when you got right down to it, the look-but-don’t-touch ideology.
“It’s possible it crossed my mind,” Gabriella conceded. “In a purely affectionate way.”
“Until I screw up your columns.”
“Then we go to war.”
Madison’s eyebrows rose as she climbed down the truck steps, listening to them. “All right then,” she said, holding up her plate of food. “I’ll leave you two to figure all this out.”
“Wait. No. You can join us if you want,” Gabriella said, sliding over.
Madison stared at them as something unnamed crossed her features. “Generous. But I’m gonna pass. I have to eat fast anyway.” With that, she darted, and Gabriella stared after her, perplexed.
That was weird. When she looked back at Ryan, she found her lost in her plate once again. Gabriella watched her delicately cut into her next bite with true reverence. It was obvious that Ryan really liked food, which made her Gabriella’s people.
“Did your parents cook a lot for you growing up?”
Ryan looked up. “Still do. My mom, I mean. My dad’s not in the picture. Left when I was three. Plus, I hear he’s an asshole.”
“I’m sorry.” She meant it, too. Something hit her square in the chest as she imagined a tiny Ryan wondering why Dad wasn’t around anymore.
Ryan didn’t seem fazed. “Your folks still together?”
“Yes, and bickering like children in the most lovable way possible. She wants him to listen more, and he wants her to talk less.” She laughed. “It’s a cycle.”
“Sounds fun at least.”
She paused. “But food has always bridged the gap in pretty much any conflict in my house. When someone was angry? They cooked. Happy? More cooking. I loved how it brought people together, all that food. Maybe that’s why I took such an interest. It’s a powerful tool.”
Ryan grinned and looked down at her empty plate. “You can count me as one of the people grateful that you did.”
“More? Because there’s always more. My motto.”
“Trust me when I say I’m desperate for seconds, but if I give in, I’ll be napping in the sun next to Dale instead of sanding the sides of your beautiful server station.”
“I think I’m in favor of the sanding.” She stood. “Thanks for inviting me to eat with you. One of my better lunches of late.”
Ryan stood, too, which showed off the height she had on Gabriella. “Keep an open mind, okay?”
Gabriella furrowed her brow. “About the restaurant?”
“Me.” But she didn’t say it with the standard bravado. In fact, there was nothing playful in her delivery in the slightest. She appeared downright nervous, and that humility sent a potent shiver up Gabriella’s spine. Her limbs broke out in goose bumps.
She blinked. “Well, I think I try to go through life with an open mind.”
“That’s all I ask. See you soon, I hope.”
Gabriella noticed a tugging that came on fast and insistent, the kind that made her want to kiss Ryan one minute, protect her from the world and herself the next, and pummel her the third. That wasn’t normal, was it? Kissing and pummeling? But, oh, did she feel them both. She watched as Ryan set out on the short walk to the jobsite. She opened her mouth to call after her, to prolong their time together for just one more memorable minute, but the selection of which words were appropriate eluded her. There were no good ones. Ryan wasn’t for her, and she just needed to get that through her stubborn brain and have a good, stern talking-to with her traitorous libido. It was out of control and influencing way too much of the rest of her.
When she went to bed that night, she spent some time writing in her journal. With pen in hand, she explored the sensations she’d experienced in Ryan’s presence and wrote about her confusion with regard to the tugging. Maybe facing the details head-on would help her let them go. Why had this person been sent into her life? What lesson was Ryan there to teach her, because as her Grandma Filomena had often explained, important people walked into your life with a lesson. That meant Ryan had a greater purpose, and her powerful debut on the scene was not a coincidence.