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But no. I shake my head. I left Ryker behind. If he wants me, he has to come after me and take me back and never let me go.
I look at the purple sky and sigh.
I keep walking down the beach. Sighing. Longing. I pass by the tent where Natalie and I got a massage yesterday.
That felt good. But it would have felt even better if I had it with Ryker. A couple’s massage.
I stop and slap my forehead.
Oh, stop thinking about Ryker already. He doesn’t love you, remember? He doesn’t want you. He’s just a disappointing coward who can’t—
Suddenly, a hand grabs my arm. The next thing I know I’m being pulled inside the tent. I find Ryker standing in front of me.
Whoa. Ryker? I thought he was in his cottage. I’m not imagining things, am I?
I don’t think so. I can still remember the smell of Ryker’s sweat, and this is it. Besides, I don’t think an imaginary Ryker could make my heart beat this fast.
I pull my arm away. “What on earth are you doing? Are you trying to scare me to death?”
“Sorry,” he says. “I just wanted us to talk. In private.”
“So what? You’ve been waiting to ambush me the whole time?”
“I saw you on the beach and then I saw the tent. I paid to borrow it for an hour.”
“Well, enjoy your tent.”
I start to head out. Again, Ryker grabs my arm. I glare at him over my shoulder.
“Please hear me out.”
What am I doing running away from him when I’ve been wanting to see him? I said I wanted him to come after me and take me back, didn’t I? I should let him try.
“Fine,” I say. “You wanted to talk? So talk.”
Ryker lets go of my arm.
“First of all, I’m glad to see you.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Really? Because you didn’t come to see me in Chicago.”
He ignores me.
“Second and more importantly, I want you to know that I’ve told Ethan about the Hawthorne Foundation.”
My eyes grow wide. He didn’t.
“He said it was a good idea, one my mother had but which had gotten put off indefinitely when she died.”
No way.
“And he said he was going to make sure it happens. Of course, I’m going to be the head of it, and I’m going to help all the people I said I would.”
I still can’t believe it.
“You’re not saying all that just to get me back, are you?” I ask him.
“I did do all this to get you back,” Ryker says.
He did? He went and talked to his brother for me?
“You really talked to Ethan?” I ask him.
Ryker nods. “But if you don’t believe me, you can call him yourself. You can use my phone.”
I shake my head. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just… I’m finding all this so hard to believe because your mind was made up about helping him run the company.”
“Asher can do it like you said,” he tells me.
But I thought he said Asher couldn’t’ do it on his own.
“Ethan will be with his family, Asher will run the company, and you and I will be traveling and helping people.”
We’ll be traveling together and making the world a better place? It sounds too good to be true. Can it be true?
“They’re not just plans now. Not just wishful thinking. We are going to do it. Together.” Ryker takes my hand. “You were right, Claire. You have always been right. I should have put us first from the start. I’m putting us first.”
Oh my God.
“That’s why I’m going to tell Joel about us right now.”
What?
He starts to walk towards the entrance of the tent. I grab his arm.
“Wait.”
He stops and glances over his shoulder.
“Right now?” I ask him.
“I’ve put this off long enough,” Ryker answers. “Besides, he was the one who urged me to take you back, to put you first, to be a better man for you.”
My eyebrows furrow. “He said that?”
“Well, he didn’t mean you. He meant the woman I was sleeping with. I told him I broke up with her.”
I grin. “He told you to get back together with the woman you were sleeping with, not knowing she was me.”
I can just imagine the look on his face when he realizes that.
“Yes. So I’m just following his advice.” He plants a quick kiss on my cheek. “Wish me luck.”
I don’t let go of his arm.
“What about the wedding?”
“If Natalie and Joel don’t want me at their wedding anymore, that’s their decision. If Joel can be happy without me, good for him. In fact, I hope he can be. But his happiness isn’t up to you or me. Our happiness is only up to us, and I’m claiming mine.”
Those last several words are what I’ve been longing to hear. I can’t believe Ryker is finally saying them.
