Ryan was completely unnerving. The instant he walked into the room, she felt like she wasn’t in control of the situation anymore. And it wasn’t simply his presence, because he had a way of speaking to her that drew her out of herself. Every word he said seemed like a challenge, or a taunt, or a prelude to something just over the horizon.
Leaning back against the handrail in the elevator, she let out a long sigh. The information she just learned washed over her slowly, and she felt tears unexpectedly fill her eyes. Ryan lived with his parents because he was paying their bills. He took on extra work and sacrificed his time so his family could focus on Kelsey.
The elevator doors shifted open, and she hastily brushed at her eyes to make sure no moisture had escaped as she slid her arms into her coat and pulled her car keys out of her pocket. Silently she walked past people milling about in the hospital lobby, keeping her head down in hopes that no one would recognize her. With the way she was feeling, all she wanted was the safety of her car and the isolation it would offer.
Meeting a blast of cold air as the automatic glass door slid open, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and made her way through the middle of the parking lot. The sun must have just set, because although the sky was a murky gray, it wasn’t completely dark yet. Shaking her head to try to erase the jumble of thoughts amassing there, she stopped and hesitated at the end of the sidewalk.
“Harley!”
This is definitely not going to help the jumble.
Turning, she watched as Ryan stepped quickly across the parking lot behind her, wearing a heavy black coat with his hands shoved firmly into his jeans pockets. He didn’t smile as he came near, and she tried to remain guarded as she steeled herself for whatever was to come. When he reached up and shoved his hand through his hair to push it away from his face, though, her mind fogged over and she felt an inexplicable heaviness, as though she had done something terribly wrong simply by stumbling upon his secret.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t have a clue what to say.” Pausing, she forced a breath into her lungs and attempted to slow down. “I’m sorry, Ryan.”
“For something to do with my sister?” He had that look in his eyes again, chilling Harley a bit. “What are you doing here?”
“We met yesterday, and…” she began quietly, allowing her eyes to rest on his for a moment. “Kelsey seemed really remarkable, and I liked her, and I wanted to visit her today. I was feeling a little down. I didn’t mean to push myself onto your family, Ryan. I had no idea.”
“You had no idea,” he repeated almost inaudibly. “Why did you get so uncomfortable when I showed up?”
“Because you make me uncomfortable?” she suggested, glad that he couldn’t see her face tinting red in the impending darkness. “Because I would have never said anything to Kelsey about you and the ambulance had I known. I feel like a complete imbecile!”
“So this is just you being embarrassed?” he attempted to clarify, lifting his eyebrows in question and causing a wrinkle to form across his forehead.
“I’m sorry,” she stammered again, pulling her coat tighter around herself and trying to shut out the cold. He removed his right hand from his pocket and extended it, stepping toward her and brushing a hair away from her face. Focusing on her eyes, he gingerly placed his palm against her side, careful to avoid the place where she’d been wounded. Her breath caught momentarily as he pulled her closer, wrapping the edge of his coat around her back. When he drew the other side of his coat around her, she found herself pressed against his chest. Her forehead touched his cheek, and she inhaled the fresh masculine scent of his body wash.
“I had a feeling you might fit here,” his warm voice informed her. The cadence of his words against her ear almost felt like a caress, and her heart pounded in her chest. “Now will you please tell me what you’re so sorry about, if it doesn’t have anything to do with Kelsey?”
Bringing her hand up to rest near his neck, she allowed her fingertips to settle at the edge of the tattoo above his T-shirt. “Everything. For being selfish and worrying about my own feelings yesterday, when the whole time you were just trying to take care of your family. I misjudged you, didn’t I?”
“No,” he insisted, holding her a bit tighter.
“Yes, I did. You could have easily told me the truth. Why didn’t you?”
“What, so you could feel sorry for me?” Turning slightly, he placed his lips just a hint away from her forehead, close enough that she felt his breath against her skin. “What I said last night—I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, when I compared you to dessert. I was trying to say that life has thrown me all these things that I have to deal with, and responsibilities that I can’t escape, and you’re the beautiful storyline that’s waiting just out of my grasp.” She ran her finger over the neck of his T-shirt, and he let out a heavy sigh. “When I said that I wanted to spend time with you, you’ve got to believe that I meant that. If I was free, I’d be knocking your door down. But I can’t ask you to share my burdens, Harley. It’s not fair.”
Closing her eyes, she lowered her head to his neck and rested against him, feeling the movement of his chest as he breathed.
“Harley?”
“Can I have a minute?” she wondered, a smile playing about her lips. “I’m testing the fit.”
His gentle laugh was enough to tide her over as she hesitated, not wanting to break the moment.
“Have you come down?” he sang quietly, rendering her frozen in the moment. “This angel above where I am now. I’m trying to breathe but forgot how…”
“Wow,” she whispered, pulling back just far enough to look into his eyes. “You really are tone deaf, aren’t you?”
Laughing, he released her from his coat and took both her hands in his, holding her fingers close to his heart.
“Completely honest confession…you’ve captured me, but that doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t drag you into my mess. I have nothing to offer you.”
