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But now that he was standing there in the light of day—or evening—far enough away from her that her honey scent wasn’t scrambling his thoughts, he couldn’t deny he needed more information than she’d given him so far.
Love and lust and a whole host of emotions he couldn’t even begin to sort out had pushed him into that jewelry shop, but actually having the ring in his pocket was a reminder that he couldn’t just go with the flow. Not when this was the woman he wanted to marry and build a life with. Definitely not when he wasn’t entirely sure her past wouldn’t come back to bite them.
How could he be? She hadn’t told him the extent of what she’d faced.
Last night, he’d figured baby steps. They’d come a long way, and she’d finally started opening up to him. But if she could still be in danger, even if the chance was remote…
He couldn’t live his life that way, wondering if some asshole out there would come back to haunt them. She was his world. His center. He couldn’t risk her, even if that made her angry at him for rushing things.
She wasn’t alone anymore. He refused to let her deal with things that way.
First, he had to figure out where she was.
Maybe she’d needed a few minutes to sort out her thoughts before she called Donovan. It was a big step for her to make.
But even after Ryan joined his friends at the table, he couldn’t stop checking the time on his phone. Over and over. Until he’d practically worn a hole in his screen from swiping.
And Donovan was still quietly speaking to Lila. His phone was nowhere in sight.
So maybe she’d called her uncle before Ryan had arrived, and it had been a quick call. Neither Denver nor Donovan were ones to belabor a point. But Donovan hadn’t so much as glanced Ryan’s way. Granted, Donovan was an inscrutable sort at the best of times, but Ryan was the guy his niece was in love with—maybe. At least serious like.
Fuck it, she’d better love him. She had to. He couldn’t feel the way he did about her and be in this thing alone.
“You’re focused in the wrong direction, son.” Michael leaned closer to Ryan, and it was only then that Ryan noticed Chloe, Michael’s wife, on his other side. “You’re supposed to be watching the stage.”
“Nothing’s happening yet.”
“The show’s about to start.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” Ryan muttered, leaning around Michael to tap Chloe’s wrist. “Hey you. Great to see you. This one didn’t manage to tell me you’d be here.”
Chloe grinned. “Yes, family vacation. Well, a short one. We had to be he
re to support Michael.” She gripped Michael’s biceps and somehow her grin grew even wider. “We just know he’s going to win tonight. I mean, all of you are going to win.”
“Yes, he might share the award with us. He’s a magnanimous guy.”
Michael shook his head, smiling. “Asshole.”
“Family vacation? Does that mean the rug rats are here running around somewhere?”
“They’re up in the hotel room with Nick and Lila’s twins. The nanny is watching them all during the show.”
“One nanny with four kids under five. God help her.” Ryan sank back in his seat and set down his phone long enough to run his fingertip over the ring box in his pocket.
Michael had his family with him, and the guy was beaming. He’d shown all of them what having a wife and kids could be like.
This whole situation was probably all Michael’s fault. Ryan was normally a level-headed, plan-things-to-the-nth-degree kind of guy. Now he was impulsively buying engagement rings and rushing full speed ahead.
Sort of. He still had one foot on the curb, and that curb was called Denver. She wasn’t nearly as impetuous as he was. Not even about this.
Probably especially about this.
He was glad he’d taken the ring box after all. Maybe he’d be waiting long enough to propose that the ring would get tarnished otherwise.
Maybe she’d say no.
Shit, he was tired of going in circles in his thoughts. She should be sitting beside him, easing his crazy concerns with a roll of her eyes or some snarky quip that helped him to not take everything so seriously.
