Page 39 of Save Me

Someday, you’re going to kiss me because you want to and not because you’re being rebellious toward your family.

Maybe she was going to prove him right after all.

And sooner than either of them thought.

Just…not right now.

“Ryleigh!” Arianna called out as she got closer and waved. Within no time, introductions were made and they all huddled together as they made their way to the hostess stand to get a table. “I guess I didn’t even think about how busy they’d be on a Friday night. Sorry!”

“It would be the same no matter where we went,” Ryleigh told her. “Besides, you know the wait’s never long and if it is, we can always grab some drinks at the bar to kill some time.”

The hostess told them it would be fifteen minutes.

“Come on,” Ryker said, leading her through the crowd of waiting people. “Drinks sound good, and it will get us inside faster.”

Everyone agreed.

Ryker and Will stepped in close to order drinks and Ryleigh realized she’d never shared with him what her usual was and wondered if she should go and tell him. But her sister held her back.

“Oh my goodness,” Ari whispered loudly to be heard over the noise in the bar. “Ryker is totally hot and the way he looks at you is just…wow! How did you manage to keep turning him down for so long?”

Good question…

“You know me,” she said in that self-deprecating way of hers. “I kept telling myself that he wasn’t my type and that I didn’t want to give him a chance. Turns out he wore me down.”

“I’m glad he did,” Ari said with a bright smile. “The two of you were giving off enough heat out there that we almost didn’t need to come inside!”

“What?” she cried. “No!”

But all her sister did was nod and before she could comment, the guys were walking toward them. Will handed Ari a glass of white wine and Ryker handed her a cosmopolitan. Looking up at him, she was fairly certain her jaw was on the floor.

His arm banded around her, and his lips gently pressed against her ear as he whispered, “I pay attention to everything.”

And that one little statement sent shivers of delight down her spine.

“Here’s to an amazing night!” Arianna said, raising her glass, and Ryleigh couldn’t agree more.

* * *

“And then Ryleigh stood up on the bar and yelled at everyone!” Arianna was saying as their dinner dishes were being cleared. “I swear to you, in that moment, it just confirmed what a badass my sister can be.” Her smile was radiant as she spoke, and Ryker noticed the look of utter awe and gratitude on her face.

“I’d had way too much to drink,” Ryleigh protested lightly. “I mean…you know how loud our family gets and sometimes it’s intimidating. I’m the runt of the group and no one really listens unless I make a spectacle of myself.”

Well, that explained why she grabbed him in the parking lot that first night.

“That’s not true at all,” Arianna countered. “I know it feels that way, but we all look to you to be the voice of reason, so if you have to get up and yell at us, we know something’s up.”

Beside him, Ryleigh laughed. “Oh, please! I amnotthe voice of reason in the family. That’s Liam’s place.”

“It was until he enlisted in the Marines,” her sister told her with a smug look. “After that, Patrick became completely driven to take on the small world of Laurel Bay, Jamie takes nothing seriously, and I was a brat. Face it, you’re the one we all looked to.”

Ryker turned and glanced down at Ryleigh’s wide-eyed expression. He knew this was how the dynamic would be between the two sisters. Even though he didn’t know any of the Donovan family well—with the exception of Ronan, and that was only because he was always the one tending the bar—Ryker was a people watcher. He observed everything going on around him and saw enough of the way Ryleigh interacted with her family to know that they all admired her. And from everything she’d shared with him about her relationship with her sister, it would almost be impossible for Arianna not to admire her.

“So, is anyone up for dessert?” their server asked when she walked back over.

“Will and I are going to split the skillet cookie sundae,” Arianna replied. “And a decaf coffee for me.”

“Make that two,” Will chimed in.

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