Page 32 of Falling for Mr. Wright

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Yes. She and Ryan were better off friends. He wasn’t part of her plan to win the heart of a man ready to settle down. Logan was whom she needed to focus on. He was smart, good-looking, and wildly successful. They’d be good together.

Which meant, to get back on track, she was going to have to address what had happened, because after an hour driving, Ryan clearly wasn’t going to bring it up.

He opened the car door and handed her an iced coffee.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the drink.

“You’re welcome. Unfortunately, they didn’t have mocha.”

She took a sip. How sweet of him to remember her favorite drink. Would Logan?

Stop it.

“So…Ryan. I wasn’t sure how to bring this up, but before we get home, I think we should talk about what happened.”

“On the football field?” Ryan asked, turning on the car, shifting gears, and proceeding back onto the highway.

“Yes.” She paused for a second, collecting her thoughts. “I’m so embarrassed, and I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal. We were drinking and got carried away, that’s all.”

Her heart fell, hearing his casual explanation. She frowned. Was that how he saw it? They’d only had one glass of champagne each—nowhere near enough to play the alcohol card. Still, maybe to preserve their friendship it was better to agree and try to lighten the mood.“Ididpromise to give the town of Westbrook something to talk about…”

“And you certainly delivered.” His sexy chuckle did a number on her insides. “I’m sure you were just living out your Dillon, Montana farm-girl dreams of making out with a legendary high school football hero.”

“Oh, sonowyou’re legendary.” She returned his laugh with one of her own, relieved that they’d found their way back to their usual banter.

They spent the rest of the drive listening to music and chatting about what they both had on tap for the upcoming week. While she needed to prepare for two final budget meetings that Logan had with his senior team on Thursday, Ryan shared that he’d be meeting with the first tenant to lease office space at Vert Tower when it opened in the spring.

“You’re pretty excited about this new building,” she said as he turned onto her street.

“That’s an understatement.”

She touched his arm, and the same tingles she’d felt last night were back. She smiled inwardly at that small souvenir from their time together, even if it would never happen again. “I really did mean what I said to Melanie. Logan hired the right man for the job.”

“Thank you.”

“Unless you blow it,” she added.

“I’ll do my best not to.” Ryan grinned, pulling his car up in front of her apartment building. Before she could respond, he jumped out to retrieve her suitcase.

Sarah slipped out of the passenger side and met him on the curb, taking her bag from him. “I’ll see you in the office.”

“See you tomorrow.” He stood inches away, not making a move to leave.

She gulped, raising her chin. For a split second as their eyes locked, she swore he was about to kiss her again. Not sure she’d be able to resist, which would bebad, she took a step back. “Lunch at noon?”

“I’ll be there.” Ryan stepped off the curb and walked back to his driver’s side, sliding in.

Sarah turned to go inside, when Ryan called out her name. She whipped around to see he’d rolled down his passenger window, and her traitorous heart skipped a beat. “Yes?”

“Remember, my dry cleaning will be ready tomorrow afternoon. I use the place across from the office with the neon-blue sign.”

She chuckled. “Pressed pants. Place with the neon-blue sign. I’m on it.”

He grinned. “Bye, Sarah.”

“Bye.”

And just like that they were back to normal. She waved as he drove away. Tomorrow they’d joke around in the cafeteria, probably splitting one of his sister’s scrumptious desserts. Their friendship wouldn’t be ruined by some silly road trip make-out session.

She picked up her suitcase and watched his car disappear around the corner.

Normal. That’s what they needed.

So why did she feel like “normal” was no longer going to be enough?

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