Page 57 of Easy Reunion
Chapter 23
Kelsey
The next night, I pull up to the address Ry texted me. I’m surprised at how close of a drive it is to Angel’s. I didn’t know he lived in the same general area of town. The homes on his side of the park are stunning but have such low turnover, my real estate agent has had a difficult time finding one for me to purchase—even a fixer-upper.
Parking my car in the circular drive, I briefly sit to admire it before sliding out. The decor screams New Orleans to me with the herringbone brick on the driveway, the immaculately painted wood railing on two levels accenting the Confederate blue paint. I don’t see a historical plaque, which surprises me, as I approach the front door that’s, oh wow, lit by gas lamps.
Someone went through a hell of a job restoring this place the right way, I think admiringly.
Before I ring the discreet brass bell, I do a quick check of my outfit. Even though Ry said casual, I decided on a pale blue silk dress to set off the royal blue heels I bought the day I went to Head Over Heels. Just like the first time I tried them on, these shoes were made for my feet. With a silver bracelet my grandparents gave to me gleaming in the twilight, I’m about to announce my arrival when the door flies open.
I’m startled when Lisa steps out. “Hey, Kelsey! Good to see you again. You look beautiful.” She leans in and gives me a quick hug, which I automatically return. “I’m just on my way out. I’m meeting up with someone special.” She wags her eyebrows, which causes me to burst into laughter, relaxing me when I didn’t know I needed it. “If you go straight back, Ry’s in the kitchen. Ignore the mess.” Blasting me with a friendly smile, she scurries past me toward the cute blue Mini parked on the street.
My head is reeling. I take a deep breath. The intimacy of the evening is sending shock waves through me. Ry cooking dinner for me at his home? Never in the juvenile fantasies I had about this man did I ever contemplate something like this being so incredibly sexy. Then I remember his words.I had planned to ask you to dinner—somewhere quiet so we could talk…
With an anxious stomach that hopes it can consume some of what he’s going through the trouble to cook, I cross over the threshold and close the door just as Ry comes forward dressed in an open-neck button-down and dress slacks. He looks as if he just stepped off a live cooking show, not as if he’s been the one to slave over a hot stove. I sniff the air appreciatively; something smells delicious. “I thought I heard Lisa talking with someone.” He leans against the back of one of the couches, intuitively giving me space to absorb the fact we’re alone in his home. It’s our first time together in a nonpublic place since our night together in Savannah.
Since I’m still gripping the knob of the front door from where I just shut it, we’re a good ten feet apart. I exhale entirely before replying. “I was just about to ring the bell, but she told me to come in. She’s like a whirlwind. Does she always have that much energy? I don’t recall being much older than her, but I’m pretty sure I feel…” I pause for breath to find Ry smiling at me.
“Ancient? That’s the way she makes me feel most of the time. My little sister has enough energy for four people. It’s a good thing she volunteers at the center. I think the kids are the only thing that can tire her out.” Pushing away from the back of the sofa, he walks toward me, his hand extended. “You offered to cook dinner last night. Do you enjoy it?”
I shrug. “I do. I’ve never had many complaints.” I can’t help the way my heart skips a beat as he closes the distance between us.
“Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour, and then you can tell me if there’s anything you don’t want in your pasta.” His hand touches mine before he gives it a quick squeeze.
“Wow, a classy joint. I can custom order off the menu.”
Winking at me and giving me a quick tug, Ry says, “You have no idea. Now, let me tell you about the house. Despite it looking like it’s historical, it’s a fairly new build from 2004. The owners lived through Katrina and subsequent storms. They decided they were done with New Orleans. Despite the number of years since then, I still got it for a steal.”
“Was the house damaged?” Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive storm to strike the United States in recent history. It wouldn’t surprise me if I were given a litany of items that needed to be repaired. I’m shocked when Ry shakes his head.
“Not a single thing. The owners just decided they didn’t want to live with the uncertainty anymore, so they moved back north.” His voice takes on a note of empathy. “Despite my Realtor telling me I could have likely negotiated more, I couldn’t do it. This was my dream home, Kels. They were a lovely retired couple who had just put the finishing touches on it when Katrina hit.”
Despite the years and the emotional distance we need to resolve, I still know the boy I fell for lives inside the man standing next to me. “Where do they live now?” I ask casually, as I run my hand over the back of the warm brown leather sofa that dominates the room.
“North Carolina,” he answers immediately. I begin to smile, but his next words wipe that right off my face, leaving me free-falling from a multitude of feelings. “Chad Zhang—you might remember him from the swim team. He’s a Realtor up there. When I contacted him to explain the circumstances, he and the other Realtor reduced their commissions to get them in a home that’s perfect for them.”
I remember Chad Zhang. While not as overt in his distaste for me as others were, he still didn’t save me from any of the bullying that drove me to the brink of my sanity levels time and time again. Pulling slightly back, I dig my shoes into the plush area rug. “What are we doing?” I whisper suddenly, interrupting Ry’s explanation that the porch wraps around the front and both sides of the house.
He stops and turns to face me. “What do you mean?” Confusion is written all over his handsome face. It hurts, physically hurts, to look at it. I duck my head so my hair falls to cover my face. Warring emotions of fear and pain come crashing into me.
This was why I left that morning in Savannah, why I keep running away. I don’t want to live in the past. I don’t want to make promises. I don’t want regrets. I don’t want to feel things I’ve long ago learned to lock away and subdue. I want to feel confident and successful—the things I could never feel while I was being tormented every day in high school.
Even by this man.
I quiver. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t. I have to go.” His expression is shocked, allowing me the chance to rip my hand away. I start to walk purposefully back to the door when a strong arm wraps around me from behind.
“Will you come with me to one room long enough for me to explain?” Ry’s words are a breath whispering across my head.
I want to shake my head in denial. I want to refuse him, but flashes of the time I’ve spent with this Rierson Perrault cause me to pause. Stepping away, I turn around and say, “I reserve the right to walk away, Ry.”
“And all I can do is pray to God you don’t. Please, give me a chance to show you something. It might help…maybe you’ll understand.” Ry steps forward and takes my hand. Bypassing the dining room, set for an intimate dinner for two, we pass through a set of double french doors into a study lined with bookcases. Dropping my fingers, he invites, “Feel free to look around.”
I take him up on it. Because this, this is the room that feels like the Ry I’ve had the chance to get to know: smart, sharp, intense. Masculine. Dark wood plays off bright light streaming in the windows. There seem to be hundreds of books interspersed with family photos. I pick up a silver-framed photo of him and Lisa taken on the beach. It doesn’t look too old. “When was this taken?” I turn and face the picture toward him.
Ry smiles. “We went out to Tybee Island with Mom and Dad for their anniversary a few years ago.” There’s a soft look that comes over his face whenever he speaks of his sister.
I can’t help but smile. “You two seem close.”
