Surrendering Series Box Set

We both laughed.

“Your mother wouldn’t die if you eloped. She’d just kill you.”

“Yeah, she would. And she’d be super sneaky about it. I’d never see it coming, and then, bang, I’d be dead.”

I scraped the bottom of the bag of chips and then crumpled it up.

“So you’re really not going to say anything?” I asked again.

“No. It would cause more trouble than it’s worth. I mean, Ryder is a grown man. And I’m trying to stay out of it.”

“Good plan.” I wish I could do the same, but I was in too deep with Ryder. Every time we were together things got more intense. And now that we’d kissed? Things were going to be different.

“This sucks,” I said, pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and laying it across myself. Rory and I used to stay up all the time and go to sleep in front of the television.

“I miss being here with you,” she said, grabbing another blanket for herself.

“I miss having you here.”

She groaned. “Why is everything so complicated now? I couldn’t say no when Lucah asked, and I didn’t want to, but now thinking about planning a wedding makes me feel like I’m going to break out in hives or have a panic attack or something. I mean, marriage is huge. I guess I’m just freaking out a little. But that’s normal, right?”

She turned to me and all I could see was the pre-wedding panic in her eyes. Poor thing. She was going to get through it fine, but it was going to be a bumpy ride along the way.

“You’re going to be fine. Just fine,” I said. “And if not, I’ll drug you and drag you down the aisle.”

“And that’s why I adore you, Sloane Harris.”

Fourteen

I’d made up my mind that I couldn’t let myself go all night without saying something to Ryder. So after Rory left, I grabbed my cell phone and called him. He didn’t pick up. Bastard. So I left a message when his voice ended.

“Listen, you asshole. You can’t just kiss me and leave. That is not cool at all. You’ve jerked me around enough, Ryder. So, we either talk about what the hell is going on and make an actual decision, or I’m done. I know this means things with Rory and Lucah will be hard, especially because of the wedding, but so be it. I can’t let you do this to me anymore. I just can’t. You fuck with my head, Ryder. I wish it wasn’t that way, but you do. You have this effect on me, and I can’t help it or stop it or change it. I’m not declaring my feelings or anything. I’m just saying how it is. You have exactly twenty-four hours to get your shit together and talk to me. If you don’t, I’ll take that as you saying you’re done as well, and that will be it. I’ll be cordial to you at dinner and that’s all. We won’t even be friends. Goodbye.” I purposely enunciated the last word, so he would really get the point that I was damn serious.

“Fuck you,” I said to the phone after I’d hung up. I probably should have added that to the message, but I wasn’t going to call him again.

Satisfied with what I’d said, I headed to bed.

~*~*~

Leaving the message for Ryder somehow cleared my mind enough so I could sleep. I’d done all I could do, and the ball was in his court. What happened now was up to him. I was done getting jerked around. So fucking over it.

The first thing I did when I got up was check my phone for any messages. Nothing. He had the rest of the day and tonight to get back to me. He’d said he had to work tonight, so he wouldn’t be coming to dinner, which I was happy about. I definitely didn’t want to have a knock-down-drag-out fight with him in front of Rory and his brother.

I got ready for work, but kept checking the phone to make sure the ringer was turned on and there weren’t any messages. Nothing.

“How are you?” Inari asked as she handed me my morning coffee. I’d already had two cups at home, but I needed more. Maybe I had a caffeine addiction. Meh, it was better than being addicted to cocaine.

I told Inari about Ryder and the kiss, and she listened intently.

“That’s crazy. So he just kissed you?”

“Yup. I mean, I’ve seen the guy naked, but we’d never kissed before. Which is really weird when you think about it,” I said. Ryder and I were definitely doing things backwards.

“Was it good?” she asked, sipping her organic green tea. Inari didn’t drink coffee.

“I mean, it lasted like two seconds, but yeah. It was good. He’s got like really full lips.” Mmmm.

Inari sighed. “I’m trying not to be jealous, even though he’s not my type at all. It’s been so long since someone kissed me like that.”