Page 10 of Save Me

She nodded.

“You show up with me and she’ll see that she’s had it all wrong. But if you go out with me a few times, she’s going to think it’s going somewhere and wouldn’t want to do anything to mess it up.”

“Or…” Ryleigh interrupted. “She’ll decide that this is inappropriate and double her efforts to find me a suitable guy.” With a loud sigh, she went on. “Trust me when I say I know my mother better than you. I’ve tried everything and nothing has worked.”

“I disagree,” he said with a shrug. “You’ve triedalmosteverything. What have you got to lose? It’s a couple of dates, Ryleigh. I get it. You’re not into me.” Another shrug. “Does it suck? Yeah. But I’m adult enough that I can handle it.”

“Then what are you getting out of this? If you know this isn’t going anywhere, then why do you even care?”

“I get to take the prettiest girl in town out.” His voice was low and a little gruff, and she cursed the fact that he wasn’t her type because…damn. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

“I don’t know…”

“Three dates,” he suggested.

“Why three?”

“Because one date isn’t going to be enough to even get anyone’s attention. Two dates will generate some interest, and by the third date, people will start taking it seriously. It’s all a matter of being seen by the right people without directly flaunting it under their noses.”

“So…no dates at the pub?”

Shaking his head, he gave her a sly grin. “I go in there a couple of times a week and everyone knows I’m interested in you. I’ll still go in, but I’ll casually mention to Ronan that I’m taking you out. If I had to guess, he’s kind of the family gossip.”

That made her laugh. “Oh my God! Yes! He totally is!”

“That’s what I figured. So, I stick to my routine and drop that bit of information and we take it from there.”

“Okay, but…if that’s all it takes, why do we have to go out at all? Why can’t we just pretend that we went out?”

Bending slightly, Ryker leaned in until they were practically nose to nose. “We need to be seen to be believable, Ryleigh. I thought that was obvious.”

Right. It was.

Nodding, she tried to think of a reason why she should say no.

Unfortunately, Ryker completely had a point.

He had several points, actually.

Still, it didn’t feel right to be doing this knowing he still had feelings for her. Even if he said he was okay with it, it made her cringe.

“The only one at risk of getting hurt here is me,” he said, as if reading her mind. “And I’m okay with it.”

Shoulders sagging, she looked up at him. “Yeah, but…I’m not okay with being the one to hurt you. It’s just…it’s mean and selfish and…”

Straightening, Ryker ran both hands through his wild mane and let out a small snarl of frustration. “Did you enjoy going out with that guy tonight?”

“No, but…”

“Or how about the insurance salesman or the accountant?”

“How did you know…?”

“Do you want to have to spend the next few weeks avoiding the pub? Avoiding your family?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then I don’t see what the problem is here,” he said with obvious frustration. “You say you’re fed up and how you hate dealing with this crap, and I’m offering to help you!”

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