The image of teenage Ryan, isolated from friends, brought an ache to her heart. No wonder he’d kicked up such a fuss about working on his own. It was what he was used to. ‘Thank you for telling me. It explains a few things.’
‘I hoped it would. Has he ever spoken about his dad?’
Sam shook her head. ‘Only to say he was a git.’
Maggie rolled her eyes. ‘Guess that’s no worse than my name for him – lying, cheating scumbag. I won’t bore you with details, but he wasn’t a nice man, not to me or to Ryan.’
‘I suspect that’s where Ryan’s blunt honesty comes from,’ Sam mused. ‘He’s determined not to become his father.’
Maggie caught her eye and held it for a few moments before speaking. ‘He’s nothing like his father. Never will be. Beneath the tough shell Ryan has a heart of gold. I wanted you to know that.’
Sam reached for Maggie’s hand this time, giving it a gentle press. ‘I already know. I’ve seen that side of him.’ She thought of how he’d been there for her when she’d had her melt down. Of what he’d done for Alice. ‘You raised a good man, Maggie. Be proud of that.’
This time the tears didn’t just well, they crept down Maggie’s cheeks. ‘Bless you, love, but he raised himself. I’m the one who’s proud.’ She wiped her face, then patted Sam’s hand. ‘Now, enough of the past. Why don’t you tell me about this company of yours? I can’t believe a young thing like you owns her own company. You must be so smart.’
Smart to set up a company, perhaps. Not so smart in her choice of partner. ‘I just got lucky. The company is called Privacy Solutions …’
Chapter 32
Ryan fretted as he sat down opposite Erin in the hospital café, placing one hot chocolate and one dubious-looking coffee in front of them. God knows what his mum was saying to Sam. He tried to tell himself she knew the worst of it. Knew about his dad, about his mum and the booze. Still, there was stuff no man would want a woman he was trying to impress to know.
‘Chill.’ Erin rolled her eyes at him. ‘Mum’s not going to say any stuff that’ll put her off you. She’s trying to matchmake.’
‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’ He took a sip of the coffee and winced. How the hell could they make it taste that bad?
‘I thought you fancied the pants off your boss?’
‘Fine. I do.’ He rubbed a hand down his face. ‘Can we drop the subject now?’ He’d had enough of people dissecting his love life.
‘She likes you.’ Erin paused. ‘I mean, like, really likes you.’
‘That’s a lot of likes.’ Her foot kicked him under the table. ‘Ouch.’
‘I’m trying to tell you Sam has a thing for you.’
‘Sure she does. What can I say? I’m a good-looking guy.’
Erin groaned. ‘I’m serious. I think you could have a shot with her, if you want.’
Hope trickled through him as he realised he and Erin were actually talking. ‘And you know this how?’
‘Because she chewed me out this morning while you were making breakfast.’
He jerked upright. ‘She what?’
‘You heard. She asked why I was being so mean to you.’
He swallowed down his emotion. Keep it light. Keep her talking. ‘What did you say?’
‘I told her she already knew, because she’d overheard what I’d said to you. How I resented you buggering off and leaving me to take care of Mum.’ Erin sighed, pushing away her drink. ‘Then she pointed out you’d had to take care of Mum and me. She said I should ask myself why you left to get a job. Why you didn’t go to uni.’ Her hazel eyes sought out his, and this time they weren’t snapping at him in anger or freezing him out. They were troubled but warm. ‘It wasn’t a choice, was it?’
He didn’t want to get into this. Not to the extent that she’d level her blame at their mum instead. ‘Sure it was a choice. I could probably have found a job locally.’
She huffed. ‘Yeah, eventually, by which time we’d have been kicked out of the house.’ When he stared at her, she shrugged. ‘I’m not completely stupid. I knew we had no money. I was just so upset at you leaving me.’ She blinked then, looking away from him. ‘Crap. Now you’ve bloody made me cry.’
She looked so indignant, glaring at him in between wiping her eyes, that Ryan couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh. ‘I didn’t make you, shortarse. You did that by yourself.’
