Page 37 of Save Me

Like…so delicious that she wanted to walk over and rub herself all over him while inhaling deeply.

“Ryleigh?”

“What?”

“Why were you distracted?”

Realizing that she had just been mutely staring, she fluttered around to make sure she had everything. “Oh, um…it was nothing,” she murmured. “Just…stupid stuff.”

“Yeah, that’s not really an explanation.”

There was something about Ryker that made her blurt out things that she never would share with anyone, and this was one of those times.

“It’s just…” She let out a long breath. “Every once in a while, I get a little weird about hanging out with my sister. Particularly…in public.”

One dark brow arched in response. “You’re going to need to elaborate.”

“She doesn’t do anything weird, so you can relax,” she clarified. “It’s my own issue and not a big deal. Really.” Forcing a smile, she looked up at him. “Ready?”

Shaking his head, Ryker crossed his arms. “Not until you tell me what’s really going on.”

Most men would be more than happy to let something like this go, but not Ryker, she thought miserably.

“Okay, fine. My sister intimidates me and it’s fine when we’re hanging out just the two of us at home or if we’re with the whole family for dinner and stuff, but when we go out places together, I feel…inferior.”

His eyes went wide. “Ryleigh, that’s crazy! Why would you even think that?”

“Oh, please…Arianna’s tall, blonde, and beautiful. And then there’s me.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Um…everything? I’m short, not blonde, and not beautiful.”

“I respectfully disagree.”

Normally she’d snort or say something snarky, but there was a…ferocity in his tone that told her he was being completely honest.

And it was a bit of a turn on.

“So…yeah. It’s something that comes at me every now and again, and I can’t really control it. Tonight was one of those nights, but…I’m fine. I swear,” she assured him. “We really need to go or we’ll be late.”

With a curt nod, Ryker walked to the door and held it open for her and then stood back as she locked it. He was quiet all the way to the car—the nice SUV again—and it wasn’t until they were on the road that she knew she had to speak.

“Please don’t make this weird, okay? I mean, we all have insecurities and obviously you’re being forced to have a front-row seat to mine lately.” When he still didn’t respond, she quickly added, “I never should have said anything.”

When Ryker reached over and took her hand in his, she nearly jumped.

“Personally, I don’t think you have any reason to feel inferior, but you’re allowed to feel how you feel,” he told her. “Just know that not everyone thinks blondes are more beautiful, and plenty of guys prefer a woman who’s a little more on the petite side. If you ask me, your sister should be intimidated by you.”

“She works in the medical field,” she argued lightly.

“And you’re brilliantly creative,” he immediately countered. “It’s not a competition, Ryleigh. Obviously, you know your sister better than I do, but I bet if you talked to her about this, she’d admit to feeling intimidated by you.”

The snort was out before she could stop it.

“Ryleigh, come on…”

“We’ll pick up this conversation after dinner and then you’ll see why you’re wrong,” she told him. “For now, can we talk about something else? Did you finish the piece you were working on? The one you stayed up all night for?”

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