Page 187 of No Headlines Please

He nodded. "Right."

"People are already presuming."

"And how long before you presume?"

It felt like an interrogation, and I wasn't in the mood. "Just what are you getting at?"

"I'm just saying, it's already going on two weeks."

"Yeah, so?"

"So eventually, you'll have to admit you were wrong."

I took a slow sip of my coffee. "Unless I'm not."

"Unless that," he agreed, setting down his cup. "But let me ask you something. If you had a daughter, and she was seeing a guy with your kind of history, how would you react?"

What the hell? "My kind of history?"

Ryder started ticking off on his fingers. "Bad reputation, jilted bride, a heart made of stone…you get the picture."

I knew the answer. I wouldn't like it. "Except Tessa's not Delaney's dad."

"Yeah, but she's Delaney's big sister, and just between us, she feels guilty as hell."

That made me pause. "For what?"

"The way it sounds, their mom was pretty rough on Delaney."

I tensed. "You don't mean—"

"I don't mean Delaney was abused – not physically. But the way it sounds, the mom could be pretty harsh." His expression turned serious. "To Delaney. Not Tessa."

From my few glimpses at the mom's social media, I got what Ryder meant. Tessa could do no wrong. And Delaney could do no right.

Not looking to insult his future mother-in-law, I kept my thoughts to myself.

Ryder went on. "And now Tessa's thinking she should've done more to protect her little sister. My guess? She's overcompensating." He gave me a wry smile. "Trust me, if you were anyone else, you'd be half in love with her already."

That word – love – hit me harder than it should've, but not with the sister he meant. Sure, Tessa was gorgeous. Anyone could see that. But in my eyes, she didn't come close to Delaney.

Ryder watched me for another beat before saying, "Look, I know Tessa's acting a little intense—"

"Just a little?"

"Oh, fuck off," he said without any real heat. "I just mean, you haven't met the real Tessa. Trust me, you'd love her."

There was that word again. Love. My jaw clenched, but I said nothing.

Ryder kept going. "And she'll love you, too, once she gets to know you." He flashed me a sudden grin. "That's why I invited you…so she could see you're not the monster in the news."

My thoughts strayed to Delaney's T-shirt, the one I'd glimpsed as she'd bolted from my bedroom. Monsters Need Love, too. I smiled at the memory, even as I said, "Yeah? And how's that going?"

For a long moment, Ryder didn't reply. Anyone could see this wasn't going terrific – and not only when we'd first arrived. Just this morning, before heading out with Delaney, Tessa had given me a look that could've curdled milk.

Finally, Ryder laughed. "Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who showed up with her sister."

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