Page 83 of All I Feel

I twisted my neck and looked to the side.

It was him.

Seemingly ignorant to the sneer I was sending his way,Ryan approached the table. “Tessa, babe, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Somehow, you keep popping up everywhere I am,” I seethed.

When he came to a stop beside the table, I noticed two scratches running along the side of his face. He looked like he’d gotten into a battle with a cat. Ryan noticed me looking and said, “I got these because of you.”

Disbelief washed over me. “Excuse me?”

“I keep telling my ex that she and I are over,” he revealed. “I told her I’m madly in love with you. That she and I will never be together again, but she’s not happy about it. She won’t accept it.”

“Sounds like you two belong together.”

“Tessa, I’m serious.”

“I am, too.”

Harper cut in. “I think you should leave, Ryan.”

He shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. That guy finally isn’t around. We need to talk, Tessa.”

“Stop. I’m not talking to you. Not now. Not ever. We’re done. It’s over. And no matter how many times you do things to try to scare me into coming back to you, it’s never going to happen.”

“Scare you? Tessa, babe, let’s just talk. Give me five minutes, and?—”

“No!” I let out a growl. “No. No. No. The answer, in case you missed it, is no. We’re not talking about anything. I’ve moved on. And if you don’t stop following me around town, I’m going to take out a restraining order. Imagine what that’ll do to your career.”

“That’s just it. I don’t care about any of that. Only you.”

Savanna said, “Maybe you should’ve thought about how important she was before you decided that hooking up with your ex was a wise idea.”

Ryan ignored her and reached for me. He curled his fingers around my arm and tugged.

“Let me go, Ryan.”

“Tessa, please,” he pleaded, still yanking on my arm. “I’m begging you to give me just five minutes.”

“Remove your hand from her immediately,” a deep voice ordered.

My eyes slid to the side, where I found Savanna’s cousin, Kash Cunningham, standing and staring down Ryan. Evidently, Ace hadn’t messed around when it came to investigating Ryan. Immediately, Ryan’s grip loosened, and he released me. “Who are you?”

“I’m going to be your worst nightmare if you don’t walk away right now.”

I was vaguely aware of my phone ringing, but I couldn’t look away from what was happening in front of me.

Kash towered over Ryan. He could’ve wiped the floor with him if Ryan was stupid enough to challenge him.

Ryan dared to look at me, his lip curling with disgust. “I’m going to get you alone one of these days, Tessa. Wearegoing to talk.”

My phone stopped ringing.

Kash removed any remaining distance between himself and Ryan. It was a power move, and it was smart. Kash was an intimidating man as it was. But with the fury blazing from him, even I was a bit nervous. “The only thing you’re doing is walking away.”

My phone started ringing again. This time, Kash lookedat me. “That’s Ace, darling. You better answer before he loses his mind.”

I didn’t hesitate to pull out my phone. “Hello?”