Page 89 of Save Me

“I think we all did. So…”

The sliding glass doors opened again and they both turned to see Ryker standing there.

“Okay,” Ari whispered before kissing her on the cheek. “I’m going back inside and I hope to see the two of you in there in a little bit.” With a smile, she walked away and gave Ryker a small shove out the door before she closed them.

“Hey,” he said quietly, but he did not try to get closer to her.

“Hey.” Sighing loudly, she contemplated her words. Her sister was right, and she couldn’t be mad at him for doing something she’d only dreamed of doing and saying all the things she wished for years someone would say in her defense.

And that’s when she knew exactly what to say.

“Thank you.”

Ryker’s dark eyes went wide. “For…?”

“For everything you did in there. I’ll admit that I wasn’t prepared for it and I reacted badly, but the truth is…you saved me—all those weeks ago and again in the dining room.”

Boldly, she took a step toward him.

“It was a little shocking to listen to you in there,” she went on. “All this time you’ve kind of been this quiet, mild-mannered guy and then you just went and calmly but firmly put my mom in her place.”

Another step.

“And some of the things you said were…unexpected.”

The look on his face told her he knew exactly what she was trying to say.

“I never hid my feelings from you, Ryleigh,” he admitted lowly. “This was never a game for me—never make-believe. I knew long before you kissed me that I was in love with you.”

The shaky breath she let out was all she could manage at his admission.

With a lopsided grin, Ryker took a step closer. “I know right now your brain is asking a ton of questions like how could I possibly be in love with you when I didn’t really know you?” He shrugged. “I spent so much time at the pub just so I could be near you. I talked to Ronan, I talked to your mother, your father, your brother…I thought I wasn’t overly obvious about it, but…I just found out that clearly everyone knew. Especially your uncle.”

“Uncle Ronan’s big on people watching and observing everything,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah, well…I like to think I’m good at people watching and observing too, along with being an excellent judge of character. I was already in deep when you kissed me and this last month just proved that I was right.”

Now he closed the distance between them, cupping her face in his large hands.

“You’re everything to me.” His voice was so gruff and raw and full of emotion that it was hypnotic. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. You walked out before I said that to everyone, but…I wanted to say these things weeks ago to your family. I wanted to go to the pub and put everyone in their place for hurting you.”

Sighing softly, she pressed closer. “I don’t know how I would have felt about that. For all my bitching and whining, I’m clearly not good at confrontation.” Then she remembered her sister’s words. “Unless I’ve had a couple of drinks. Then, apparently, I’m more than willing to put everyone in their place.”

Smiling, Ryker rested his forehead against hers. “That’s why I didn’t do it. I knew it would upset you and, being that everyone else did that, I didn’t want to be one more person adding to your stress.” He paused before adding, “But then I went and added to it today.”

“As you can probably tell, I do tend to react without thinking…”

“Hence our first kiss.”

All she could do was groan.

“Okay, but this is something we can work on together, because…I meant what I said, Ryleigh. I love you. I’m all in with you in this relationship.” His thumbs caressed her cheeks. “There is no pressure here for you to tell me how you feel or for us to jump on that crazy train of rushing things. This is just me telling you how I feel, and I’m willing to wait until you catch up.”

Swallowing hard, she pulled back slightly. “But…what if I don’t?”

She watched as his expression saddened slightly. “I’m still in. Any time that I can have with you is better than not having any. I’ll take what I can get.”

How was it possible for this man to be hers?

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