Page 42 of Save Me

“Cookies, brownies, the occasional cake or pie. Nothing fancy. I hate decorating. Too time-consuming.”

He fed her another spoonful of their sundae before taking a bite for himself.

“What about you?” she asked.

“What about me?”

“Do you cook?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

“What’s your specialty?”

“Anything Italian. I make a killer sauce, know how to make my own pasta, and my chicken parm has been known to make grown men weep because it’s so delicious.”

With a soft gasp, she took the spoon and helped herself to another bite. “Then that’s what I want you to make for me.”

“Name the time, baby girl, and it’s yours,” he said gruffly, taking the spoon back.

Ryleigh leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “Tomorrow night. Just the two of us. I’ll bring the wine. And dessert.” Then she giggled softly. “And maybe an overnight bag.”

He went hard in an instant. Did she realize what she was saying? What she wasdefinitelyimplying?

Swallowing hard, he pulled back and scanned her face and saw that she didn’t look like she was joking or tipsy. If anything, she looked very serious and determined.

And he had no idea what to do with that.

Unaware of all the thoughts racing through his mind—most involving her being naked in every room in his house—Ryleigh settled beside him and took another bite of their dessert. “How’s the chocolate chip cookie?” she asked Arianna.

“Super gooey,” she replied. “And we’re not sharing!”

“That’s fine, because we’re not sharing either!” Both sisters broke into a fit of giggles while Ryker and Will exchanged glances that said it was clearly time to go.

It took another thirty minutes to finish their coffees and desserts, and out in the parking lot, Ryker shook Will’s hand and reluctantly accepted a very tight hug from Arianna before he and Ryleigh made their way to his car. She was quiet as they pulled out and headed to back to her place.

“I lied,” she said a few minutes later.

“About…?”

“Tomorrow,” she said, her eyes looking straight ahead at the road.

“Oh.” And yeah. He was wildly disappointed to hear that because it was all he’d been able to think about since she whispered it in his ear.

Shit.

They drove in silence for several miles before she spoke again. “I had a fantastic time tonight, Ryker. It meant a lot to me that you were willing to go out with Will and Ari like that and…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Ryleigh,” he said softly. His hand twitched with the need to reach out and reassure her, but…he fought the urge. If he touched her right now, it would be too hard to deal with her rejection.

“No, I really do,” she told him.

“I’m telling you,” he interrupted before she could say anything else, “we’re good. You’d had a little too much to drink and were being flirty to make things look the way you wanted in front of your sister. I get it. It’s fine.”

Beside him, she sighed loudly. “Can you please just shut up and let me say what I need to say?”

“Sure,” he said tightly, gripping the wheel hard enough to snap it in two.

With a small huff, she went on. “It wasn’t that I lied, not really. I just…I don’t want to wait for tomorrow night.”

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