Читать книгу The Wedding Party Collection - Кейт Хьюит, Aimee Carson - Страница 52
ОглавлениеBetsy didn’t see Ryan when she and Kate returned to the great room, but Tripp was hanging out by a tall ficus tree decorated in bright orange lights.
“Oh, my,” Betsy said.
“I know they’re garish, but Chloe loves them,” Kate said.
“It’s not that,” Betsy mumbled.
“Then what is...” Kate stopped, then smiled. “Looks like you have your pick of men this evening.”
“When it rains it pours.” Betsy could feel the medallion in the pocket of her pants. She wasn’t sure why she’d brought it. Courage, perhaps?
“Look, if you want, we can hang out—”
“Thank you, but as the hostess I know you have a lot to do.” Betsy offered a reassuring smile. “I’ll be just fine.”
Kate searched her eyes. “Sure?”
“Positive.” Betsy laid a hand on Kate’s arm. “I feel so much better after talking to you. Like I’m in the home of a friend.”
“That’s because you are,” Kate said. “I hope you and I can become good friends.”
“Mo-om.” A thin preteen girl who was a younger version of Kate motioned to her. “You’re needed in the kitchen.”
“Go,” Betsy said. “I’m fine.”
Kate gave Betsy’s arm a companionable squeeze. “Well, if you need me, you know where to find me.”
What I need, Betsy thought, is a good stiff drink. Or perhaps a bubble bath. She’d always done some of her best thinking when up to her neck in fragrant suds.
“Glass of wine, my dear?”
Betsy looked up to find Tripp standing beside her, a glass of white wine in one hand and a glass of red in the other.
“Which one is for me?” she asked.
“Whichever one you like,” he said, shooting her a smile that showed off a mouthful of straight, white teeth. “I hedged my bets by getting one of each.”
“Aren’t you the clever one?” She took the burgundy and glanced around the room. “Where’s Ryan?”
“Does it matte—”
“Of course it matters.” Ryan suddenly appeared beside her. “I was looking for you.”
Betsy knew it was crazy, but she felt better just having him there. “I ran into Kate and we got to talking.”
“I think you two could be really good friends,” he said.
“You would know,” Tripp said. “You dated her for—”
“It’s been great seeing you, Tripp, but Betsy and I have some things we need to discuss. In private.” Ryan’s gaze met Tripp’s. There was something in his stance, in the tilt of his jaw, that said the topic wasn’t up for discussion.
“See you later, Betsy,” Tripp said pointedly before he walked away.
Ryan held out his hand. “Take a walk with me.”
Betsy glanced around. “Won’t it be rude to take off? We just got here.”
Ryan chuckled. “I don’t mean leave, just walk around the house with me.”
“Oh.” Betsy attempted a laugh. “You must think I’m stupid.”
She knew it was because she was nervous. Oh, who was she kidding? It was Ryan. Whenever he was near he made her feel like an awkward schoolgirl who barely knew her own name.
“There are a lot of things I think when I look at you.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Never stupid.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she glanced around the room. “Look, Benedict Campbell is here.”
Ryan muttered something. It almost sounded like a curse, but that couldn’t be right. She noticed Ben was standing by himself. “Maybe we should go over and say hello.”
“Later,” Ryan said. “Much later.”
He took her arm and steered her toward the stairs. “Have you seen the upstairs?”
“We can’t go upstairs,” Betsy hissed, digging in her heels.
“Joel,” Ryan called out as their host walked past. “I want to show Betsy the upstairs. Do you mind?”
Something unspoken passed between the two men. Joel smiled. “Not at all.”
“I won’t touch anything,” Betsy said.
“No worries,” Joel said.
“C’mon.” Out of the corner of one eye, Ryan saw Benedict headed their way. It had been hard enough to get Betsy away from Tripp. Ben wouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
Ryan tugged on Betsy’s hand. This time she came willingly. They climbed the stairs together and stopped. At the far end of the hall was an alcove with a love seat. “This way.”
