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“I showed up, thought she was Candy. She’s not. Now she’s at Penny’s slinging drinks.”
“And you get to see her every day.”
“No,” Ryder said quickly. In fact, his plan was to avoid her for the rest of the summer.
Then why the hell had he said he’d see her later?
Shit, the woman had him thinking in circles.
“Uh-huh,” Huck said with a smile, then took another bite of his burger. “You know, sometimes games can be fun. Isn’t that what you once told me?”
God, Ryder was regretting that. Not his buddy’s happiness, but that he’d ever said jack shit about romance. Because this wasn’t romance, this was a one-nighter, and it was done. So done that he was stealing glimpses at the clock and praying for five to roll around so he could go back to Penny’s and have a chat with the mouthy waitress that had called him out and roused the beast he kept locked up.
“I’m not interested in any game,” Ryder said. “She knows I’m a Diamond now. You should have seen her face when she realized that fun fact.”
“She offer up marriage or something?” Huck teased.
“No, she looked…” Ryder frowned. Whitney had actually looked annoyed. When she figured out that he was a Diamond, her eyes hadn’t sparkled with a plan. She hadn’t even attempted to talk about seeing him again. It was like the realization of who he was turned her off more than on. “She looked like it didn’t matter,” Ryder finally muttered.
“That’s a good thing,” Huck said.
Yeah, it could be. Only it didn’t change that he actually was a Diamond. And with that came a lot of baggage. Not to mention, the more serious problem…
“She irritates me,” Ryder said, then went back to laying spackle on the wall.
Huck laughed. “Oh really? So you’re pissy because a woman doesn’t put up with your nice manners bullshit and pushes you to…what?”
“To lose control,” Ryder snapped. “I’ve been down this road with this kind of woman before.”
“Man, you’ve got to get over that.”
Ryder shook his head. The woman he’d eloped with had taken a settlement but could have taken a lot more. She’d tied his family up in court and attempted to bleed them dry before they’d finally reached a number big enough to get her to walk away. All because he’d gotten caught up with a woman that made him feel free.
Free.
The single word Whitney had used to describe herself last night.
No. Ryder had learned that control was key to everything. Giving in to his impulses would have consequences, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. He’d slipped up last night. Sampled a temptation he shouldn’t have. Now he needed to get a goddamn grip.
When he was out of control, he was a slave to his instincts and things fell apart. He didn’t know who he was if not Ryder Diamond. And one night with Whitney had him reeling. Because for a perfect fucking second, when he’d been in the dark and surrounded by her, he’d been just a man.
“She really got to you, didn’t she?” Huck said with amazement.
“She didn’t get to me. We had a good time. That’s it.”
“Yeah, I know how that goes. You’ve met my fiancé, right?”
Ryder had to roll his eyes. Huck had once upon a time thought one night was enough. Turned out, he’d found his match in the right woman, and that one night had turned into forever. That was fine. For Huck.
But that wasn’t what was happening with Ryder. Whitney wasn’t Miss Right. She was Miss Right Now. He wasn’t ashamed of her, not by any means. Hell, any man would be lucky to have her on his arm. But she represented everything he knew to stay away from. She threatened his control—the one thing he clung tightly to.
They weren’t at the lodge anymore, and he couldn’t pretend he was just Ryder. He was Ryder Diamond. It wasn’t just good manners, it was who he was. Who he was brought up to be. Throwing caution to the wind wasn’t something he did.
But you did with her…
Which was why he needed to fix this.
/> “So your one-night stand’s sticking around for the whole summer?” Huck asked.
