Page 22 of I Did Before I Do

How could I not?

And then he’d moved, and it was just…out there.

Meant for me to look at.

And standing so close to him had been a mistake. His scent—spicy, leathery—hit every button I had.

I needed to get home, get back to BOB. Get off until I passed out.

Probably say Ryker’s name while I came.

God, I was desperate.

Kenzie and Lora looked up at me as I approached. ‘Oh, my god!’ I mouthed, rolling my eyes. I knew I had it bad.

They looked at one another, then toward the bar.

“Oh, Benny and Ryker are here.” Lora smiled. “We should say hi in a few minutes.”

“They know we’re here.” I sat back down beside Kenzie, passing out the beers. “They definitely know. They might come say hi first.”

Kenzie was staring at me. I could feel it.

It was definitely disapproving.

“What?” I looked at her.

“Sydney.” She had that serious tone in her voice. The ‘I’m giving you advice whether you want it or not.’ Bradley may have been the older sibling, but Kenzie was definitely a big sister at heart. “Ryker’s bad news.”

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, he’s hot. And he’s…interesting.”

“He’s a player.” Kenzie sighed. “He’s going to take you to bed and then move on. That’s what he does with every girl I’ve ever seen him with.”

That might not be a bad thing. No strings attached, no emotional investment. Just a good time, and then hardly ever seeing each other again.

After everything with Mark, maybe it was what I needed.

“I just think there’s more to him,” I said, shrugging. “He’s hiding something. Like he’s some kind of super-genius.”

“Ryker?” Kenzie laughed, shaking her head. “Nah, he’s pretty surface-level. What you see is what you get with him.”

But she didn’t know about the contract. She didn’t know that he’d found a mistake in a legal contract and provided the right solution to it.

That wasn’t something a big dumb guy could do.

Kenzie shook her head. “I promise you. Whatever he’s doing, it’s just a way to get into your pants.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” The words came out before I could stop them. “I mean, maybe that would be good for me. A fun night with no strings attached.”

Lora and Kenzie looked at each other. Lora shrugged. Kenzie sighed and shook her head.

“I mean,” I continued, “it’s supposed to be memorable, right? And he’s hot. And if he gets around, it means he knows what he’s doing. Why not have a good time, right?”

“I just don’t know how I feel about it,” Kenzie said, shrugging. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want anything bad to happen. And Ryker, he’s the worst out of the bunch when it comes to women.”

I glanced back toward the bar. Ryker was still there, talking to Benny. He looked relaxed, chatting with a friend and enjoying a drink. And still really sexy.

And I’d seen what he was packing, even if it was still in his jeans at the time.

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