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“I’ll see you very soon. Okay?” I wiped the droplet that had made a break toward his chin. “I’m only a short ride away now. You understand? You’re going to see me really soon.”
“Like tomorrow?”
“Maybe sooner.”
Chapter 30
Ryan
When I made it to my room in the garage, I remembered Christie. I hadn’t thought much about it last night, but she didn’t walk out with us after we’d said goodbye. I felt bad that she and I didn’t get to talk more, but I’d been on a high after somehow leaving Duke on good terms, and I wanted to make sure Darlene and I were going to stay that way, too.
Darlene’s mention of Christie feeling like the third wheel couldn’t have been right, but I wasn’t great at knowing these things.
I felt a rush of excitement when I decided to call Christie and lay on the bed so my phone charger could stretch to my ears while the phone rang. She didn’t answer. I didn’t know what I wanted to say, so I didn’t leave a voice mail. I’d called her enough times that I thought surely I’d eventually receive a call back. I hadn’t even known she was back in Dallas. Did that mean she took the job? With that Andrew asshole over her? The thought made me angry with myself for not bringing it up last night.
I texted her, asking her to call me back, and added that it was important to see if that would improve my chances. It was important. I needed to make sure she was okay. I needed to know she wasn’t under some pervert’s thumb.
Almost immediately after I sent the text, my phone rang, and I answered it before I could read Christie’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, you called?”
My heart thumped, and questions swarmed my mind. Whatever we had between us, I wanted to explore. I wanted to hear her say what she felt for me.
“Yeah, I did. Are you in your room?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your room number?”
She didn’t respond as quickly, but I knew not to pressure her to speak. She was likely in defense mode, so I needed to be gentle with what I chose to say. “Why?”
“I want to see you. Can I come over?”
“Why?”
I tried to laugh, but it came off as more of a nervous chuckle that faded into a weird breath. “I want to talk about a few things.”
After another moment of silence, she told me her room number.
“I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” I said and hung up.
I rushed down the stairs and through my crew, unloading the trucks.
“Hey, boss!” one of them called.
“Mrs. O’Malley says her sister-in-law needs a lawn service …”
“Great, set it up,” I said and gave a wave as I went straight for my truck, too focused on getting to Christie to fully notice how great it felt to delegate.
When I got to her hotel room and knocked, I tried to breathe deeply so I wouldn’t be so gaspy when she answered.
The door opened slowly, and a mess of brown hair and light-brown eyes met me at the threshold. My heart sank as I tried to figure out whether she was sad or tired, my instinct leaning toward the former. Christie welcomed me in, and I heard a faint sniffle as she entered her bathroom to blow her nose. Maybe she was just sick, I thought, but a part of me knew she wasn’t just battling bad sinuses.
I made myself at home on the bed, dropping my shoes to the floor and lying flat on my back on the perfectly made bed. Christie’s smell permeated the stale air, and I inhaled it deeply, the sweet, floral scent burying me in a cloud of warmth.
“So what’s up?” Christie asked, emerging from the bathroom. Her eyes were still puffy, but her hair looked a little tamer. It fell below her shoulders in loose waves that covered the straps on her tank top. It was cute, actually, how her bright-red top settled loosely around her frame, barely leaving room for her dark-blue shorts to peek through.
“You’re dressed for bedtime.”
