Page 74 of Selfless

“Let me finish,” I snap.

His jaw is set in a hard line, and he turns to look straight ahead, staring at Milton’s head as if he can really see where we are going. “I told him no.”

He turns back to face me. I reach out and grab his hands in mine. “I told you I love you. I told you that I’m all in. Hell, I moved in with you, and you still doubt how I feel?” I ask in complete disbelief. “When did the roles reverse?” I ask, trying to smile and lighten the mood.

He sighs. “Babe.”

“I’m trying not to make things more difficult for you, Ryder, but you’re making things hard for me. I’m trying to handle this on my own, so it’s one less thing you have to worry about. Please, trust me.”

“No,” he says.

“No?”

He gives me a soft smile. “No,” he repeats as he cups my face. “I won’t let you do it on your own because part of my job is to take care of you. And I hate that you didn’t come to me.”

I shrug. “I just thought you bought Talia’s and forgot to tell me through all the chaos.”

“But I didn’t buy it. But you can bet your ass I’m gonna find out who did,” he assures me. “I will find you another job.”

I sigh. “I’ve been calling for days now, and no one is even hiring. Thomas told me today that it’s bad. In his search for another job, he was informed that other galleries are closing as well. That due to the easy access of internet, no one is going to the galleries anymore. They prefer to buy them from their phones or at home from their computer. He just happened to get lucky.”

“We’re here, Mr. O’Kane,” Milton announces.

“Give us a second,” he calls out.

Milton doesn’t respond, but I watch him get out and stand over on the sidewalk in front of Talia’s. I turn my attention back to Ryder, and he leans close to me. “Don’t worry about anything. Okay? I will take care of it. I promise.” I open my mouth to argue, but he places his finger over my lips. “The only words I want to hear are yes, Ryder.”

I laugh and pull away from his finger. “Yes, Ryder,” I say with a smile. It’s crazy how this man can make me happy when I should be freaking out.

“Okay, so I lied. I want to hear one other thing,” he admits.

“What is that?”

“I love you.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and place my forehead on his. “I love you.”

His hands slide up my ribs, and he gently presses his lips to mine. “You’re mine, baby.” I nod then give him a kiss of my own. “And I take care of what is mine.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

RYDER

I walk back into my office and find my assistant sitting behind her desk on her office phone. “Kelly,” I say, slamming my hand on her desk.

She looks up at me wide-eyed and whispers, “Gotta go,” into the phone before hanging it up. “Yes, Mr. O’Kane?”

“Get me the Anderson file,” I order. “Somehow, the auction has taken place without my knowledge.”

She looks up at me. “They called.”

“What?” I snap.

“The other day, I tried to tell you that you had a call on line four, but you ran out of here …”

“Why in the hell didn’t you tell me it was for the gallery?” I snap.

She opens her mouth and then closes it before opening it again. “I …”

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