Page 15 of Pulled Away

“Is that a maple syrup pie?”

I hum my affirmation, and he presses a kiss against my neck, his lips lingering against my skin while he breathes me in. I can’t contain my shiver and his lips pull up into a smile. He knows the effect he has on me.

“Why am I being spoiled?”

I once read somewhere that the path to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I disagree. I think it’s a side road to his heart at most. The true path to his heart lies a lot lower, and that’s why after dinner, I’m planning on traveling that road—more than once.

“Do I need a reason to spoil you?”

“Covering all my bases, babe. Did I forget something important?”

I laugh at his carefully worded question. While I’m notoriously bad with names, he’s just as bad with dates. “No, you’re good. This time.”

With a squeeze, he lets me go and pours himself a cup of coffee. Propping himself against the counter, he watches me stir the chowder.

“Have you made enough for three?”

I pause in the stirring, my body stiffening. “Hadley’s joining us?”

“Yeah. I kind of gave her an open invitation to join us for meals.” Of course, he did. “I don’t want to add to the stress of shopping and cooking on top of what she’s going through. Besides, Hadley’s never been the domestic type. If left alone, she’d survive on takeout. I’m sure that hasn’t changed.” He chuckles, smoothing back a few pieces of hair that’s fallen onto his forehead. “I hope you don’t mind.”

I shrug, my fingers clenching the wooden spoon, trying to keep my face neutral. “It’s fine.”

“Shit. I know what ‘fine’ means. I should have asked you.”

“Ryan, it’s your house. You don’t need to run everything by me.”

He puts down his cup and reaches for my hand, interlocking our fingers. “Hey, don’t do that. This is your house, too. Our house.”

But it isn’t. Not really. If for some or other reason things didn’t work out between us, I would be the one moving out. The thought sends a shiver of unease through me. I have absolutely no savings. No backup plan if that had to happen. All my extra money goes into the rescue. I need to do better.

“It’s fine. Really. I just thought we’d have a nice meal and binge Vikings.”

“We can still do that.”

The sound of the front door opening saves me from having to reply, and I pull my hand from his. Moving to the cupboard, I’m about to take out the bowls when Ryan pushes me away, kissing the top of my head.

“I’ve got this.”

I take a deep breath and fix a smile on my face, turning when Hadley comes strolling into the kitchen. Giving me a nod and a half smile, she walks up to Ryan and kisses him on the cheek.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Hardly,” he chuckles. “We saw each other this morning.”

When Ryan mentioned that he’d be taking Hadley to see her dad, I was not only irritated but surprised as well. Ryan might work from home, only occasionally having to go into the office, but he’s extremely busy. And he’s extremely protective of his working hours. It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest she organize a ride share for the duration of her stay, but I swallowed the suggestion instead, scared that it would come across as a bitchy thing to say.

“That was hours ago,” she teases, taking the bowls from his hands and setting them down on our table. For the next minute, I watch them seamlessly work together, setting the table and carrying out the food I prepared.

When we’re finally settled at the table, I decide that this is a good time to get to know Hadley a bit better. My interactions with her have been too short to get to know her, and maybe if I do, I’ll be able to get rid of this dislike I’m feeling.

Well, that’s the hope.

“It must have been hard moving to a new country.” I smile at her while mopping up some chowder with a chunk of bread. It wasn’t easy for me to leave everything I knew behind in Boston and move here. I lucked out when meeting Piper. She hooked me up with Rose, who was looking for a roommate, and it didn’t take long before she pulled me into their group.

“At first. But Ryan was there for me every step of the way.” She shoots him a smile. “Remember all those video calls?” At his nod, she turns her attention back to me. “We’d talk for hours every night. Honestly, without his support and encouragement, I would have been lost. He spent quite a few nights talking me from the ledge.”

“Yeah, Ryan’s good that way.” It’s damn hard to keep the smile on my face, but I somehow manage. Why is it impossible to have a conversation with her without it turning to their shared past? “But you eventually managed, right? I mean, you’ve been there for a few years.”

---