Ryan turned and opened his car door, hiding his scowl from her as he climbed in. He wouldn't admit it, but the remark kind of stung. Is that all Sydney thought about him? That he was just some male bimbo?
But had he ever given her a reason not to think of him that way? After all, she didn't see him up north. She didn't see the way he reacted to Lucy. And really, he hadn't had a chance to see the way Lucy would react to him now that they were both in Detroit again. Maybe she wouldn't want to have anything to do with him now that they were in the big city again. Maybe he would fall back into his male bimbo ways, leaving Lucy as nothing more than a nice summer memory.
He watched the buildings outside his window, the Detroit architecture flying by on their way back to the apartment building.
The Durant was an old building that fell into disrepair more than a decade ago before a developer, who also happened to be the owner of the Detroit Pirates, came in and rehabbed the whole place. The penthouse was owned by Charlotte Stone, a Manhattan socialite who was currently planning her wedding to Ryan's team captain, Jordan King. Ryan thought he would get in the good graces of his team owner by getting a smaller apartment on a lower floor — right next to Sydney Barton.
It's too bad that it led to him meeting Lucy, and then getting entangled with Lucy, especially when he got entangled in the sheets of her bed a few months ago. This was all still weird for him and he didn't know when it would get any better. Because right now, he was watching Lucy walk into the lobby of his building in that green dress and it was driving him crazy.
But instead of doing what he wanted to do to her, instead of taking her back up to his apartment to add to what they started on Harbor Lake, he simply gave her a hug goodbye. There were moments tonight when he thought she was sending him a signal that she wanted more, that dinner was just the start of their evening. But as the night wore on, he realized those moments were fleeting. He was trying to be impressive and a man, and she just saw him as her best friend's neighbor.
They exchanged pleasant goodbyes and Lucy waved as she headed down to the parking garage below the building while Ryan headed for the elevator with Andy and Sydney. The ride up was more painful than usual. Ryan didn't mind when Sydney and Andy held hands or did some stupid cute thing that they did together. It was fine most nights. But tonight wasn't most nights. Instead, he just smiled and was friendly as he walked down the hall with them on the way to his own place.
"Hey, Ryan," Sydney said. "Thanks again for dinner."
"Yeah, thanks. That was really nice of you."
He shrugged it off and smiled. "It was no problem. You're two of my favorite people and we had to celebrate, right?"
Sydney smiled and gave him a big hug while Andy shook his hand before the couple headed in for the night.
Ryan was sure he could imagine what they would be doing tonight. It was what he wouldn't be doing tonight because unlike Sydney, he didn't bring anyone home with him. Instead, he walked into his empty apartment and flicked on the lamp by the door. Then he dropped himself on his couch, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure exactly how things went wrong tonight, but they went wrong. Maybe it was because there were other people there, or maybe it was because this was Detroit and not a quiet lake. Maybe Lucy realized she made a mistake hooking up with him a few months ago. Maybe he tried too hard to be a mature adult and not the crazy but fun Ryan that he normally was.
Whatever it was, it was over now. He had his answer to a question he hadn't realized he was asking since he left that cabin back in June.
Was Lucy Evans really interested in him? Was it more than a fling? The answer was a definite no.
He finally stood up and started to sulk his way towards his bedroom as he threw off his tie and began to unbutton his shirt. He almost made it to the doorway when he heard a light knock on his door. Ryan sighed, his shoulders slouching as he dragged his way over there.
"What now?" he muttered to himself.
He took a deep breath, trying to stand a bit taller as he plastered a fake smile on for whoever was on the other side of the door.
It was Lucy in her green dress, her blue eyes shining, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders. Her high heeled shoes were dangling off the hook of her index finger.
"Hi," she said quietly. "Can I come in?"
Ryan stood there silently, almost too in shock to answer. Then he nodded slowly and stepped out of the way to let her into his apartment.