She reached for a napkin, scrunched it up and threw it at him. ‘Piss off.’
‘I don’t think so. I’m having way too much fun watching you.’ Sobering, he grabbed her hand across the table. ‘I’m sorry me leaving meant you had to go in temporary care. Really bloody sorry.’
She sighed, her hand gripping his. ‘And I’m sorry for being a bitch all these years and blaming you for it.’ She gave him a small smile. ‘I needed to be angry at someone, and you were the one who left.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘No. It wasn’t fair. I’ve said some really shitty things to you.’ She groaned, tugging her hand away. ‘Like yesterday. All that stuff about you having no qualifications and having to sleep with Sam ’cos there was no other way you’d get on.’ She covered her face with her hands.
‘Forget it. We’re looking forward, not back.’ Please God, this was the start not just of him and Erin talking, but of his mum sorting herself out. Of them being a family again. Draining the last of his awful coffee, he focused back on Erin. ‘Right, shortarse, let’s get back to Mum.’
‘I’m not short any more.’
‘You are compared to me.’
She huffed as she stood up. ‘So I’m always gonna have that dumb nickname?’
‘Yep.’
Falling in step beside him, she sighed dramatically. ‘Suppose I can put up with it.’
He saw the smile she couldn’t hide and it sent joy barrelling through him. He was going to get his sister back. Thanks to Sam.
That tight feeling returned to his chest. She’d not just been there for him last night and today, she’d gone beyond. Even risking gossip at work. Was Erin right? Did he really have a chance with Sam? Something beyond this secret affair she’d convinced herself was a good idea.
Only time would tell. One thing for certain though, if there was a snowball’s chance in hell for them, he was going to give her that time.
Sam walked out to the car park with a reluctant Ryan.
‘Stop dragging your feet.’
‘I’m not.’ He turned back, eyes scanning up the hospital building to the floor his mum’s ward was on.
‘She’ll be fine.’ Sam touched his arm, bringing him back to face her. ‘You know I’m happy for you to stay here, right? It’s your mum who’s kicked you out.’
He scratched at the dark one-day-old stubble on his chin. God, this guy was sexy. Really, stop and stare, made your heart pound, sexy. ‘It doesn’t feel right, leaving her in there.’
‘I know.’ She took his hand. ‘But she’s not on her own. Your sister is with her. And the doctor said she’ll be good to go home tomorrow.’ He nodded and carried on walking with her towards the car, but Sam knew he felt bad, which was enough to trigger her own guilt. ‘Look, maybe you should stay. I mean, what can she do? Make you sit on the naughty step?’
Finally, he cracked a smile. ‘Been there a time or two.’ He glanced her way, his expression conflicted. ‘If I stay, your beta version gets put back another day.’
‘I can live with that.’ Whether her investor could, was another matter, but she could hardly dump that on him.
‘You shouldn’t have to.’ He straightened his shoulders, picked up the pace. ‘I’m not going to be responsible for you losing your company. Mum’s good.’ He gave her a searing look. ‘Erin’s finally talking to me again, too, so I can trust her to let me know if they need me.’
Sam felt a ripple of relief roll through her. ‘That’s great.’
‘It is.’ His eyes remained on hers, dark, compelling. ‘Erin told me what you said to her. Thank you
.’
Once again she felt the pull of him. More than an attraction, more than heat, she felt it where it mattered, in her heart. ‘I only pointed out things that deep down she already knew.’
He nodded. ‘And Mum? What’s she been saying?’
Oh boy. He definitely wouldn’t be happy about her knowing some of that. ‘Just that your dad was, in her words, a lying, cheating scumbag.’
They reached the car and Ryan paused. ‘Can’t argue with that. I was only a kid, but some of the stuff he said to her.’ He placed his hands on the car roof, leaning against it, his movements taut and restless. ‘I knew it wasn’t right, the lies he told. The way he got into her head.’ He looked bleakly at her. ‘I hate that I have his DNA.’
