Ryker’s voice came down the line. “Jenna? Jenna, are you okay?”
She made herself focus. “Yes. I’m just worried, that’s all.”
His tone was firm. “Where are you?”
“In the coffee place we met at yesterday.”
“Okay. Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.”
She wanted to tell him not to come, but he’d already hung up and she didn’t have the emotional reserve to call him back and argue with him about coming. She had a feeling he’d ignore her anyway, and it wasn’t as if she had anywhere else to go.
Her order arrived, steaming hot and dripping in grease and syrup, but her appetite had fled. Instead of eating, she sipped at the coffee and stared out of the window, watching anxiously for Ryker.
Within ten minutes, his truck pulled up at the curb outside. Her stomach flipped with nerves and excitement. Even though he’d let her down with the parts for the car, and she’d told herself they had no future, she couldn’t help but be thrilled when he was around. He jumped from the truck, slamming the door behind him. He looked like he was going to cause trouble; the scruffy dark hair, the tattoos and piercings, the black clothing, but she knew there was kindness behind those brooding blue eyes.
He glanced up as he walked toward the door and caught her eye. Their gazes locked and he gave her a tiny smile that she knew was meant just for her. Something inside her tightened, leaving her breathless.
Jenna forced her gaze away, down to the table, her cheeks heating. She couldn’t allow herself to have feelings for this guy. She just couldn’t.
Ryker walked in, causing every person in the place to glance up at him as he did so. Casually, he dropped into the seat opposite and looked down at her untouched plate. “Are you not eating that?”
She raised her eyebrows at him and shook her head. He picked up a piece of crispy bacon and munched down on it.
He placed the half-eaten piece back on the plate. “So, I’ve decided you’re coming home with me.”
She almost choked on her coffee. “Excuse me?”
“You’re stuck in town until your car is ready, and you have nowhere to stay. I don’t mind having you around, so I figured I can offer you my bed.”
“Your bed?”
“Well, unless you’d rather have Mikey’s, of course.”
“No!”
“Would it make you feel better if I offered to sleep on the couch?”
She wasn’t sure that it did, but she gave a shrug anyway.
“Okay, so I’ll sleep on the couch.” But the side of his mouth twitched as he repressed a smile and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Though my couch is horribly uncomfortable.”
She shook her head. “I thought I’d already explained why I couldn’t stay with you.”
“It’ll be for one night, two, tops. No crazy ex-boyfriend is going to track you down in that time. In fact, you’ll be safer at my place ’cause there’s no way you’ll have left a paper trail leading there.”
He had a point. Plus, she remembered telling herself last night that Garrett couldn’t be stalking her, having only just missed a parole meeting. What else was she going to do? Sleep in her broken down car at Ryker’s garage?
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” he persisted. That cheeky twinkle reappeared in his eye. “The festival is today, and I’m sure I had plans for you wearing a t-shirt and covered in tomato juice.”
Jenna widened her eyes at him. “Ryker!”
He laughed. “Sorry, I can’t seem to help myself when you’re around. But seriously, come back with me. I won’t take no for an answer.”
She hesitated, torn between wanting to go back to Ryker’s house and wanting to do the best by him and his brother. At that moment, all the reasoning she’d applied to her thoughts to convince herself Garrett couldn’t have found her yet spoke louder than the crazy panic that so often chased her, and she gave in.
“Okay,” she relented.
Ryker grinned and punched the air.
She held up a finger. “But as soon as my car is fixed, I have to leave. We both need to remember that, got it?”
He nodded. “Got it.”
Getting to his feet, he held out his hand to her. She smiled and pushed back her chair to stand up. She placed her hand in his and he linked his fingers through hers, and then stooped to pick up her bags for her. She felt like everyone was watching them, and a sense of pride swelled inside her that a guy like Ryker would hold her hand in public and carry her things. Pride in public was something she rarely experienced. Normally, she felt conscious of her size, of the rolls of fat spilling over her jeans, at the wobble in her upper arms when she waved, at every mouthful she ate while someone might be looking at her, judging her.