When they reached the love seat, he sat and pulled her down next to him. He took the wineglass she held clutched in one hand and set it on the side table next to the small sofa.
“What’s going on, Ryan?” Betsy’s brows were pulled together and her eyes were clearly puzzled. “Why did you bring me up here? Were you, are you ashamed of me?”
Ashamed of her? “What are you talking about?”
“You brought me up here, away from everyone.” She chewed on her lower lip. “I admit that I’m not exactly dressed the best. But that’s because I didn’t think it was going to be this grand affair. I thought we were coming to build a snowman and maybe have a snowball fight.”
She looked so miserable that anger rose inside him. Betsy was a wonderful, beautiful woman. He’d like to get his hands on the man or men who had caused this insecurity. “You look lovely. And I brought you up here because I wanted to be alone with you. Not with you and Tripp. Or you and Benedict.”
“You wanted to be alone with me? That’s why we’re here?”
“Do you mind?” Without realizing what he was doing, Ryan held his breath.
“I like being with you.” She smiled and ducked her head as if she’d said something intensely personal.
But maybe she had...
Unless it was simply his reading too much into the situation, it sounded as if she’d said she didn’t mind his pulling her away from Tripp and Benedict. As if she wanted to be alone with him as much as he wanted to be alone with her. The thought gave him courage.
“I like being with you, too. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Ryan took a deep breath. “I want us to date for real. Not this pretend stuff.”
Betsy inhaled sharply, but her expression gave nothing away. “Really?”
This was her reaction? Really. A response that told him absolutely nothing. He comforted himself that at least she hadn’t said no.
“I realize you like Tripp, but I get the feeling you like me, too.” He forced himself to breathe past the tightness in his chest. “I’d like to give us a chance.”
As she sat there, saying nothing, he realized that in his perfect world, she’d have flung her arms around his neck and cried out yes, yes, yes. But it didn’t look as if that was going to happen. He waited a few more seconds—which seemed an eternity—then spoke. “What are you thinking?”
“What about Adrianna?”
“What about her?”
“You liked her. You thought she was—” Betsy paused and swallowed hard “—the one.”
“I was mistaken.” Ryan couldn’t believe he’d ever thought he and Adrianna would be a good match, but he couldn’t say that to Betsy. She was her friend and might think he was dissing the woman.
“Would you date me? For real?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’d—I’d like that.”
“You would?” Dear God, was that a quiver in his voice?
She jerked her head downward, a short quick nod.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “That makes me happy.”
“It makes me happy, too,” she said, her breath warm against her neck.
He kissed her gently, sweetly, with all the love in his heart.
“This is so unreal,” she murmured, arching her neck back, giving him access to the sensitive skin behind her ear. “I’ve never—”
She moaned as he sucked on her earlobe and he missed whatever she had said. He could have let it go, but he was curious.
“You’ve never what?” he asked.
“I’ve never dated two men at once before.”
Ryan jerked back as the words registered. “Two men? What are you talking about?”
“You and Tripp.” Betsy snuggled against him. “Before it would have just been him who was really interested. You and I were just pretending.”
Ryan inhaled sharply. Surely she didn’t still want Tripp?
“Tripp isn’t interested.” He couldn’t be, Ryan thought. He’d made it clear to his friend that he needed to back off.
Betsy pushed away his hands and sat up, a strange look on her face. “What do you mean by that?”
Take a second, Ryan’s rational part urged. Think before you speak. But he didn’t. He couldn’t let Betsy think of Tripp as a viable candidate for her affections. In the long run Tripp would only hurt her, and he couldn’t let that happen.
“Tripp may seem nice,” Ryan said, “but he’s a player. Before he was married he dated a lot of women.”
Betsy cocked her head. “Other than the married part, we could be talking about you.”
Ryan paused. “It’s different.”
“Is it because you don’t think he could be seriously interested in me?”
