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I take his silence as an opportunity to pull Dahlia closer to the door. “You call me if you need me.”
“I will.” She kisses my nose. “Just remember I’m there with you, always.”
Dahlia
Well, that went well.
Why the hell did I have to get a brother who acts before thinking? I love him, but ugh! We really could have done without that right before Ryder left for the lawyer’s office. He was full of nervous energy, and I’d wanted to try to take some of that away from him, but Reece kind of screwed that idea up.
“You’re a big lump.” I slump into the armchair, and realize I’ve been stomping around on my sore ankle. It doesn’t seem too bad at the moment.
“Oh, that’s great. You’re calling me out? And what about the coffee you suggested?”
“After that pissed off display, you can get your own.”
He opens and closes his mouth, as though he doesn’t know what to say. Either that or he’s decided against his first thought.
Reece sits back and tries to relax, with his ankle resting over his knee. He’s anything but, and his leg twitches as he tries to remain still. I?
?m certainly not willing to prod the tiger anymore.
Starting from when Mara dropped me back at Kix yesterday, and leaving out the lust that ran rampant, I spend twenty minutes or so explaining to Reece about Ryder’s past and what he intends to do about it.
I’m surprised when I’ve finished that Reece stayed quiet, letting me tell the story instead of interrupting me every five minutes like a two year old—par for the course when dealing with Reece.
The silence is driving me nuts though, now that I’ve finished. Reece hasn’t moved from his seat and he’s facing me with a thoughtful expression on his face. I’m not sure whether or not I should be worrying.
Unable to take it anymore, I glare at him. “Well? Please say something?”
“Do you believe him?”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“Of course I believe him. He doesn’t have any reason to lie, and if you think about it, he hasn’t lied in the past.”
Reece raises an eyebrow.
“Okay, he lied by omission. But you have to admit no one actually asked him if he was married. Everyone just presumed he wasn’t. He doesn’t wear a ring and has never lived with her so why would we think of asking?”
“Dal, you’re my sister. It’s my job to protect you. I wasn’t always there to interfere with that bastard, but I’m around now and I need to make sure you’re all right.”
I cringe at the thought of the man who I grew up thinking was my father, only to sigh in relief when I discovered he wasn’t.
“Ryder is nothing like him.” I can’t even say his name. “Ryder, wouldn’t lay a finger on me, as you well know.”
His eyes narrow as he zeros in on me chewing my bottom lip. I do this when I’m nervous and apprehensive.
“If I promise not to blow a gasket, will you talk to me about what is really going on in that head of yours?” Reece sits forward and rests his elbows on his thighs.
I nod.
“Would you consider me the other woman now that you know Ryder’s never had a marriage?”
I thought I’d be good with being close to him, but at the back of my mind, I’m still frightened everyone—mainly his family—will look at me as the scarlet woman. If anything, I trust Reece to tell me as it is. His opinions sometimes vary to everyone else, but I’ll always listen to him.
He sighs. “No matter how you look at it he’s still a married man, Dal. I know it’s in name only, and a lot of folk won’t give a shit about that. Now that I’ve calmed down, the truth is, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” Reece grins. “He always has a goofy look on his face when he’s watching you and he thinks no one else can see him. It’s the same look I have on my face when I do the same with Callie—or so she tells me.” He blushes.
“I’ve seen that look on you.” I laugh. “And Ryder so does not look at me that way . . . does he?”