“Well, it’s too late,” she told him with a quick shake of her head. “I’m already in, and who says I want anything? Did I say that?”
“You deserve the world,” he stated emphatically, squeezing her hands a little tighter. “I hope you get your dreams, Harley.”
“That sounds like a sendoff,” she grumbled, wrinkling her brow. “What is this, exactly?”
“It’s whatever you want it to be,” he assured her, offering a sad smile.
“Well, then,” she stated mischievously, pulling her hands away from his and taking a step back. “Do you know what I want, Ryan?”
“No, tell me.”
“I want a man who wishes he could knock down a few doors for me, even if he’s not free to do so at the moment.” Grinning, she hit the button on her keys to unlock her car and retreated slowly backwards. Pulling open her car door, she waited and stared at him momentarily before sliding into the driver’s seat. He moved towards her, so she closed the door and started the ignition, rolling down her window. Leaning down, he rested his forearms on the door as he bent so they were face to face.
“You pretty much just made my entire century, you know that?” Tapping his fingers against the door, he gave her a huge, bright smile.
“Ryan Temple, my heart aches for you,” she said in a deep, teasing voice. “I mean it, you’re killing me.”
Laughing, he remained rooted in his spot against her car as she shifted into drive. “You might be making fun of me, but I don’t care. Keep it up and I might call you baby when I dial you up tonight.”
“Promise?” She added a grin for good measure. “You’re not going to call me cookie or chocolate fondue?”
“I thought you were partial to cake,” he stated with a slight smirk. “What if I can’t get to dessert, anyway? What if I get stuck on the vegetables?”
“If you can’t get to the dessert, I’ll just have to present myself as green beans or something equally boring.” She revved the BMW’s engine a bit, and he leaned away
from the car. “Thanks for the song, and you were right.”
“About what?” he asked as he stepped back.
“The fit,” she stated, daring to stare him in the eye. “It was pretty sweet.”
C hapter Fourteen
Denton sat across from Harley’s desk, staring at her over her computer with his polished news anchor look, trying to talk her into…something. So far, he had been rather vague and hadn’t given her anything other than some lofty expectations about the future. More of the same old, same old. She wanted to believe his sentiment, but after a moment, her brain mentally replaced his words with blah, blah, blah.
“The truth is, I’m ready to share the desk with you. Between you and me, Summer is dragging me down.”
Harley tried her hardest not to give Denton a wary glare, but it was proving nearly impossible.
“You and Summer seemed to be having a marvelous conversation this morning in your office, so how is she dragging you down exactly?”
“I like Summer, don’t get me wrong,” he continued quietly, placing an elbow on her desk. “The problem is, it’s like trying to have a playful conversation with my mother. You and me, Harley, we have flirty banter. We sizzle. Imagine if the newscast sizzled.”
“I’m not a strip of bacon, and I’m not exactly sure I want to sizzle.”
“You’re something else when you get on a roll, Harley—a fantastic actress. Just imagine the type of drama we could bring. You’re already crying with the less fortunate, getting yourself blown to bits trying to get the story… If you and I were at the desk together, we have enough zing that people would always be wondering.”
“Wondering what, exactly?” she questioned him, narrowing her eyes.
“Are they? Aren’t they? People would talk, and talk is good.”
Shaking her head, Harley fought the urge to reach out and slug him in the shoulder. She wanted people to marvel at her grasp of the political climate or the fact that she uncovered a scandal, not gossip about whether or not she and Denton were an item.
“I can’t imagine being less interested in what you’re saying,” she finally said, glancing down at her computer to view the time.
“Then I’m not explaining it well enough,” he insisted, rising from his chair and moving around to where she sat, leaning his backside against her desk. “Dinner tonight, eight o’clock. I’m thinking quiet, intimate. We can discuss everything in great detail.”
“As tempting as that is, Denton, I have plans.”
“Don’t tell me Kip’s back in the picture,” he muttered, ducking his head and giving her a questioning stare.
“No, I have family plans. Even if I didn’t, though, I’m not certain that fraternizing with a coworker is a great idea.”
“Who said anything about fraternizing?” he countered, crossing his arms against his chest.
“Do you have no basic understanding of the word fraternizing?” Reaching under her desk to turn off her computer, she shook her head. “Socializing, hobnobbing, mingling—”
“I don’t need a walking dictionary. Where are you going?”
“It’s Wednesday,” she stated succinctly, retrieving her purse and attempting to rise from her chair, while Denton partially blocked her escape. “I have a previous engagement.”
“Where do you sneak off to on Wednesdays? You need to figure out another plan, if you’re going to be at the desk with me.”
“If and when that happens, I will,” she agreed, waiting for him to move. When he realized she wasn’t changing her mind, he moved a couple inches and she brushed past him.
“You want me to call you tonight?” he tried one more time. Walking away, she shook her head and tried not to laugh at his persistence.
“No, Denton. I have plans, remember? See you tomorrow.”
