“When were you going to tell me?” he asked, and I couldn’t stop myself from glancing back at the purse on the bathroom shelf. But he couldn’t possibly know. I’d only known myself for a whole two minutes! So, what on earth was he talking about?
“Tell you what, Ryan?”
“Right. The whole point was to not tell me, to string me along and keep me distracted just long enough for my deal to fall through.”
“Deal? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I felt at a severe disadvantage, standing there in a T-shirt that barely covered anything vital, and my mind already too overwrought this morning to think straight about whatever accusation he was flinging at me.
“Your charade’s up, Emma. I’m sure you thought you were doing a great job playing me for a fool, but if you thought this little seduction act was going to work, you’re really not as bright as I thought you were. I’ve built my entire company from the ground up, and nothing—not even a sexy as hell little actress—is ever going to get in my way. That you would insinuate yourself in the way you have, letting Abby get close to you…it’s despicable.”
“How dare you barge into my room to accuse me of somehow conspiring against you! Conspiring to do what, Ryan? To get the inside scoop on how Ryan Cade spends his days and release it to the tabloids?” I jeered, my ire growing exponentially every second.
A flicker of doubt crossed his expression, but then it was gone. “I barged into your room? What the hell do you need a room for? You’ve got an entire house next door! And since you’re not welcome in this one, I’d suggest you go back there.” His voice had gotten louder and louder as he spoke so that he nearly yelled the last words.
It’s funny; right there in the midst of an argument that made absolutely no sense to me…right there it hit me. I didn’t just like Ryan, and I wasn’t just attracted to him. I’d fallen in love with him. I had no idea what had made him so angry, but right then, I would have done anything in my power to take it away from him. And since I could find no explanation for his anger, there was only one thing I could think of that would do that.
All the fight in me fled. This was it then.
/> “I suppose I should leave,” I whispered, finding that it hurt more than I would have expected. To not see Abby again. Or Ryan. But since I was so obviously the source of his anger, I didn’t have a choice.
As discreetly as possible, I slipped into the shorts at the end of the bed and then I pulled out the suitcase under my bed and started tossing things into it, not caring whether I left anything behind.
“Tell your brother his little ploys are a waste of time,” he said as I closed the suitcase and zipped it up.
“Michael?” I hadn’t spoken to my half-brother since my parents’ funeral. And in the ten years prior to that, I’d only seen him a handful of times, usually at family gatherings. With fifteen years between us, we weren’t close. There wasn’t any terrible backstory to it; he was heading off to college before I even started preschool—not the foundation of a close relationship.
So, what on earth was Ryan talking about then? And I was just about to ask when Abby appeared in the doorway.
Oh god, how was I supposed to do this?
“Where ya going, Emma?” she asked innocently.
“I just have to go for a while, sweetheart. But I won’t be far away, just next door. So you can come visit me when your dad says it’s ok.”
“Oh. You’re going back to your house?” she said, a little uncertain.
“Yes well…” Ryan cut in, “Emma was just helping you get settled in here. Now that you’re settled in, she can go back to her house. But you’ll still get to see her, don’t worry.”
It looked like he had it all figured out. I hugged Abby tightly, fighting back unfamiliar tears, grabbed my purse from the shelf in the bathroom and hurried out. It was better this way, leaving before Abby got any more attached to me.
Too bad I didn’t leave soon enough to avoid getting attached to the cotton candy princess…and her father.
11
Ryan
I stood in Emma’s room, replaying the last several minutes over and over again in my mind. She’d seemed genuinely stunned when I’d mentioned her brother, so much that it made me wonder if I’d somehow misjudged the situation. But no, I’d judged it right. She hadn’t put up the least bit of fight, which meant she knew she’d been found out and there was no point in sticking around any longer.
So that was it then.
Abby tugged on my arm. “So, who’s gonna cook breakfast now, daddy?”
“I will, kiddo,” I replied, trying to ignore the doubtful expression on her cherub face.
“Just ‘member, no pancakes.”
I nodded and turned to leave the room, trying to smile as brightly as I could for her.
But she stayed where she was. “You know, maybe you should get Emma back here, ‘cause she can make pancakes. And she makes other stuff, too.”