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“Hi there.” Ryan crouched in front of her and gripped her knees. “Not sure if you remember me, but I’m the guy who just asked you to meet my parents.”
“Did you ask? It seemed more li
ke a declarative statement.”
“All right, this is me asking. Denver, will you come with me to meet my parents? I told them about you and they can’t wait to meet you. My little brother Jason too. It’s important to them.” He picked up her hand and toyed with her fingers. “And it’s even more important to me.”
So many things verged on the tip of her tongue. Most of them warnings. She cared about him, so much, and betting on her long term might not be a smart bet. If her past came back to haunt her…
But Ryan’s expression was so genuinely hopeful that she couldn’t trade this moment of happiness for concerns that might never come to fruition. She was simply too selfish. Or maybe stupid.
“I’m not really the woman parents want their son to bring home.” As that spark in Ry’s eyes flickered, she touched a finger to his chin. “I mean, I’ve won every belching contest I’ve ever participated in.”
“Not true. I’ve beaten you at least once.”
“Was it that time you tickled me first? That should count as disarming the competition. Definitely not a fair comparison.”
He reached up to cup her face in his palms, bringing her forehead to his. “I thought you were going to say no.”
“It is my default response to most things.” She sighed. “I don’t try to be difficult, Ry, I swear.”
“You just are. That’s okay. Makes it more of a challenge to break you down.” His quicksilver grin blazed through her as she nudged him back and rose.
“Time to finish getting ready. We’re going to be—”
“We’re right on time. Trust me.” He stood and cupped her shoulders, instantly steadying her.
That was the biggest gift he gave her. For every jolt of awareness and electricity between them, the comfort they shared was equally arousing. He eased her. There was simply no other way to put it.
“Hello, I have been trusting you all over the place. Handcuffs and make-your-own-bondage kits with hundred-dollar pillowcases. I mean, really. And this. Formal wear, Waters.” As his lips twitched, she pulled at the waistline of her shimmery emerald-green, floor-length dress.
As gowns went, it was pretty low-key, but the fact remained that it was one. And she hadn’t worn a dress in a damn long time.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You forgot the heels.”
“I didn’t forget them.” She hiked up the hem of her gown and showed off her black sneakers. “Converse work in all situations, baby.”
“Can’t walk in them?” He made sympathetic noises.
“More like they’re torture devices, so why should I?”
She stopped while she was ahead. Let him think she couldn’t walk in heels. But if she had to parade around like a pretty doll, she wasn’t going to wear footwear that slowed her down. It was probably foolish, but so be it. She wasn’t going to kill years of neuroses built on a very viable fear in a few weeks, no matter how good the sex was.
And it was good. Ridiculously good.
“You look beautiful. If you wanted to go barefoot, it’d work for me.”
“Yeah, yeah, sweet talker.” She reached up to fix his tie. In under a minute flat, she’d done the knot perfectly. “There you go.”
“Miracle worker,” he decided, once he’d checked out her handiwork in the bathroom mirror. Then came the telltale sounds of him digging through his shaving kit, probably for some of that pheromone-laced cologne he splashed on to make her ovaries contract.
“I have one more miracle to accomplish,” she muttered, not even sure he’d heard her.
For a moment, she debated saying the rest. She’d opened the floodgates to him by confessing about part of her past and about Donovan, and she’d seen the questions in Ryan’s eyes about what her uncle had helped her with. Though she hadn’t told Ryan what exactly had precipitated the change, he could probably connect some of the dots.
Whether he even came close to the truth was something else.
She was a coward. As much as she claimed she was trying to keep her distance to protect Ryan—which was also true—she was doing it to protect herself. Telling him about her past and the changes she’d made after she’d fallen for the absolute worst person would be opening herself up to judgment. Just as she’d judged herself time and time again.