Even though he wanted nothing more than to say yes, to tell her Tripp wasn’t serious, thank goodness for common sense popping up a red flag. Even without a warning, there was a vulnerability in her eyes that made him want to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. A protective urge that told him he would walk over hot coals rather than say something that would hurt her. Plus, he feared Tripp was serious. And that’s what worried him.
“I don’t have any doubts. You’re a beautiful, desirable woman. The only thing I don’t understand is why some guy didn’t snap you up a long time ago.”
The tenseness on her face eased and a warmth filled her blue bedroom eyes. Her lips curved up in a smile. “Perhaps that’s because I was waiting for the right one.”
She hadn’t said that man was him, but she didn’t have to, because she was the woman he’d been waiting for, the one he was meant to be with forever. All he needed was the time—and opportunity—to make her fall in love with him.
* * *
Ryan was discussing a legal precedent with Lexi’s husband, Nick, when Kate appeared.
She smiled at Nick. “Mind if I steal Ryan for a few minutes?”
“Of course not,” Nick said easily, taking a sip of wine. “I was just about to search for my wife anyway.”
The second the attorney stepped away, Kate wasted no time. She slipped her arm through Ryan’s and pulled him to a private area by the fireplace.
“Why, Kate, darlin’,” Ryan said with a teasing grin, “I didn’t know you cared.”
“I do care.” The smile left her lips, her expression serious. “About you. And about Betsy.”
“Betsy.” Alarm raced up Ryan’s spine. It skyrocketed when he glanced around the room and didn’t see her. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” Kate rested a hand on his arm. “I just need to know what your intentions are toward her.”
Ryan had a whole repertoire of pithy one-liners on the tip of his tongue. Then he saw the look on Kate’s face and realized this was serious. “Why do you ask?”
“Betsy and I talked. I think she’s confused. I just want to make sure you’re as serious about her as I think you are.”
“I adore Betsy,” he said.
Kate exhaled the breath she must have been holding. “Good. That’s what I thought.”
Last year Ryan had dated the woman at his side. Now they were what they’d been meant to be—good friends. “I understand about Joel. For the longest time, I didn’t.”
A tiny smile lifted the corners of Kate’s lips. “I know you didn’t.”
“In fact when it came out that you were Chloe’s birth mom, I found myself thinking it was awfully convenient that you’d fallen in love with her adoptive father.”
“Joel initially thought it was a little convenient, too,” Kate said with a sigh. “He accused me of using my relationship with him to get to Chloe.”
“But he finally realized that wasn’t true.” Ryan liked the happy ending Kate had found. It made him think that same happiness was possible in his life, too.
“Yes, he did.”
“Betsy isn’t going to believe I love her.” Ryan turned and planted his hands on the windowsill. He gazed unseeing into the darkness.
Kate placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why wouldn’t she believe you?”
“I’m the boy who cried wolf.” He whirled, frustration surging through his veins. The knowledge that he had only himself to blame fueled the anger.
“I’d convinced myself that what I’d felt for those other women was love.” Ryan gave a humorless laugh. He’d been such a fool. “What I feel for Betsy is so very different.”
“That’s how it was for me with Joel.” Kate’s eyes were filled with kindness rather than censure. He realized again how lucky he was to have her as a friend. “Anything I’d ever felt before paled in comparison.”
Ryan shook his head in wonder. “All I want is her to know my feelings are real and aren’t going to change. I don’t want her to have any doubts.”
“Words alone won’t do it. She’s going to be scared that you’ll change your mind.”
“I can’t imagine life without her, Kate. I like hanging out with her. I like working with her on cases. We have fun together. She gets me. And you know what a challenge that is.”
Kate’s chuckle lightened the mood.
“She’s the only one I want. The only one I’ll ever want.” He thought of the love token Betsy showed him. You and No Other. That pretty much summed up his feelings.
“You’re going to have to be patient, Ry. Show her by your words and your actions how much you care.” Kate’s eyes met his. “In time she’ll come to realize you’re sincere.”
“She has to, Kate,” Ryan said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her.”
