Page 36 of Save Me

He loved when she did that.

Gently, she cleared her throat. “My uncle was walking into the bank across the street and…well…I just thought…”

Reaching up, his hand caressed her cheek. “I figured as much.” And maybe because he was near delirious from sleep deprivation, he added, “Someday, you’re going to kiss me because you want to and not because you’re being rebellious toward your family.”

And then, because she was stunned speechless, he leaned in and gave her another quick kiss.

“Text me and I guess I’ll see you Friday.”

Turning, he walked away and wasn’t sure if he’d given her something to think about or a reason to break things off.

Maybe after a couple hours of sleep he’d be able to figure it out, but for now, he needed to focus on simply getting home.

In his truck, he finished the last of the coffee and tossed the cup on the seat beside him. A quick glance back toward the coffee shop, he saw that Ryleigh was still standing there watching him.

Good.

He knew she was thinking about his words, but he seriously hoped she was thinking about his kiss.

He knew he was going to be doing exactly that as he crawled into bed back at home.

And he’d probably dream a bit about it too.

ChapterSix

“Ugh! Why is my body so stupid?”

Ryker was due to pick her up in fifteen minutes, and Ryleigh had been through almost a dozen outfits already. They were meeting Arianna and Will at The Sand Bar in Magnolia Sound at seven, and every piece of clothing she put on made her feel like a troll.

“Little black dress? Trying too hard. Favorite skinny jeans? Too snug. New V-neck sweater that looked great when I tried it on? Suddenly gives me a thick waist!Gah!What in the world?”

Standing in the middle of her walk-in closet, she seriously debated calling her sister and canceling. The only thing stopping her was the fact that Ari would definitely drive right over and see right through any excuse Ryleigh gave.

“This shouldn’t be so hard…”

But it was.

Normally she was fine with who she was and what she looked like. Every once in a while, however, old insecurities came out. She might be the older sister, but Arianna was everything Ryleigh wasn’t.

Namely tall, blonde, and beautiful.

It wasn’t her fault that all the pretty girl genes went to her baby sister, but sometimes when they went out places together, Ryleigh felt more than a little inferior.

And it sucked.

“Okay, The Sand Bar is extremely casual, so I need to stop being ridiculous and just…put clothes on. I’m not going to grow six inches and lose twenty pounds in the next ten minutes, so I might as well resign myself to the fact that no one's going to be looking at me anyway. They’ll all be looking at her.”

And…now I’m depressed…

With a little more force than necessary, she grabbed a pair of faded jeans and slipped them on. Next, a navy-blue ribbed cardigan top. It was a little low cut and showed just a hint of the lacy cup of her bra, but…she wasn’t going to obsess over it because there wasn’t time. Sliding on a pair of ankle boots, she studied her reflection and immediately wanted to change, but off in the distance, she heard Ryker’s knock.

“Dammit…”

With a small huff, she ran out of the bedroom and to the front door to let him in. “Hey,” she said breathlessly, without really looking at him. Turning, she went to grab her purse and phone and keys. “I hope you weren’t knocking for long. I was just finishing up and was completely distracted.” Then she looked up and felt an unfamiliar flutter in her belly. “Um…”

“Why were you distracted?” he asked casually. Tonight, he had on a pair of dark jeans and even darker boots, along with a charcoal-colored sweater that she realized matched his eyes.

His hair was in its usual disarray, but it totally worked on him and he smelled beyond delicious.

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