Page 66 of Save Me

“Perfect! See you then!”

“Love you!”

“Love you too!”

With a sigh of her own, Ryleigh grabbed their dinner and almost sagged with relief when she spotted Ryker standing in the doorway. He was becoming more and more important to her—a calming influence, a friend, and lover.

So why isn’t this real?

He gave her a sexy grin as he stepped outside and took the bag from her before kissing her senseless. “I’m sure there’s a story about how we’re having pub food tonight, and I can’t wait to hear it.” Taking her hand, he led her into the house.

And she knew she was going to have to answer her own question eventually, because no matter how much she tried to tell herself this was all a ruse, things were starting to feel way too real.

* * *

“How long has it been this way?”

“A little over a month.”

“And you don’t think it’s weird?”

Shrugging, Ryker looked around and couldn’t quite put his finger on the emotion he was feeling.

“Ryker, you have to realize that this is crazy. You have this beautiful top-of-the-line parlor all set up and ready to go. Why haven’t you opened?”

After their weekend at the convention, it felt so good to talk to Ryleigh about this part of his life. Everyone who knew him had a certain level of fan mentality and just wanted to praise him and stroke his ego. But with Ryleigh, he loved how they were talking as peers—as friends. She didn’t know enough about the “famous” side of his life and she just knew him as a man.

They’d spent last night eating a fantastic dinner and then curled up on the couch and binge-watched a bunch of episodes ofHouse of the Dragon.This morning they’d both been a little lazy and stayed in bed making love before Ryker decided it was time to show Ryleigh his shop.

“Several reasons,” he replied after a moment. “This was always something I wanted to do—have a place of my own—but maybe I rushed into this and I’m making a mistake.”

“You mean because you picked a teeny tiny town to open up a place with your big celebrity name?”

He knew she was teasing—sort of—but it definitely relaxed him a bit.

“That may have a little something to do with it,” he admitted. Walking around, he touched the chairs and ran his hand along the marble countertop of the reception desk. “I’ve been traveling for years, Ryleigh. I was so burned-out and desperately wanted a place to call home that maybe this was more of an impulse.” He let out a derisive laugh. “I don’t even have a name for it.”

“How did you get a business license without a name?”

“I’m the business,” he told her. “I developed an LLC a long time ago in my name, but I don’t want to put my name on the sign.”

“O-kay…”

The walls were still bare and even though he could technically open the doors and start doing business, there were still several things missing.

“You saw what it was like over the weekend. Once I put my name out there and my location, I’m going to have clients.” And before she could make a snarky comment, he added, “That’s not ego; that’s a fact.”

“I know,” she said sweetly, but he knew what she was thinking.

“This is my art, my life…there’s never been anything else that I’ve wanted to do. I’m just not sure I want to keep living my life in a fishbowl, you know?”

“Believe it or not, I do. You don’t have to be famous to feel that way. Growing up in a small town presents a lot of the same problems. The difference is, for you at least, you can control who’s coming in and watching. You can do it by appointment only so you don’t get the gawkers just showing up to stare if you don’t want to.”

Raking a hand through his hair, he continued to walk around. “But is that the right thing to do? I mean…what if I open up and no one shows up or calls or anything because I’ve got all these rules in place? What if everyone thinks I’m a dick because I don’t embrace the circus atmosphere anymore? Like I’m not looking for this to be some sort of tourist attraction.”

“I get that,” she told him, walking over and taking one hand in hers. “If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready. Only you can decide that though, Ryker. The place looks great and the demand for your work seems like guaranteed business. The town would probably love it if you opened because you’d be generating income for all the local businesses.”

“All of them?” he mocked.

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