became more interesting to him. That was when his attention drifted my way.” Angie brushed the hair away from her face. “He’s a few years older than me.”
“Does your family still come to the island?”
“My parents don’t travel to the beach anymore. They’re just getting a little older and set in their ways. My siblings are too busy. So the house sits empty most of the time.”
“You told me you have four brothers and sisters.”
“Yes, my parents were the Brad and Angelina of their time adopting child after child. Two boys, three girls, all of which are adopted except my oldest brother.”
“Cool. Now that your life is your own, will you spend time with each of them? Are you close to your sisters?”
Was she close? Not as close as she’d like to be. “Both my sisters are—” Too busy for me? No, they’d make time if she’d talk to them. “Tess is a marketing genius. She’s developing a new app for iPhone, and Violet is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”
“Wow. Successful. Good for them.”
It wasn’t just the two sisters. Angie’s entire family was successful. “My siblings had this innate desire to succeed. Each one was so driven while we were growing up.”
He tilted so he could look her in the eye. “You seem a bit mystified by that.”
Her eyes widened. “I was. I am. I mean, they were each really impassioned about their futures, about their goals. My sister once worked mowing lawns to pay a tutor to help her with chemistry because she didn’t want Mom and Dad to know she was struggling. Straight As all the way. All of them.”
“That’s a lot to live up to. And it doesn’t sound very healthy.”
She shook her head. “But that’s just it. They’re all so happy. I mean, they worked hard and had a vision, and they’re each at the top of their fields.”
“And how did you fit into this lifestyle?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t. My parents were continually exposing me to new adventures so I could find my niche. But nothing ever clicked for me. I was happier sneaking into the kitchen and helping prepare food.”
“You love to cook?”
She thought for a long moment. “I like to cook. I can’t say I love it. I like a lot of things. I like interior decorating. Making a beautiful space for people. I like readying a house for the holidays. I like travel. Okay, maybe I love travel. But so what? A person can’t have a profession where all they do is travel. And I would assume that if you traveled for your profession, it would eventually get old.” She didn’t mention her unnatural fear of flying over water which also made a travel profession unlikely for her.
“There are professions where you travel.”
“But I wouldn’t be happy because I like making a home and reading by the fireplace at night and—” Angie was surprised by the sudden rush of tears in her eyes. “Ryan, I don’t know who I am. I’m almost forty, and I don’t know who I want to be when I grow up.”
“It’s okay to have wings if you also have roots, Angela. In fact, I think it’s beautiful.”
She swallowed and tried to absorb his words.
“Just because you didn’t appear on the planet with a plan and a lifelong goal—that doesn’t make you any less of a person.”
Then why had she always felt second rate? Like when God was handing out gifts, He said, “None for you.” Why had she always felt like an outcast in her own home? First, the one she grew up in, then Brice’s home.
“If you feel like you don’t fit in, create a space where you do.”
He was close to her. So close she could lean right into that strong and protective nook beneath his arm. The temptation was great, to be sure. But she was done leaning. She was determined to stand on her own. A runaway tear trickled over her cheek. “That might be easier said than done.” Her voice cracked.
He reached up and swiped her cheek with his thumb. Had he seen it? Or did he simply know it would be there by the broken tone of her voice? “Just make me a promise,” Ryan whispered. “Don’t let anyone put you in a box. Stay free, Angela. Freedom looks good on you.” Ryan leaned toward her causing the space between them to disappear.
She could smell his cologne and the berries from his tea on his breath, and the