The back door of The Revolving Closet opened slowly, and a sheet of purple tresses poked into the opening. Harley simply stared at her friend without saying a word, stunned into silence.
“Cat got your tongue?” Annie wanted to know, shoving the lavender hair behind her shoulder.
“Your hair is a lot longer than I thought,” Harley stammered, shifting her purse to the other shoulder. “And it’s purple.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Annie grunted, shoving the door open further. “Human Barbie came in two days ago, so you’re in luck.”
“I don’t know,” Harley muttered, glancing at the beautiful clothes Annie had on the counter. A pair of Valentino heels with lace trim on the side sat on the end, and Harley mentally sighed as she stared at them. “It feels a little callous to be decking myself out and spending money on frivolities when there are people suffering.”
Stepping forward, Annie placed a cool hand against Harley’s forehead. “Girl, are you ill? Is it an infection from the stab wound? Should I take you back to the hospital?”
“Oh, be serious,” she said with a slight laugh, shaking her head and pulling Annie’s hand away from her skin.
“I am serious. You don’t sound like yourself. What gives?”
Dropping her purse on the counter, Harley ignored the clothes and placed an elbow by the Valentinos as she leaned against the wood trim.
“You remember Kelsey, the girl I was visiting at the hospital the day you picked me up?”
“Sure. Blonde, sweet, kind of pale.”
“She needs a liver transplant.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, and she’s Ryan’s sister.”
“Your Ryan? The drumming fry cook EMT with the weird hair and body art?”
“First of all, he’s not my anything,” Harley protested a bit sheepishly. “Secondly, I can’t believe you just described someone as having weird hair, when you look as though you’ve fallen into a vat of grape juice.”
“Touché,” Annie retorted, twisting her mouth to the side. “So you feel bad about being frivolous while Kelsey’s in the hospital, is what you’re saying?”
“Partly, but more than that,” she admitted heavily. “The reason Ryan lives with his parents and doesn’t have a car is because he pays all their bills. What kind of person would I be if I listened to him tell me how hard he works every single night and then went out and spent all my disposable income on shoes? It feels a bit crass.”
“Every night?” Annie prodded, and Harley grinned.
“Uh-huh, he’s called me every night since he got my number.”
“Oh.” Annie crossed to the counter and began folding the clothes, since Harley didn’t seem interested. “So you’re still talking to him? I guess I sort of thought you’d…you know…get it out of your system or something.”
“Why would you say that?” Harley picked up a black sweater and held it aloft for a couple seconds before placing it back on the counter.
“I guess I’m just in the ‘Harley and Denton’ camp.”
That remark felt so off, Harley placed her arms across her chest. “You want me to be with Denton?”
“Not want to, really, I just expect it. You two have sparks between you.”
“No, we don’t. It’s an act.” Blowing out a long breath, Harley glanced at the ceiling. “Maybe Denton’s right—maybe I am just a great actress. Ugh.”
“Forget that,” Annie told her, poking Harley in the shoulder. “Tell me about Ryan. He calls you every night?”
“Yeah. I can’t figure him out, Annie. He makes me excited and nervous at the same time. I know it sounds crazy, but for the entire duration of our phone conversations, my heart is practically pounding out of my chest.”
“What is it about him? ‘Cause I got to tell you, girl, he’s not the best looking guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m not dissing him,” Annie quickly countered. “He just doesn’t seem like a Harley match, that’s all. He’s ordinary.”
Sliding down the side of the counter, Harley lowered herself all the way to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest. Annie walked around the counter and plopped onto th
e floor as well, facing her friend.
“Last night, we were talking about him paying his parents’ bills, which he doesn’t like to bring up. But of course I did, because I’m a pain in the rear. I told him I didn’t know many people…anyone really…who would do that, and he brushed it off. I might want to be important and make a difference in the world, but he’s already doing that. He’s changing the world from his little corner, and you know what he told me?”
“What did he tell you?” Annie asked quietly.
“He told me he’s not trying to change the world, he’s just not allowing the world to change him.”
Grabbing a fistful of her purple hair, Annie began braiding it absently.
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Pretty cool?” Harley repeated, leaning her head against the cabinetry. “In a world where basically everyone is concerned about themselves—and I’m definitely including me in that stat, just so we’re clear…”
“He’s different,” Annie completed Harley’s sentence.
“No,” she protested, staring at the wall as she considered her words. “It’s not him, Annie. He makes me want to be a better version of myself. When he talks to me, I feel challenged to be something more than I am. Does that make sense?”
“Sure. In that case, then, I can totally understand why you’re dating him.”
“We’re not dating,” Harley said. Annie gave her a sideways glance, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “He doesn’t have the time or the funds to date, so we’re just—”
“Talking on the phone.”
“It’s stupid, I know. I feel like a twelve-year-old.”
“Not stupid, necessarily, just old-fashioned.”
“Well, even though it might sound a bit silly, it’s enough for me right now. And I’m sorry that I can’t buy any shoes today. Really sorry, because those Valentinos are gorgeous. I should have told you not to stay here and wait for me.”
Crowned (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 2) Page 14
