“But it’s what you want, right? It’s the life, the career you chose?”
He shrugs. “I’m not even sure anymore. Looking back, I think I just went with the flow. My father and my older brothers were all working for the company so I went and did the same. It just seemed like the natural thing to do.”
I can imagine it did. Raise a dog with wolves and it starts acting like one. If my parents were both famous astronauts or esteemed doctors and then my brother decided to follow in their footsteps, I might have done the same.
Ryker turns his head to look at me.
“What?” I ask him as I look into his brown eyes.
“I’ve never told anyone that before,” he confesses. “Not even Joel.”
I smile. “Then I’m honored.”
His eyebrows furrow. “Are you? Or are you disappointed? I won’t blame you, you know. I took the easy route. I should be disappointed.”
And he is. I can see that in his eyes before he looks away.
“Hey.” I turn my body towards him and place my hand on his cheek so I can hold his gaze. “I’m not. I’m not disappointed in you, okay? I was just curious about your life, about you. I hate that there’s so many things I don’t know about you anymore.”
“Me?” Ryker chuckles. “Like I said, I’ve been here the whole time. I haven’t changed.”
“And I have?” I ask him.
He doesn’t answer. He just looks into my eyes, his own pair of brown ones burning with flames that warm my chest and scorch my skin at the same time. I can’t breathe.
Then Ryker lifts his hand to touch my cheek as he finally speaks. “You’re as beautiful as you were the last time I saw you.”
The words light me on fire. I grip his shoulder and lean forward. My eyelids close. A moment later, his lips meet mine. As soon as they do, my heart flutters. As our lips collide over and over, excitement simmers in my veins anew. I caress his jaw. His hand strokes my cheek.
Then he pulls away with a smile. “And as messy.”
I frown. “Messy?”
“You always did like making a mess, like when you were trying to put mustard on your fries and got it all over the table instead.”
I laugh as I remember it. I can’t believe he does.
“I hope you didn’t spill anything when you were serving princesses,” Ryker says.
“I did not,” I tell him. “Actually, I’m very clean when I cook. You should see my station.”
“And your apron?”
I touch the nape of my neck. “Well, aprons are meant to be dirty.”
He chuckles, then goes silent. A light blush coats his cheeks.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You just imagined me wearing only an apron, didn’t you?”
Ryker purses his lips.
“You know, I could wear one for you,” I tell him in a mischievous tone as I run my finger down his chest. Then I bring my mouth against his ear. “And I wouldn’t mind if you got it dirty.”
He gently pushes me away.
I give him a puzzled look. “What? Are we not supposed to do more than kiss?”
Ryker doesn’t answer. I frown.
“You’re still not afraid of my brother, are you?”
He draws a breath. “I’m going to talk to him. I’m going to tell him that you and I kissed.”
He is? I wasn’t expecting that. But maybe I should have, knowing Ryker’s personality. He tried to keep his hands off me out of respect for his best friend. Now that he realizes he can’t, of course he’d want permission.
I grin. I don’t mind it, actually. It makes me feel like I’m this lady from the Victorian era and he’s a gentleman asking permission to court me. It makes me feel… special.
I stroke Ryker’s cheek. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to kill you.”Chapter SixRyker
Joel is going to kill me.
I know that because I’ve known him for most of my life. I know his birthday. I know the name of the pet turtle he used to own. I know his favorite superhero. I know his favorite band and the one he can’t stand to listen to. I know the name of the first woman he slept with.
And I know that of all the things that matter to him in this world, none matters as much as his little sister.
Once, Joel almost beat a boy to a pulp because he pulled Claire’s hair in the playground. I tried to stop him but he punched me, too. Another time, there was this older boy who was following Claire around. A jock twice Joel’s size. Smelled of cigarettes, too. I was thinking of reporting him to the cops, then one day he just disappeared. I later learned that Joel did his homework for weeks just to help him get an athletic scholarship and get him to stop hounding Claire. Then there was that time Joel wanted to buy a video game. He had been waiting for it for months, working to save up for it even though I offered to buy it for him as a birthday present. Just a week before the game came out, Claire’s soccer cleats broke. He bought her new ones, of course.