‘You share his hair colour, his eyes. Probably his build, looking at your mum.’ Her eyes pressed his, willing him to believe her. ‘Your heart, your strength, your decency. It all comes from your mum.’
‘Yeah, right.’ His tone told her he wasn’t convinced. ‘What else did she say?’
‘She asked about the company, about how I founded it—’
‘About me, Sam,’ he cut in roughly. ‘What did she tell you?’
He hated lies more than anything, and now she could understand why. So she looked him in the eye and told him the truth, even though she knew it would mean a tense car journey. ‘She said you were bullied at school, because you had to look after her.’ His eyes remained fixed on hers, demanding she told him everything. ‘She figured that’s why you spent most of your time in your room, on your computer.’
‘Goddamn it.’ He pushed away from the car, stalking a few paces before turning abruptly. ‘She shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t want you to know this stuff.’
‘Why not?’
‘You know why.’ His nostrils flared and he looked away. ‘This will affect how you see me.’
Confused she touched his arm. ‘What do you mean?’
The muscle in his jaw clenched. ‘You’ll see me as weak.’
She wanted to laugh at how preposterous the notion was. As if anyone could see this big, tough guy as weak. But having had her own self-confidence battered by Damien, she knew all too well that the face you showed the world wasn’t always what you saw when you looked in the mirror. So she took his hands and stared him straight in the eyes. ‘I could never see a boy who took care of his family, and a man who left home to work at eighteen to continue to do that, as anything other than what they are. Steady and strong,’ she told him quietly.
His shoulders rose and fell as he sighed, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers in a connection she felt pulse all the way to her heart. Then he finally looked up, eyes tracking the keys in her hand. ‘Do you trust me with your fancy car?’
Taken by surprise at the change in conversation, Sam replied without thinking. ‘Of course.’
He prised the keys out of her hand and walked round to the driver’s side, grinning over to her. ‘How’s that trust level now?’
Before she could say anything, he’d opened the door and slipped into the driver’s seat. She had no option but to climb in beside him. ‘This feels like kidnapping.’
He laughed, which was a million times better than the tight expression he’d worn a few moments ago. ‘Or it’s me driving you back so you can kip in the car.’
It was typical of the man that he hid his kindness in a defiant gesture. ‘I like that version better.’ She waved at the dashboard. ‘Are you sure you can cope with all this modern technology?’
‘I spend my days working with technology. I think I can cope.’ As he started the engine, his gaze rested on her. ‘Thank you, for, you know.’ He let out a frustrated huff. ‘For the kind words.’
‘True words.’ The look he gave her was so full of emotion, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, she had to avert her gaze before she blurted out words like it’s why I’m falling in love with you. Easing the seat back, she shut her eyes. ‘Wake me up when we get there.’
‘Yes, boss.’
She opened an eye at that and found him giving her an amused smile. One that settled over her like a caress. Her heart feeling full, she nodded off to sleep.
Sam spent the rest of the day on the phone, in meetings, or on her computer. In between fending off Becky and Lucas. At first, they’d pounced on her individually:
Becky: I can’t believe you drove him there. That is not the action of a woman who only likes him.
Lucas: Darling, Becky told me what happened. Are you now moonlighting as a chauffeur service?
Many hours later, they both pushed their way into her office to tell her to go home. And proceeded to prise more information out of her.
‘You met his mum?’ Becky looked startled. ‘Was she as scary as I imagine? Did she have fangs?’
Sam burst out laughing. ‘She was lovely, actually. Warm, funny. I liked her.’
‘Aren’t you doing this backwards?’ Lucas drawled. ‘Shouldn’t you meet the mother after you start dating him?’
Her heart thumped. She knew how Ryan felt. Lying, especially to people who were close to you, really sucked. She wasn’t sure how long she could carry this on. ‘Very funny. I was just glad I was around to help. Now get out of here.’
‘What about you? Are you heading home now?’ Becky smirked. ‘Or are you going to check on Ryan first?’
