He smiles, small at first, the dimple in his cheek deepening as it grows. “Let me rephrase. I thinkwecould use some air.” He ducks his head slightly, the teasing twinkle back in his eyes for the first time since he showed up at the door. “You up for a walk?”
Relief seeps through me like melted honey. “A walk?”
“Yeah, you know, on the beach that’s just outside this door? The sunset is especially hideous tonight,” he says, rolling his eyes in exaggerated disgust, and I’ve never been more grateful for his ability to read my moods and laugh me out of my own head.
I nod and start to move for the door, but he stops me, lacing his fingers through mine and pulling me closer—close enough that I think he’s going to kiss me—but he stops just shy of my lips and stares straight into my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Scarlett.”
My heart jolts, and it’s like all the noise and chaos inside me just…stops. It happens in a split second—the unrest that’s been churning inside me calms and quiets, like a storm-tossed sea going suddenly still.
“You needed to hear that,” he surmises, his features softening with sudden clarity.
His eyes search mine for a moment before he takes my hand, placing it flat on his chest and holding it there. I can feel the steady thump of his heart through the fabric of his shirt. “I, Ryder Andrew Perry, pledge to never walk out on you again, for any reason, no matter what life throws at us or how big a fight we have.”
“You promise?” I whisper, my voice small and unsteady. I’m afraid to believe it.
“I swear on your toe thumbs.”
My voice cracks in a tearful laugh, and I throw my arms around his neck. “I pledge the same,” I murmur into his ear. I feel his body tense, then slacken, and when his arms tighten around me, I know he needed to hear it just as much as I did. “And I’ll never keep anything from you again. You’ll know my every thought before I’ve even had it. I’ll overshare so much you’ll beg me to stop.”
“Good news, Red,” he says around a chuckle, brushing a kiss to my temple. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
22
Now
Before setting outon our walk, we decide we should check in with Jase and let him know we’re not coming. I nestle against Ryder as he puts the call on speaker, his fingers idly tracing the waistband of my shorts beneath my sweatshirt.
“What do you mean, you fainted?” Jase says once we’ve filled him in, alarm in his voice. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I reassure him.I’m more than fine—I’m up close and personal with Ryder’s collarbone. I drop a soft kiss to the hollow of his throat because I can’t help myself. “Sorry to leave you hanging tonight. Do you mind going it alone?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll streak the stage or something, they won’t even notice you guys are gone.” I snicker while Ryder sighs and shakes his head. “And by the way, you didn’t need to come up with some bogus story to throw me off. I obviously know what you two are really up to.”
That stops my snuggling in its tracks. “I—what?” I stammer, my flailing only making us sound guiltier. “That’s not—”
“Oh please, I’m thrilled for you guys. I’ve never been so excited to be a third wheel again.”
I look up at Ryder with wide eyes, finally noticing his smirk, and realization dawns. “You alreadytoldhim?” I exclaim, and he shrugs, entirely unbothered. “You two are worse than a couple of teenage girls.”
“Guilty as charged,” Jase quips.
“Hey, speaking of teenage girls—Kendall requested that I pinch your butt,” I tell Jase as Ryder snorts. “I declined.”
“You tell Kendall she should come and put her money where her mouth is,” Jason taunts, and I make a gagging noise. “Next time we’ll have to figure out how to win backbothEverhart sisters.”
It takes a second to sink in. “Wait a minute.” I narrow my eyes and snatch the phone out of Ryder’s hand. “Jase, were you in on this the whole time?”
“What did you think, I was just going to stand back and watch the two of you screw this up foranotherten years? A man can only take so much moping.”
I gape at Ryder, but he just grins, unrepentant. I cannot believe these two.The collusion!“How did I not see this?” I wonder aloud. I’m a stupid woman.
“She’s costarred in four movies with me and she’s still surprised I can act,” Jase says dryly, and Ryder huffs a laugh, tucking me back against his side. “Hey, one last question before I go do all three of our jobs.”
“What’s that?” I absently run my fingers along the seam of Ryder’s shirt, and when I glance up at him, he’s smiling at me, a softness in his eyes.I can’t stop touching him.I have a decade of Ryder withdrawal to make up for.
“When’s the wedding?”
I stab theEnd Callbutton, hanging up on him.
