Breaking Ryann(20)
I give him a dirty look. “I’m sure with this trip coming up, he’s freaking out a bit. He has a lot of work he needs to catch up on.” I don’t mention what else is bothering him. They know he’s got issues with Luke.
Speaking of Luke, he asks, “How’d it go with your mom? I heard you two talked.”
It’s hard to look at him, as I think of his last text. I sip my wine. “Very well, actually.”
“Yeah?” He crosses his arms, the cords of his muscles flexing with the movement.
“Yeah, she seems really happy.” I grin. “This may be her longest relationship since my dad.” I miss this—talking about her with him. Talking about anything.
“That’s good. I’m glad to hear that.” He smiles genuinely, flashing his dimples, then takes off his hat and runs a hand through his sexy, mussed up hair. I try not to ogle him, but I think about how much I miss just being around him.
Gia yanks Logan out of his chair.
“What are you doin’?” he asks her.
“Come with me to the bar. I want another drink.”
Luke and I watch as she tows him away.
“What was that about?”
“Hell if I know,” he chuckles lightly. Silence falls between us, then he asks, “So how’s everything else?”
“Good. Everything’s good.” I’m not sure how convincing that sounded by the way he’s looking at me.
“This is weird.”
“What is?”
“Everything. I want to know what you’re thinking.”
I swallow. “I’m thinking … I want to know why you came tonight?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
I shake my head no.
“Came to see you.”
“You do realize I’m not going to remember this.” Gia blinks after Logan tries to tell her how to defend herself. “I’m working on number three here.” She points to her drink.
I’d just finished telling them about the kidnapping, before Brandi brought our meals.
“Then I’ll show you tomorrow when you’re sober,” he replies, sliding an arm around her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
She turns to me. “Do you still have your Taser?”
“Um, yeah, though I’ve never used it.” My eyes briefly flick to Luke’s, since he’s the one who bought it for me.
“I didn’t know you had a Taser,” Sean says, chewing. “That’s cool.”
“You should get her to try it on you. See if it works,” Logan replies.
Gia raises a brow at him. “Would you let me try it on you?”
“Yeah, I’d let you.”
“I find that hard to believe.” She turns to me. “Anyway, how did you hear about this? On the news?”
I hold up a finger, swallowing my food. “The cab driver told me—a little old man. He picked me up in the grocery store lot where it happened.”
Her eyes widen. “You took a cab here?”
“Yeah. My car was making crazy noises again. I was worried it was going to die on me, so I pulled over.”
Luke and Sean both stare at me in silence.
“What?”
“You could have called one of us.” Gia’s forehead creases. “I would have totally picked you up.”
“You’d left your phone on the counter, and I called him four or five times, but he didn’t answer. Doesn’t matter. At least I made it.”
Sean squeezes my thigh. “Sorry babe.”
“Me too,” Gia says, frowning. “I’d thought I left my phone in the car. Logan and I went out to look for it earlier.”
Logan takes one of her olives and pops it into his mouth. “Tell her what else we did in the car,” he says, looking smug.
“Oh my gah! They don’t want to hear that!” She elbows him, covering her own ears.
“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.”
“You mean all thirty seconds of it? Just shut up already. You’ll embarrass yourself.”
He chuckles. “It wasn’t that fast. More like a minute.”
“Oh please, I got gypped!”
They banter back and forth while the rest of us laugh.
“Must be nice,” Sean murmurs, pointing with his fork. “Those two, going out to the car to have a quickie. Kind of gives me something to look forward to.” He grins. Though his words are meant for me, they’re loud enough, so the rest of our party can hear him.
“All right. Let’s change the subject,” I tell him nervously.
He holds up a finger. “Gia, I’ve got to ask you something. Maybe you can fill me in.”
“Sean, you’re drunk. Drop it,” I plead, worried about what he’ll say, but he ignores me.