Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“I’m not very good at this, Christie. Let me start by being a little honest. I know you deserve an explanation from me, an apology—or something like that—and I want to give it to you, but my life is in such turmoil right now . . .” He shook his head, his pace slowing. I tried to match it but found myself continuing my pace. His gait exceeded mine by practically a full person.
“You don’t have to say anything. If I’m honest, I didn’t treat you as I should have. I saw pictures of you and your son on your phone. I know with your job and everything, you probably don’t see him much. I bet you miss him a lot.”
He nodded.
“I appreciate that.” He smiled. It was a soft smile that made me want to smile back. But I still saw that sadness in his eyes, that blankness, and while I knew it wasn’t personal, it bothered me that I couldn’t do a thing about it. “I do love my boy. It’s a complicated situation, but I …”
I wasn’t ready to confess that I’d met Darlene, but with all he had going on, I didn’t see much of a way to avoid talking about anything else. Or maybe it was just at the forefront of my mind.
“It’s okay. I believe you.”
He nodded, and his eyes softened. He really was handsome, even in the confident, on-a-mission way he walked. I wanted to like him—though in what way I wasn’t sure yet—but he seemed so awkward. Was it me? Was it because of our back-and-forth with the phones?
I tried to think of something positive. “Is it always like this here?”
“Like what?”
“The weather.”
He fought back a smile. “Sorry. I should never have allowed you to resort to the weather topic.”
“If I end up moving here, I want to know what to expect.”
He met my gaze, and the sunlight lit up his eyes, which were fantastically bright green.
“It’s typical Texas weather, though Houston seems to have a thing for constant heat.”
“Isn’t that typical Texas weather?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Desert heat isn’t typical.”
“No, but Dallas gets snow. Sometimes.”
I smirked. “It doesn’t count if it doesn’t stick.”
“It sticks! Just . . . doesn’t stay.”
I giggled. “That’s okay. It might be nice to introduce myself to snow. Maybe the best way to do it is by just having a day or two of it.”
“So you are moving here?”
I shrugged. “Not sure yet. I thought maybe I’d had some interest and received some calls while you had my phone …” I pulled the screen up as if I’d get a call just for hoping. “I met someone that night who had called, but that’s about it.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, I’m so sorry. You did receive a call from a random number, but I assumed it was spam. I didn’t think about telling you.”
I waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. I got lucky and treated myself that day. Never would have met him otherwise.”
“So you got the job?”
“Not yet. Still have to interview.”
He nodded slowly. “Ah.”
When we reached the café, I was pleasantly surprised to find he had good taste in restaurants. The wood-panel walls helped warm the room, which wasn’t bright, but it wasn’t as dim as a bar or steakhouse. The windows brought in the best natural light, which colored the room’s soft neutral colors in a cozy way, like sitting on a back porch in a rocking chair. Ryan’s bar idea had thrown me off, but maybe he was just trying to blow off some steam. Not that alcohol was that great for drowning your sorrows.
He’d started to loosen up, but until we were seated, I wasn’t sure whether he’d open up more than that. I thought I caught a glint of something in Ryan’s eye. It helped me ease into the seat and feel optimistic about lunch. Maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward. Maybe we could start over.
Chapter 14
Ryan
I couldn’t figure out what I wanted. I needed to fight for my son, but I needed to fix my shit, too, starting with Christie. In the short term, I had used her, and in the long term, I realized I had abused her time.
After we entered the restaurant, there was an awkward silence. I felt like I was on a horrible first date, so I did what I did best and launched into small talk.
“How was the conference?”
“The conference? The one you asked me about at the bar just before inviting me back to your place for sex?”
“No, I mean . . . damn it.”
She just giggled, sipping the iced tea she’d ordered. “The conference was good, thank you for asking. But you were trying to get me in bed, right?”
I opened my mouth to answer, and then she raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t figure out what she wanted me to say. What would insult her? I didn’t have the energy to do anything else but tell the truth. “I was making a joke.”