Page 16 of Belong With Me

“You have Louis Vuitton luggage.” She pointed at them, as if they needed to be identified.

“Oh. Yeah, I do.” I headed for the table, just as Ryder walked toward me, one of his eyebrows arched.

“How did it go?” I asked.

His hands rested on my chair and he pulled it out for me. “Well. It’s not going to be a quick fix.”

“Really?” I looked to Logan.

He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I’ll put in a couple of calls tomorrow and have a thorough look through and let you know as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” I murmured, sitting in the seat as Ryder helped scoot me in.

Like magic, a bowl of peaches and cream slid in front of me. He passed me a spoon and I smiled at him in thanks. Dessert was easy going, and they all seemed to be nice and accepting of me. The girls and Logan peppered me with questions every now and then, but mostly the conversation flowed easily between the others.

Only Ryder seemed to be quiet. Lost in thought, perhaps.

I caught Logan shooting him glances every now and again. But he never said anything, even though I saw his mouth open as if he was about to on a couple of occasions. Usually though, he covered it up with either a quick comment or by eating some of the peaches.

I yawned, and quickly covered my mouth. It had been a big day, and when I checked the time, I couldn’t believe it was only eight; it felt so much later than that. “Ready for bed, Sienna-Grace?” he whispered from beside me.

“I wouldn’t turn it down,” I said quietly. “it’s been a rather draining day.” Placing my spoon down beside my bowl, I cupped my hand over my mouth as another yawn escaped.

He stood. “Right, I’ll grab your luggage from the hall and take it to your room if you like?”

“I can do it,” I insisted as I got up too, following him as he headed to where my luggage was waiting at the base of the stairs.

“I couldn’t in good conscience call myself a Southern gentleman without actually doing something to earn it.” He smiled at me. “Plus, I can’t leave a lady like you in distress now, can I?” He tipped his hat and laughed before hanging it on the hook, then bending to take hold of my three bags and carrying them up the stairs to my room as though they weighed nothing at all.

He set the bags by the bed, then popped his head into the bathroom. “Just making sure you’ve got towels,” he explained as I watched him curiously. “Anyway…” He ran a hand through his brown hair. “I’ll leave you to it.” He moved to the doorway, pointing in the direction of his bedroom. “My bedroom is next door, on your left.” His nervousness showed, and it made me smile. “Feel free to pop in if you need anything.”

I nodded at him. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, holding the door handle as he moved into the hallway. “Sweet dreams, Sienna-Grace. Sleep well.” The door closed softly behind him, the click of the handle the only sound in the room.

For a moment, all I could do was stare at the door, but I was interrupted when my phone buzzed. Daddy’s number was on the screen. God, I really didn’t want to deal with that right now so I sent the call to voicemail, I unzipped my suitcases, and eventually located some pajamas to take into the bathroom along with my toiletries case.

The shower was refreshing, and it gave me enough time to process everything that had happened today. From the meeting with Daddy, to the short flight over, the accident, being saved—as much as I hated to admit it, there was no other way to say it. Finally, being here, in this room. On Larsen Ranch, with a very attractive cowboy just down the hall.

I exited the shower and dressed quickly. Not quite ready for sleep yet, I picked up the romance novel from my bag and settled into the bed. But the words seemed to meld, and I found myself rereading the same page over and over as I imagined Ryder as the male love interest. My concentration waned and I closed the book.

There was only one surefire way I was going to sleep easily tonight. I shuffled myself to the side of the oversized bed, then headed to my suitcases and located the boots that had Bob hidden within. He accompanied me back to bed as I heard Ryder’s final words echo in my mind.. “Sweet dreams, Sienna-Grace. Sleep well.”

The accent alone made me want to melt, but the whole package was otherworldly.

Why aren’t any of the movie cowboys anywhere near as gorgeous as he was?I thought to myself as I closed my eyes, recalling with perfect clarity everything about him. His handsome looks, tanned skin, cheeky smile, and those washboard abs that could put a professional athlete to shame.

As I flicked Bob on, I didn’t have to imagine a guy this time. No, I had met the perfect one today, and he was very fresh in my mind.

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