Love Online

“I see. Well, it’s good to hear nothing happened.”

He lingered in the doorway. I felt like maybe I was being rude by not inviting him in, but I didn’t have too much time before my show. Although, Ollie wasn’t anywhere near sleepy, so he’d probably be up for a bit, and I’d have to start late.

What the hell…

“Did you want to come in?”

“Sure. I’d love to.” Christian followed me into the house.

“Can I get you some tea or coffee?” I asked.

“Coffee would be excellent, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all. I have a Keurig, so it’s easy.”

I placed my hand on Ollie’s head. “This is Ollie, my little brother. Ollie, this is Christian, Mary’s grandson. He’s going to be living across the street for a while.”

“Hi.” Ollie waved. “I’m blind.”

Occasionally, when I introduced Ollie to new people, he felt the need to start out with “I’m blind.” I guess it made him feel better to get it out of the way.

Christian smiled. “Well, thank you for the heads up. It’s really nice to meet you, Ollie.”

“You would have figured it out, but…”

“I appreciate you telling me.”

“I have to go to bed. I’m not leaving because you’re boring or anything.”

“I won’t take it personally.” He chuckled.

I excused myself to help get Ollie settled into bed before returning to the kitchen where Christian had taken a seat at the table.

After I fixed Christian’s coffee and handed it to him, he said, “Wow. You have your hands full, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m his caretaker since our mother died.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but my grandmother filled me in on everything. She was telling me about your mother, so I already knew about Ollie. And she thinks you’re amazing. Now I can see why.”

I felt a little flush at the compliment. “Thank you. She’s pretty awesome herself.”

Christian reminded me of someone, and then I realized it was the actor Henry Cavill. If I wasn’t so taken with a certain ScreenGod, I might have developed a crush on him. But at the moment, I only had eyes for Ryder McNamara.

“My grandmother also told me that back when you had a car, you used to take her shopping. Thank you for that.”

“Yeah. My car shit the bed a while ago, and I haven’t gotten around to replacing it. I walk everywhere now. Probably why I’m so skinny.”

“You’re perfect.”

Okay. He’s most definitely flirting with me.

His eyes lingered on mine before he suddenly looked down. “I’m sorry. That kind of just slipped out.”

“No worries. Thank you for the compliment.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “Well, I have a car, so if you ever need a ride anywhere, you let me know, okay?”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Over the next several minutes, Christian told me a little about his job as a web developer. He was easy to talk to, and I enjoyed not being the only adult around for a change. I looked at the clock and figured I had about ten more minutes before I had to kick him out so I could work.

The doorbell rang, and I jumped a bit. Two people showing up at the door in one night was definitely a rarity. With Christian here, I felt confident getting up to answer it.

When I opened the door, my heart felt like it was going to explode. Before I could even process it, Ryder had pulled me into his arms and kissed me so passionately, it felt like he was devouring my soul.

I was in shock. Total shock. So much so that when he finally released me, I was dizzy. I’d practically forgotten there was another man in my house.

Ryder’s eyes suddenly darted to the area behind me where I turned to see Christian now standing.

Ryder swallowed, looking like he’d been punched in the gut. His mood completely darkened. “Who’s this?”

I coughed. “This is Christian. I just met him, actually. He’s my neighbor’s grandson. He came over to drop off my mail that got delivered there by accident.”

Ryder entered the house, and his eyes wandered over to the two mugs of coffee on the kitchen table. He was silent.

“Christian, this is Ryder, my…”

When I hesitated, Ryder said, “Boyfriend.”

Okay, then.

Christian blew out a breath. “Nice to meet you.”

Rather than offering a hand, Ryder crossed his arms. “Same.”

Ryder’s eyes then landed on the dildo sticking out of the open package on the kitchen counter.

“What’s this?” he asked, lifting it.

“Oh…” I laughed nervously. “That’s what Christian delivered, unfortunately. It was sent to his grandmother, Mary, instead. Quite embarrassing.”

He was just staring at me now. “I see.”

Things could not have been more awkward. I felt horrible. I could only imagine how this looked to him.

Christian clapped his hands together. “Well, I’d better go and let you two have some privacy.” His gaze traveled back to me. “It was really great meeting you, Eden.”