Page 24 of Finding Love

His eyebrows shot up and then he slowly smiled as he nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. Willy had woken when he’d heard her voice and was now begging her for attention.

Succumbing to the love of the dog, she sat down and gave the dog her attention for a moment until he lost interest.

“Well?” she asked Ryder when her attention snapped back to him.

“I put an offer on the place, yes. I hadn’t intended to, but after hearing the price and seeing it…”

“You saw it? You went up there?” She tried to control the pitch of her voice, but still, it raised high enough that several people looked in their direction.

“Yeah. Ellen gave me the gate code and the one to the door. We could drive up there. After we eat?” He motioned to his pizza.

All her anger was instantly deflated. Maybe she’d gotten so angry because she’d been hungry? She did skip lunch thanks to the nerves about seeing him after work.

Taking a slice of pie, she tried to relax back in the booth. When Corey walked over and set a Coke in front of her, she smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

“Everything okay?” Corey asked, looking between the two of them.

“Yes.” She sighed. “Just… hangry.” She waved her half-eaten slice. Corey nodded and left.

“I had no intention of purchasing the place,” he said. “Really. But the price and that view…” He shook his head.

“Yeah, it is great.” She nodded and took another bite.

“You said you’ve never seen the inside?” he asked.

“Nope. I’ve only snuck on the property a few times and looked in some windows,” she admitted. “What made you decide to put an offer on the place? Besides the price and the view?”

He glanced out the windows and for a moment, sat in silence, thinking. Then he turned to her.

“My entire life, I haven’t felt like I belonged anywhere or was part of anything. I really didn’t have a family. My old man was more of a boss than a father figure.” He glanced out the windows again. “In the couple days I’ve been here, people have treated me like I belonged. When I walked into a store, they called me by my name and, more importantly, didn’t act as if they could get something from knowing me.”

She frowned at this. “What kind of people did you hang out with before?”

He smiled. “Not the good kind. Not that I knew it then, but…” He sighed and took another sip of his tea. “No, it took a year of living in a van and hiding from reality for me to realize that.”

“Pride is… different. Everyone here is…”

“Friendly,” he finished for her, and she nodded.

“We’re family, even if we aren’t,” she explained.

“Exactly.” He leaned back, and they both glanced outside as the rain started. “I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you by making an offer on the property. If you want, I could…”

“Don’t you dare.” She leaned forward. “Don’t tell me you won’t purchase the place, if you really love it, just because of my little…” She waved her hands and rolled her eyes. “Rant,” she finally finished. “I was just hangry and, well, hurt that I couldn’t purchase the place for myself.”

He smiled and tilted his head. “I noticed you didn’t ask me how I could afford it?”

She shrugged and felt her face heat. “Thanks to Ellen, I realized who you were. I’m sort of embarrassed that I didn’t piece it together sooner.”

His smile grew. “I’m thankful you didn’t. I wanted to get to know the real you before you knew who I was. Not that I think you’re the kind of person who would change after, but…”

She could see he was growing flustered, so she reached over and took his hand in hers.

“Ryder, it’s okay. I understand. I’m not shallow. I’m not out for anything. I quite literally have everything I could ever want.” Her smile grew. “Except my dream home, but maybe you’ll allow me to visit it to get my fix?”

He chuckled. “Anytime. Starting now. If you’re done?”

“I am.” She dusted off her hands and took a last sip of her drink. She picked up Willy and carried the sleepy dog outside. They rushed through the rain to his van.