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“So six girls, huh?” he asks, taking another drink from the bottle.
I chuckle. Everyone seems to get hung up on the fact that my parents had all daughters and no sons. “Yeah, six girls in eight years. I’m pretty sure they kept trying for the elusive boy. I think when she got pregnant the fifth time and it was twin girls, well, I guess you better take what God gave you and just be happy.”
Ryan whistles and shakes his head. “Damn. Your dad was trapped in the house with all you women? No wonder he traveled so much for work,” he adds with a grin.
“What about you? Where’s your family?” I ask after we order dinner.
“My parents are in upstate New York, as is my little sister Dena. Plus I have two brothers on the west coast, Brock and Trent. I talk to them all whenever I can, but it’s never enough for their liking, ya know?”
“Yeah,” I reply, recalling how much my sisters and I talked while I was in Cleveland. I spent the entire five years of my relationship with Gavin talking to my sisters because they were more accessible than he was. He was always in a meeting or prepping for a client. Always something other than me.
“What’s with that face?” he asks, pulling my attention back to him.
“What face?”
“You looked lost in a memory for a minute.”
“Yeah,” I reply again.
“Wanna tell me about it?” he hedges.
Now it’s my turn to chuckle, though mine sounds hollow. “Well, that’s more of a third or fourth date conversation.”
“So it’s about a guy?” There goes that damn eyebrow again.
“Isn’t it always?” After a pregnant pause, I try to steer the conversation back to safer waters. “What brought you to Jupiter Bay?”
“Would you believe me if I said a woman?” That cocky smile slides easily across his full lips. I chuckle at the irony of the fact that I ran home to Jupiter Bay to escape the memory of a man, while Ryan evidently ran towards this place, chasing a woman.
“Isn’t it always?” I ask, revealing my own smirk.
“Touché,” he replies with the tip of his beer bottle.
“Tell me about it,” I encourage as our server delivers sizzling prime rib and twice baked potatoes.
“Let me get this straight: You can ask about my past, but I can’t ask about yours?” Ryan asks while cutting a chunk of meat off his juicy steak.
“Exactly,” I tell him with a smile before savoring the rich flavors and seasonings on my own slice of steak.
“Her name was Sara. We met in New York and dated off and on for a bit. She was a little fish in a big pond there, and well, she didn’t like it. She requires a lot of attention. So, when she decided to move back to her hometown, I moved with her. The relationship was good at the time, but unfortunately, it didn’t last more than five minutes after we moved here.”
“But you stayed?” I ask, finding myself surprisingly interested in Ryan’s story.
“Yeah, I stayed. I kinda fell for this small town. I met Mary, who is my office assistant, almost immediately after moving. She’s a hoot. I’ll have to introduce you soon.” Ryan’s eyes sparkle under the low lighting as he goes on to tell me about how he met Mary, as well as his neighbor and landlord, Mrs. Hanson. Of course, Jupiter Bay being the small town that it is, I’ve met both ladies before on numerous occasions. Mrs. Hanson has played bridge with grandma for years, and Mary Simons worked at the same diner I waited tables at my senior year of high school.
“So, this woman…Sara. She broke your heart?” I ask, my gut tightening with something I’m not really liking. Jealousy.
Ryan smiles a broad, sexy grin. “I wouldn’t go that far. She eventually showed her true colors almost as soon as we set foot in town. It might sound cruel, but I’m relieved to have discarded the excess baggage.”
I look at him for several seconds, contemplating whether to ask more questions or not. I’m curious, sure, but I don’t want to seem too pushy for information. Especially on a relationship that appears to have ended somewhat badly.
Glancing over his shoulder, my eye catches on someone familiar. As I watch my brother-in-law, Chris, sit down at the booth, things start to click into place.
“Ryan?” I ask. “Would your Sara happen to be Sara Sullivan?”
His forehead creases as he shoots me a puzzled look. “How’d you know?”
“Because she just walked in and is sitting with my brother-in-law.”
My heart rate spikes as I watch Sara fawn all over my youngest sister’s husband. While my first reaction is to walk over there and give Chris a piece of my mind, I know his job has required him to wine and dine prospective clients from time to time. As a financial consultant, he’s been known to. I just wish it wasn’t Sara Sullivan.
Chris seems to notice me about the time Sara rubs his forearm. He quickly pulls back and offers me a polite wave. Sara, seeing his attention drawn somewhere else, turns and follows his line of sight. When she sees me–and her ex–she quickly stands up and heads in our direction, a bit of extra swing added to her approach.
Sara freaking Sullivan.
My arch nemesis.
And Ryan’s ex-girlfriend.
Just who I wanted to deal with tonight.
