Page 45 of Stuck On Them

“How are you feeling?” Concern was etched on Paige’s face as Ryker walked towards us, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I’ve been better.”

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as I watched her reach out and touch his arm in concern as he opened a cupboard where he kept wine glasses. There was absolutely no reason for me to be jealous.

Yanking open the drawer with the wine opener, I tried not to think about that night and how he was the one who fucked her mouth. She had been on his tongue. His name had fallen from her lips.

Ryker put three wine glasses on the counter and reached around me to grab the opener from the drawer I’d been staring in to.

“You aren’t having wine.” Paige’s scolding tone brought me back to the present, and I shut the drawer a little too hard.

“Break my shit, why don’t you,” Ryker muttered, leaving the wine and walking around to a barstool. “My entire body hurts.”

“That’s what happens when you don’t take care of yourself.” I uncorked the bottle. “Maybe this time off will be good for you.”

He grumbled something under his breath as he sat down, laying his cheek on the cool surface. “I don’t need time off. I’ll take time off when I retire.”

“You could retire right now if you wanted to.” I poured the wine into two glasses and handed one to Paige. “We all could.”

Paige took a small sip and made a contented noise in her throat. “Then what would you do? Play video games all day?”

“What if it isn’t enough?” Ryker’s eyes were closed, and he yawned, his cheek still on the counter, his arms dangling limply at his sides.

“It’s enough.” I didn’t know what his portfolio of assets and investments looked like, but I was approaching thirty million and he was way more frugal with his spending. “Well, unless your goal is to own a yacht or a Hampton vacation house like Luca.”

Paige spluttered into her wine glass. “He has a yacht?”

“Mm. Nice big yacht. Goes out to feed the fishies and sharkies.” Ryker’s eyes fluttered, trying to open them. He was fighting the urge to fall back asleep. “Paigey Waigey, do you like baby sharkies?”

“You are so fucked up man.” I laughed and took a long drink of wine.

“Maybe you should go back to bed, sweetheart.” Paige put her wine down and went to him, putting her hand on his back and rubbing circles. “Come on.”

“But soup and grilled cheese.” He slid off the barstool like he weighed three times as much as he did and surprisingly didn’t stagger. “I’m a growing boy. I need to eat.”

“It will be about thirty or forty minutes, Ry. Go lay down and we’ll come wake you up when it’s done, or we can reheat it later.” I turned to the oven and checked on how the tomatoes were roasting. They were cooking perfectly, and the aroma made my mouth water.

Paige guided Ryker toward his room, leaving me wondering if maybe she was the puzzle piece I’d been missing.

Chapter15

Just Friends

Paige

Sneaking out Friday morning before Ryker was awake, was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Not because of the fear of waking him up, but because it felt worse than when I’d left Daniel.

The two situations weren’t even close to being the same, yet the whole time I’d packed my suitcase and made sure I grabbed all of my stuff that had slowly spread out in the bathroom and bedroom, I felt like throwing up.

Staying would be worse, though, especially with all the feelings that were floating around in my head. Who wants to pursue something with three men she barely knows? I suppose that would be how I’d get to know them, but all three? At once?

Maybe if their lives weren’t intertwined, I’d be singing a different tune. There was no way I could just pick one to start dating. They all appealed to me for different reasons.

Ryker had a tough exterior, but I’d seen his softness on multiple occasions whether he wanted me to or not. A coldhearted man doesn’t just move someone in with them because of a silly rat. He was fiercely protective of the life he’d built, and I couldn’t fault him in his overreaction to me showing up at his company.

Garrett tried to keep his guard up where his heart was concerned, but also wore it on his sleeve for all to see. There was a quiet sadness about him that spoke to me. He cared deeply about his friends, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they were partly the cause of his sadness after watching them interact.

And then there was Luca. Luca put on the appearance of not having a care in the world but cared more than he let on. He was adventurous and seized moments as they came at him. He was the hardest to get a read on, but I’d spent the least amount of time with him.

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