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Chapter Twenty-Six
Sophie stared up at her ceiling when her doorbell rang. God, she hoped it wasn’t Maddie. She couldn’t take one more second of gentle inspiration. All she wanted was to be left alone.
It rang again.
She contemplated ignoring her, but since her friend knew she was home she had no choice but to answer. Maddie wasn’t the type to be dissuaded. With a sigh she rolled off the couch and walked like a zombie to the door, flinging it open.
She froze, mouth falling open. It wasn’t Maddie.
It was Ryder.
She blinked, wondering if he was a mirage she’d conjured because of all her obsessive thinking about him. But when she opened her eyes, he was still there. Dressed in the same clothes from this afternoon, hat still pulled low, he held a fast food bag in one hand, a large drink in the other.
She shook her head. “Ryder.”
His gaze flickered over her. “Let me in.”
It wasn’t a request and she blinked again. “What?”
He pushed past her and she stood there as he walked toward the kitchen. When he returned he was empty-handed. He came over, took her hand, and pulled her with him back to where he’d come from.
Startled, she frowned, but his fingers clasped tight on hers, so familiar and strong, she didn’t protest.
When he got to the table, he pointed to a chair. “Sit.”
She did, managing to squeak out, “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer, just moved around her kitchen, gathering a plate, napkins, and ketchup from the fridge before he returned. He opened the bag, pulling out a hamburger and french fries and placing them in front of her. He grabbed the drink and set it next to the pile of food.
She looked through the plastic top to see it was a strawberry shake. Her favorite.
He sat down on the chair opposite her and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving until you’ve eaten every last bite.”
It was so like him, so incredibly him. It was everything she missed about him. Loved about him. Needed about him.
Her throat went tight and her eyes welled.
He frowned, pulling his hat lower. “You need to eat, Soph. Do this one thing for me.”
She shook her head, her throat so constricted there was no way she could swallow. “I can’t.”
“You can and you will.”
She didn’t know what to do.
Having him there in her kitchen, despite her misery, made her feel the best she had in weeks. Everything about him sitting across from her felt right. All her emotions bubbled inside her. She forced them back down, trying to contain them, but ended up taking a gasping sob.
“Fuck.” The word was half moan, half growl. He grabbed her and lifted her straight off the chair and into his lap before wrapping his arms around her. He tucked her close, kissed her temple, and whispered, “Let it all out, darlin’.”
And she did. She curled her arms around his neck, tucked her face into the curve of his shoulder and cried. Big, hot tears that streamed down her face and fell onto his skin as he held her tight.
This, right here, was why she loved him.
She had no idea how long they stayed like that, her weeping in his lap, but they didn’t speak. He didn’t try and talk her out of her breakdown or show any impatience with her. He just sat there and held her until she finally calmed and fell silent.
At long last, he stroked her hair. “Better?”
She nodded against him, clutching him tighter, not wanting to let him go.