Her friends weren’t stupid. They knew something was going on. But Sam felt too vulnerable to open up to them just yet. Her feelings for Ryan too new. There was still the chance it could explode in her face, and she wasn’t emotionally ready to cope with the fallout. But she would be, she promised herself. Perhaps once the app was launched she’d feel more like the confident woman she’d once been. More ready to take another risk.
Ignoring Becky’s question, she waved to the door. ‘Out.’
After giving it another half an hour, Sam checked her reflection, tucked a few wayward strands of hair back into place and walked towards Ryan’s workstation. There he was, eyes fixed on the screen, shoulders hunched forward. ‘Occupational health would go nuts to see you working like that.’
His eyes remained on the screen. ‘Maybe, if you employed an occupational health team.’
‘I’m responsible for your health and safety.’
He glanced up at that, a small smile hovering on his lips. ‘You’re offering to give me a back rub?’
Instantly her hands itched to touch those big, muscled shoulders. ‘Maybe.’
The smile grew wider. ‘I’ve got to finish this first, or the boss will never forgive me.’
She wriggled her fingers. ‘When you do, I think you’ll find the boss in a very grateful mood.’ Pleasure gave his dark eyes a warm glow. Bending closer to him, she whispered. ‘Come over as soon as you’re done.’
Then she walked back towards her desk. Making sure to wriggle her hips.
PART SEVEN
The Conclusion
Chapter 33
Ryan closed the door gently behind him. It was the fifth night in a row he’d snuck out of Sam’s apartment at dawn.
Which meant it was also the fifth night in a row he’d followed her home after work.
They were practically living together.
Of course there was little of the stuff that proper couples living together encountered. They were both working so hard they barely had time to grab a takeaway before falling into bed. Weekends didn’t exist.
Work, sleep, work, pretty much summed it up. It might not sound like much of a life, yet he was the happiest he’d ever been. His mum was out of hospital, off the booze for now, and doing well. His sister was talking to him again, and he got to spend every night in the arms of the most frigging amazing woman he’d ever met.
If only the actual work wasn’t proving to be a monumental pain in the butt.
He worked steadily at his desk all morning, poring through the endless lines of code. The beta version was finished, but bugs remained that needed to be sorted out. Bugs tha
t were making his brain spin.
He jumped when he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to find Sam smiling down at him. ‘Have you forgotten the team meeting?’
He glanced at the time on his screen. Three hours he’d been going at this, and no further forward. ‘Course not.’ With a sigh he leant back and stretched out his back.
‘You need to stop hunching over.’
‘So you said.’ His eyes lingered on hers, and he felt the kick of his heart. ‘Sleep well?’
She scanned around before leaning toward him, her breasts pressing into his back. ‘You know I did.’ All too soon she’d stepped back. ‘Now shift your arse into the meeting room. We’re all waiting for you.’
She strode on ahead of him, those hips swaying in a way that was both sassy and classy. He groaned inwardly. Sassy and classy? What was he, a frigging poet now?
They all stared at him when he walked into the meeting room. ‘What?’
Lucas smirked. ‘Don’t get your panties in a twist. We’re just gratified the great Ryan Black finally decided to turn up.’
‘Now wait a—’
‘Enough.’ Sam’s quietly controlled voice cut him off mid-bluster. ‘The next few weeks are crunch time. We’re all going to be stretched beyond what’s comfortable, so we all need to look out for each other.’ Her gaze bounced from Lucas to him. ‘Which means playing nice.’
‘I’m always nice.’ Lucas sat back in his chair, running a hand through his blond locks, looking like a poster boy for Ralph Lauren.
Before Ryan could respond to that, Sam was talking again. ‘You all know the beta version is out for user testing. Within the next two weeks we need to have the results back, make the modifications and finalise the app so it’s ready for the quality check.’ As a wave of you’ve got to be bloody kidding raced around the room, Sam put up her hand. ‘I know it’s not fair of me to ask, I know it’s too little time, but my analysis shows if we leave it any later, there’s a good chance we’ll lose so much market share we won’t be viable any more.’
The New Guy Page 25
