Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,85

work, followed by inspection. We’re good to go. Nothing to worry about.”

Gabriella exhaled slowly. “Thank you for the pep talk. I think I needed it.” She shook her head. “I have no idea how you have the capacity to talk me down in a manner no other human being has been able to do.” She seemed to search for the words. “It’s almost as if you’re able to look into me and know the words I need.”

“I think you might be giving me too much credit, but I do think that I get to know you better every single day. And I love everything about you.” She heard the use of the one word she hadn’t meant to voice out loud and panicked. Dammit. Now what? Gabriella would think she was some love-drunk kid who didn’t understand that real relationships took time. They date for a couple of months, and all of a sudden Ryan’s in love? She watched as Gabriella’s features subtly reacted. She wasn’t sure, but Gabriella might have pulled out of her arms slightly. She tried to fix it, to backpedal. “I just really, uh, like where things are headed.”

“Me, too.” Gabriella blinked up at her. “But things got weird just now. What was going on in your head?”

Ryan, panicking now, had no clue what the right thing was to say here. She wasn’t good at this, lacked polish, finesse. She disentangled them and looked around as if thinking about something else. “Oh, nothing. I just got distracted.”

“I think you got spooked when the word love hit just now. It’s okay,” Gabriella said, looking half defeated, half annoyed. “You don’t have to be afraid to use the word in passing. I’m not going to pin it on you or hold you to it in other regards.”

“That’s not it at all,” Ryan said, releasing her and walking to the sink to wash out her cup.

“Then what is it?” Gabriella leaned back against the counter, careful smile in place. “I don’t understand why you can’t just admit that it spooked you.”

“Why are you focusing on that word?” Ryan asked nonchalantly, totally flying blind now and feeling like an idiot. She was overcompensating but couldn’t seem to stop. “Would you rather I say I’m head over heels in love?” She added a laugh to make it seem lighthearted, when really all she felt was a terror she desperately sought to mask. How did they get here?

Gabriella stared at the ground as if taking a minute. “No. I don’t need you to say that at all. But…”

“What?” Ryan asked, shutting off the water.

“It would be nice if it wasn’t such a joke to you. Something to laugh about in the kitchen on a Saturday morning when all I was doing was asking a question.”

“You can ask me anything you want.” Ryan closed her eyes and regrouped. “And it’s not a joke. I’m so sorry it came off that way. I think”—she stared at the ceiling, desperate for a way to explain herself—“that I don’t always know where we’re at. And this is all so new that—”

“You’re out of your comfort zone.”

“No.”

“Listen, I understand.” Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion in a way Ryan had never heard from Gabriella.

“This isn’t going well.”

Gabriella laughed but it sounded near sarcastic. “I’d have to agree.”

She slid her hands into the back pockets of her work jeans, aware she was already late for her first job. “I’m figuring this all out in real time, you know? So please try and cut me some slack?”

Gabriella nodded, softening a tad. “Yes, okay. I can do that.” She checked the clock on the microwave behind Ryan. “You guys better get outta here.”

Seeing Ryan reach for her bag, Dale leaped to attention and arrived at her side. She gave his head a pat and looked back up at Gabriella. “This feels weird. Are we okay?”

“Well, it was. But…yeah. We’re fine.” Her eyes didn’t say so. In fact, she looked shaken. This rocky patch in the road left Ryan with a pit in her stomach. She leaned in for a soft kiss, which Gabriella obliged. It also didn’t ring true. She’d hurt Gabriella by not being forthcoming and hated herself for it. Ryan wanted nothing more than to proclaim how in love she already was, but that seemed like a tall building to leap from now. She knew without a doubt what her feelings for Gabriella were, but saying them out loud, especially when Gabriella hadn’t yet indicated her own