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I straighten and stare back at him, partly thrown off guard even though I kind of expected this visit. I’m also guessing he’ll tell me he won’t be there on my big day.
“Hi, the receptionist said you were still up here.” His shoulders hunch forward, dipped with defeat. “I hope it’s okay that I came up. I wasn’t sure you’d speak to me if you knew I was here. I wanted to apologize for the other night.”
I consider him. His presence and his words. Then I decide to cut him some slack since he’s here to apologize.
“I would never send you away.”
Ryan comes forward and looks at me closely. When he reaches the desk he sits in the chair opposite and rests his hands in his lap.
“I’m sorry, Luna.” His deep voice is reflective and full of sorrow. “I shouldn’t have lied about us like that. And I shouldn’t have picked a fight with Hunter.”
My brows knit when I recall how horrible the fight was. “Why did you do it, Ryan? We’d just had such a great moment.”
“It was because of that moment that I fought. That was the moment I realized I loved you.”
My heart rises into my throat and sits there. How many years have I wished for him to say those words to me? Countless.
I dreamed it every night for as long as I can remember. Now that I’m hearing him tell me he loves me, it doesn’t have the same effect I thought it would.
Ryan searches my eyes and looks disappointed. I know it’s because there’s nothing to find.
“You’re different, aren’t you?” He continues looking me over and I wonder if he knows that I’m not a virgin anymore. I think he does.
“Yes. I am.”
“You like him.” It’s not a question. It’s more of an observation. “I can tell.”
I’ve never lied to him, so I won’t start now. “Yes.”
His jaw clenches and he glances away for a moment. When he looks back at me, it’s with a dullness in his eyes. “I think I knew from that first day at your dad’s office. I knew then.”
How? I couldn’t stand Hunter then but maybe Ryan could see something I couldn’t.
“I’m also guessing we’ve reached the end of the road. No matter what I do.”
This is the moment to be brave, come clean, and have that long-awaited conversation we need to have.
“I want to be with someone who will always choose me. Someone who doesn’t need time to know they love me. I want to be with someone who will love me for who I am and not have to sample the world of women before they see me.”
My words might be harsh to hear but they express how I truly feel and eliminate him. They also reveal another truth: that the man I imagined myself with was never Ryan.
“You deserve all of those things.”
“I think so.” A soft breath falls from my lips.
“Is Hunter that for you?”
The question is an obvious one but I don’t have a solid answer.
“He comes close. As to whether he will be or not, I don’t know. But we’re getting married in a few days so I have to make it work.”
Ryan’s jaw tenses and I can tell he doesn’t like my answer. At the same time, he won’t fight me on it.
“Be careful, Luna. Don’t fall for men like Hunter Le Blanche. I might have been the idiot who never seized my chance with you when I had it, but men like him hurt girls like you. Remember it’s a business marriage.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
He drags in a deep breath and gives me a clipped nod. “My parents will be at the wedding but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to attend. Your father asked me to bow out. I was already going to do so.”
