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Her eyes watered as she pulled me close. “Okay. But just today. And don’t be surprised if I say that tomorrow.”CHAPTER THIRTEEN* * *EDENI was working the lunch-hour rush at Ellerby’s when Camille came up behind me in the kitchen. “Eden?”
“Yeah?”
“Pretty much the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life is at the corner table requesting you. He has Paul Newman eyes. You know him?”
I smiled. Ryder is here?
“Yeah. I know him. That’s the man who’s gonna break my heart.”
Excitement filled her eyes. “You’d better spill later.”
After I dropped off a couple of plates at another table, I looked to the corner to find Ryder staring at his laptop. When he spotted me, a huge smile spread across his face.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“There are so many ways I could answer that question…” He stood up from the table.
“What are you in the mood for?” I asked.
“Again, so many ways I could answer that.” He beamed and pointed to his cheek. “How about some sugar?”
I gave him a quick peck and asked, “What are the plans tonight?”
“I want to take you guys somewhere after Ollie gets out of school. I can come with you to get him, and we can go out straight from there, unless you have to take him home for any reason.”
“That would be great. Where are we going?”
“It’s a secret.” He winked. “I want to take you guys out pretty much every day I’m here, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. Although, I was thinking that on your last night I’d like to make you dinner at the house—to pay you back for cooking for us. Have you decided when you’re leaving yet?”
Ryder frowned. “My father set up a meeting he says he really needs me to attend on Monday morning. So I’d like to stay until Sunday and take the latest possible flight back.” He took one look at my face and caressed my cheek. “I’ll be back, Eden. Don’t worry.”
He’d read my mind.
I nodded. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe he’d be back. I just didn’t understand how we were going to work long-term. My brother was a lifelong responsibility. Our lives were not conducive to the jet-setting lifestyle Ryder lived. He needed to see the big picture. Maybe he didn’t want to think about that right now, but it’s something I couldn’t ignore.
He sat back down in the booth. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m just gonna hang out here until your shift is over, get some work done.”
“That’s three more hours. Won’t you be bored?”
“There’s wireless here. Plus, I get to look at you. I don’t get bored looking at you. Just the opposite—quite excited, actually.”
Feeling my cheeks heating up, I shook my head. “What am I gonna do with you?”
He smirked. “Again, so many ways I could answer that question.”***We picked Ollie up after school, and as we drove, Ryder refused to tell us where we were going. It made me wonder what he had up his sleeve, especially since he didn’t know the area.
When we pulled up to the trampoline place, I didn’t understand, because I’d specifically told Ollie in front of Ryder that we couldn’t come here.
He whispered in my ear, “Before you get upset at me, I arranged for him to have his own space so he can’t get hurt.”
Squinting in confusion, I said, “His own space?”
“Technically I rented out the entire place for us.”
My eyes widened. “What? How did you manage that?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Ryder must have spent a fortune on this. I knew he was wealthy, but I didn’t want him spending that kind of money on us.
“Where are we?” Ollie finally asked.
I blew out a breath, deciding to concede. Ollie was going to flip out. “Bounce,” I said.
He squealed. “No way!”
Ryder turned around. “You said you wanted to come here, right?”
“Yeah, but I thought Eden said no.”
“Well, I rented out the place, so you won’t have to worry about anyone bumping into you.”
“How?” he asked.
Ollie had no concept of what it was like to have money. We always had to save for nice things.
“I pulled a few strings.”
When we entered, at least five people wearing the same neon orange shirts were lined up in a row, as if they were expecting us.
“Hello, Mr. McNamara,” one of them said.
Ryder nodded. “Hey.”
“The party room is set up for you. And you’ll have access to any of the trampolines on either level. The whole place is yours. We just need an adult to sign a waiver for him. We also have these non-slip socks for everyone.”
Ryder handed me the form to fill out. “Eden?”
Ollie was understandably confused. “Party room? It’s not my birthday.”
“The only way to rent out this place is for birthday parties,” Ryder explained. “So, I just asked them to give us all the party stuff, too. We get pizza and cake for twenty people. If I had more time, I would’ve had you invite your friends, but I wanted to surprise you, and I also remembered that it’s safer for you if no one else is around, so no one can knock into you. When’s your birthday anyway?”
