Page 28 of Rushing Into Love

“See you at practice Monday?”

I nodded. “I’ll be there.”

Ryder grinned. “Good. It’s a date.” With that, he winked at me, gestured to Charlie, and the two of them were gone.

I leaned back hard in my seat, knowing full well there was no way I was getting any more work done today. Ryder McCauliffe had me fully undone and there was no coming back.

* * *

Later that nightI was lying in bed, working on my next blog post, “Recovering from a Break-up: How to get your Mojo back,”when my cell pinged.

Probably Ally, following up on client accounts.

But it wasn’t Ally; the text was from Ryder. Nervous energy buzzed through me as I read his text:

Thinking about you. Glad I ran into you today. Both times.

Smiling, I leaned back against the pillows.

Bree: Me too. How’s Charlie’s hand?

Ryder: He’s fine. Thanks for asking. Did your notebook dry?

Bree: Still airing out. It’ll be fine.

Ryder: Let me know if I need to replace it. Just happy it’s not the laptop…

Bree: Lol. You and me both.

Ryder: Are you busy?

Bree: Not really

Ring, ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. Figured it’d be faster to just call.” Ryder’s deep voice resonated down the line.

I tried to ignore the tingle racing through my body and relaxed into the pillows. “What’s up?”

“Not to get too deep on you, but did you clear up the complications you talked about at The Rowdy?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Okay, good. I’m gonna cut to the chase here. I can’t play games. I have Charlie to look out for…” He paused, took a shaky breath. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m interested in dating.”

I let a beat pass. “Just to clarify, interested in dating me? Not just dating in general?”

Ryder laughed. “Yes, Bree. Dating you.”

I grinned into the phone. “Good, I was hoping that’s what you meant. Yes, I’d like to date. You, to be clear.”

“Great. We have a game plan then. ‘Night, Bree. See you Monday.”

“See you.”

I hung up, breathing a happy sigh. Ryder McCauliffe and I were officially dating and I couldn’t be happier.

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