Page 56 of Come Break My Heart Again

“Hot. Like all he did in prison was work out.”

I huff. “That’s not—I meant like … happy. Did he seem … okay at least?”

“He seemed a little pissed off. When I got there, he was throwing stuff around the backyard. But he was nice. Thanked me for the coffee, like, three times. Seemed normal. But I’d never really talked to him before. That was always … you.”

“Right.” I start stroking Scout’s fur again, hoping it’ll help calm my sprinting heart. “Well, I should get to bed. This guy loves to wake up early.”

“He asked about you.”

I freeze halfway out of the chair. “He did?”

“Uh-huh.”

Keira is watching me closely, and I’m too stunned to act indifferent.

“What-what did he say?”

“Just asked how you were. I told him you were good, that you’d just graduated law school. That was it.”

“Oh.”

“Kinda interesting, how your relationships run into trouble whenever Ryder James returns to town. First Archer, now Prescott.”

I unfreeze long enough to send Keira a sharp look for that insinuation. “This is different. Pres and I … it’s just a transition period after law school. It has nothing to do with Ryder.”

“You knew he was out though.”

“Yeah. Nin—I saw the article in the paper.”

I’ve never told Keira or Juliet about my visits to Ryder’s mom, and this feels like the exact wrong moment to bring them up.

I fake a yawn, then stand. “Thanks for dinner. Sushi was delicious.”

Keira waves my appreciation away. “Of course. Tomorrow night, there’s this new bar I want to go to. So, rest up.”

“Sounds good,” I reply. “Night.”

“Night, Elle.”

I head inside and upstairs, not relaxing until I’m lying under the covers, replaying my conversation with Keira.

So much for being a restful weekend away from my law books. If Ryder shows up … I have no clue how I’ll handle that. I figured I’d see him at Keira and Tuck’s wedding—months from now. As two people out of hundreds. Not in a small group—tomorrow.

What bothers me most about my conversation with Keira is, she’s right—my relationships always run into problems around Ryder. Mostly because he always makes other guys seem like consolation prizes. By comparison, they were less. Less excitement. Less passion. Less … love.

And I resent Ryder for it.

Just not as much as I resent him for never picking me back.

12

Loud laughter filters in from the backyard as I heap more roasted potatoes onto my plate. They’re the tiny, perfectly round kind, almost impossible to cut. It’ll give me something to do for the rest of dinner.

Archer glances at me as I walk out onto the patio, his smile small and a little tentative. It’s just the two of us tonight—well, the two of us and our parents. But no loud friends. No rap music. No distraction from the few words we’ve exchanged since his family arrived two hours ago.

It’s Mrs. Hathaway’s birthday. My mom went all out with the food, spending most of the day cooking in the kitchen.

“How’s senior year going for you, Elle?” Mr. Hathaway asks after swallowing a bite of steak.

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