Ryder smiled at me. “I can sell anyone on anything. Just watch me.” And he sauntered around me and through the door. Left wondering what the hell was happening, I followed him. He stopped in front of Lucah and Rory’s door and rang the bell.
The door opened to a surprised Rory.
“Ryder! I didn’t think we were going to be seeing you for a while. How’s everything going?” She spoke to him in that tone you use for children or sick people. It was kind of high-pitched and sweet.
“Doing good, doing good. Is my brother here?”
Lucah appeared at the door, his eyes narrowing when he saw me standing a few feet away from Ryder. Why didn’t he just put the guy in one of those plastic bubbles like John Travolta in that movie he was in? Jesus Christ.
“I thought you weren’t going to be coming by for a while,” Lucah said, his voice tight. I could tell he was trying not to explode. Well, that was progress.
“Yeah, well, I changed my mind. Also, I decided something else. I can see who I want, when I want. I know you think that I’m fragile and broken and shit, but I’m not. And I’m not going to go back to the way things were. I know it’s going to require a lot for you to trust me even a little bit, but I need you to trust me now. I’m doing okay, and you, Rory, and Sloane are a huge part of that. All three of you. I don’t think I’ve thanked you and Tate enough for being there for me, even when I didn’t deserve it.” Ryder was getting emotional, and I couldn’t say I was entirely dry-eyed myself. Rory wiped at her own eyes, but Lucah just stared at his brother.
“So, that’s what I have to say,” Ryder said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked young right then, much younger than twenty-two.
Lucah looked at his brother for a long time before he said anything. “Okay. I think I can do that. But I’m taking a chance on you, Ryder. You’ve let me down before.”
Ryder nodded. “I know. But I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to be that guy.” I hadn’t really known that guy much. Sure, I’d been attracted to him, but I’d be attracted to him no matter what. Sometimes you couldn’t fight that pull toward another person.
“Now that’s something I think we can agree on,” Lucah said, the start of a smile forming on his face. Yes. We were getting somewhere.
“Good,” Ryder said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and holding one out to Lucah.
“Come on,” Lucah said, finally smiling and holding his arms out. The two brothers hugged, and I shared a look with Rory. Ryder and Lucah had had a lot of moments like this lately, and I’d gotten to witness some of them. They might be incredibly different, but the love between them was palpable. I’d never loved any of my siblings like that. The love in my family was the obligatory kind.
They released each other and then there was a bit of an awkward moment.
“Well, I guess I should get started on dinner,” I said, backing up and heading toward my door.
“I’ll help,” Ryder said. I turned to see if Lucah would object, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Let us know when it’s ready,” Rory said, giving me a wink and drawing Lucah back into the apartment.
“Will do,” I said, giving her a salute. She closed the door, and then it was just me and Ryder.
“So. Shall we?” he said, offering his arm. I snorted and took it. We strolled back to my apartment like we were in an old movie and he was my gentleman caller, leading me to my door where he’d tell me he had a swell time.
“Would it be weird if I told you I missed you?” he said as I opened the door.
“No.” I’d missed him too. It had only been a day, but it felt like much longer.
“Good. That’s good.”
I smiled at him as he followed me into the kitchen.
“What’s on tap for tonight?” he asked as I started assembling ingredients.
“Rory loves my truffle mac and cheese, so I’ll do that with roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and gelato for dessert. I don’t feel like making an elaborate dessert tonight, but at least the pasta is homemade.” Exhaustion crashed down on me, and suddenly all I wanted to do was take a nap.
“Put me to work,” he said, going to the sink and washing his hands. Ryder was a great sous chef. I was reluctant to even have Rory help me, but Ryder was different. He let me tell him what to do, and he didn’t do anything until I told him to do it. If only he was like that the rest of the time, he’d be the perfect man.
“Okay, if you could wash the vegetables and boil the water, that would be great.” I got the truffles out of the fridge. They were already washed and ready to use, they just needed to be chopped.
“I thought truffles were chocolate,” he said.
“That’s a different kind of truffle. Real truffles are mushrooms, and they use pigs and dogs to find them. I’d love to go truffle hunting someday.” It was on my bucket list. Most of my travel plans were food-related. I wanted to taste fresh olive oil and eat fresh croissants, and wade through a rice paddy. If this fashion thing would ever calm down, then I might have a chance to do some of those things.
“Huh. What do you know,” he said. I showed Ryder the truffle and started talking about what I was making, and he listened. One of the things I liked so much about him was his listening skills. They were good. For a guy who talked a lot and swore a lot, he knew how to keep his mouth shut and act interested. And he always remembered what I told him later on. I’d quizzed him to make sure.