Page 28 of Billionaire's Bookworm

“Wade mentioned it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Ryker.

“Yup,” Ryker said, completely unrepentant. “He might have even asked me for a little help studying beforehand.”

“Studying?” I echoed, my voice rising an octave.

“Oh, he was very serious about it,” Ryker continued, clearly enjoying himself. “Wanted to make sure he didn’t embarrass himself in front of you. I gave him a crash course in Austen, Hemingway, and Steinbeck—y’know, the essentials.”

Meg nudged Ryker in the ribs. “You’re exaggerating. All Wade wanted was to brush up on a few things so he could impress you. Which, honestly, is adorable.”

“Adorable?”I repeated, incredulous.

Ryker leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “He’s got it bad, you know.”

“Ryker!” Meg smacked his arm, though she was laughing.

“What?” he said, grinning at her before turning back to me. “I’m just saying—he’s not usually this... invested. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he actuallylikesyou.”

“Yeah, well, if he likes me so much, he can stop bribing my dog,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

“Oh, the scone incident!” Meg exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “Wade told us all about that. He said Porky made him work for it, but by the end, they were practically best friends.”

“Porky doesn’t have best friends,” I said flatly. “He has grudges, and he holds them forever.”

“Clearly not,” Ryker said, smirking. “Because if what Wade said is true, your dog’s already halfway in love with him. And let’s be honest, Emma—if Porky approves, the rest of us don’t stand a chance.”

“I hate you both,” I said, though the corners of my mouth twitched.

“No, you don’t,” Meg said, reaching out to squeeze my arm. “You just hate that we’re right.”

“I don’t hate that you’re right,” I lied, resisting the urge to stamp my foot like a petulant child.

“Of course not,” Ryker said, rolling his eyes. “Look, Emma, I know you’ve been working hard to prove you’re immune to all things Wade, but I’ve known the guy for years. And trust me—he doesn’t chase people. Not unless they’re worth it.”

“Great. Now I’m a shiny trophy he wants to win. That’ssomuch better,” I said dryly.

Meg gave me a look that was both amused and sympathetic. “You know that’s not what Ryker means. Wade’s not as shallow as he seems. He just... doesn’t show the real him to a lot of people. But with you? I think he wants to.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come. Because as much as I wanted to deny it, a tiny part of me wondered if they were right.

Ryker must have seen something in my expression, because his grin softened into something almost serious. “Just… don’t rule it out, okay? You might be surprised.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving them off. “Go back to your table before I kick you out.”

Meg laughed, looping her arm through Ryker’s as they walked away. “You’re lucky we love you, Em. Otherwise, we’d leave you to deal with Wade all on your own.”

As they rejoined the man of the hour, I caught him glancing over at me, a question in his eyes. I quickly looked away, busying myself with the cookie platter again.

But no matter how hard I tried to focus, their words kept echoing in my head.

* * *

By the timethe next round of questions started, I was doing my best to ignore the trio’s table altogether, but they made it almost impossible. Ryker kept whispering ridiculous answers to Wade, who—for some reason—found them hilarious enough to make a show of laughing loud enough for the entire room to hear.

“Are youtryingto get disqualified?” I called out, narrowing my eyes at them.

“Just keeping things interesting!” Ryker shot back, his grin wide enough to rival Wade’s.

“Right. Because Shakespeare reallydidwrite a sequel toHamletcalledHamlet 2: The Revenge of Polonius,” I said, crossing my arms.

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