Page 33 of Save Me

“Okay…”

“Will and I were talking last night and we’d love to go out on a double date with you and Ryker Friday night,” Arianna quickly blurted out. “Nothing around here if you don’t want to or we can go to Beaufort or someplace in Magnolia…nothing fancy, just a casual dinner. What do you think?”

“Um…I’ll have to talk to Ryker, but…uh…I don’t see why not?”

Except that you know me better than anyone and you’ll totally be able to tell that this whole thing is a sham!

“Really? Just like that?” Ari asked in confusion. “You’re not going to try to come up with an excuse or…tell me how much you hate double dates?”

“Normally I don’t, but as long as Will promises not to touch you in a way that makes you make those…you know…noises, I think we can handle it.”

“Yay! Oh, I’m so excited! So, where do you think we should go?”

* * *

Ryker had been up all night and he knew he looked like hammered shit, but he figured Ryleigh would cut him some slack. After all, it wasn’t like this was a real date. It was just coffee.

His dark hair was in complete disarray, his beard was a little bushier than usual, his clothes were rumpled and…

Shit.

“I should have at least showered,” he muttered to himself as he walked into the coffee shop and spotted her sitting in the far corner. The look on her face told him she didn’t approve of his appearance, but…there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. She already had two cups of coffee on the table and a couple of muffins, and he was beyond grateful.

“Hey,” she said warily as he sat down. “Are you okay? You look like hell.”

He took a long sip of the black coffee and almost wept with appreciation. “Yeah. Sorry. Long night.”

“Oh.” The pinched expression spoke volumes.

“Working,” he clarified. “I was up all night working on an important project that’s overdue and…I haven’t even slept.”

“You could have texted and let me know you were busy, Ryker. It wouldn’t have been a big deal. Your job is important.”

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but that one little statement made him snap, “How would you even know? You’ve never asked what I do for a living.”

Her green eyes went wide and her mouth gaped for a moment. “Um…I just thought…I mean…if you had to pull an all-nighter…” Then she paused and pushed her coffee aside before striking a defiant pose. “Fine. What do you do for a living?”

Part of him wasn’t ready to answer just out of spite, so he took another sip of his coffee before reaching for a blueberry muffin and taking a bite. But if he thought she was going to argue with him or call him out on it, he was wrong.

And that bothered him even more.

“Oh my goodness! Ryleigh! Hey!”

Turning his head, Ryker saw a cheery looking blonde walking over with her to-go cup of coffee.

And she clearly wasn’t in any rush…to go.

Ugh…

“Ivy! Hey!” Ryleigh said as she got to her feet and hugged the woman. They turned to face him. “Ivy, this is my boyfriend, Ryker. Ryker, this is my best friend, Ivy.”

He gave her a curt nod and finished chewing his muffin. There was no way this was a coincidental meeting.

So maybe she either cared a little more than she was letting on or…

She was just looking for more witnesses to their sham relationship.

On any given day, Ryker considered himself to be a bit antisocial and someone who treasured his privacy. All this needing to be seen nonsense was starting to make his skin itch.

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