Maybe This Time(50)
“I don’t mind Jade, and it’s your bar, you can hire who you want.”
“Yeah, but I was hoping you would think Reid hired her, not me.”
“You’re evil.”
“There’s always an evil twin,” he says in a creepy voice.
“Two in some families,” I tease, poking my tongue out at him.
“Who’s the babe?” comes a deep voice. I look up into the face of a muscular man with reddish hair and green eyes. He has a goatee and a slightly crooked nose.
“None of your fucking business. Leave,” Ryan demands, his voice dangerously low.
“I saw you at the fight, you’re Reid’s bitch?” he leers, staring down my top.
I sit up straighter in my seat, pulling my top up as high as it can go.
“I’m next up against Reid,” he says, sounding thrilled. Reid is fighting this sasquatch of a man? Fucking hell.
“Get the fuck out of here, before you regret it,” Ryan spits out. His hands clench on the table, and his jaw is set stubbornly.
“You guys share this bitch, or what?”
Ryan stands up. I know this guy is just pushing him, obviously wanting Ryan to react.
“Ryan,” I say, my eyes pleading with him. A guy calls out “Frank” and the sasquatch retreats, his smug chuckles permeating the restaurant.
“Stupid fuck,” Ryan curses.
“Don’t let him get to you. Let’s try to enjoy our meal, okay?”
“Shit, I was worried about you, babe. If he wanted to fight I have no problem handling that, hell, both Reid or I could kick his ass. But then one of his asshole friends would have come up and started to harass you, I know how these assholes operate.”
“Is that who Xander got into a fight with?”
“Not the same guys, but other fighters. There are some good guys who fight, then there are some dickheads like those, who go looking for fights and drama everywhere they go.”
“He was scary,” I admit.
Ryan scowls. “I’ll never let anything happen to you, babe.”
“I know that, he just looked like a serial killer.”
Our food arrives and we wait quietly as they place down our plates.
“Thank you,” Ryan and I both say to the waitress at the same time.
“Shit, maybe we are seeing too much of each other,” he jokes, lightening the mood.
“Cos we're both polite?”
“Cos we're speaking at the same time. Even Reid and I don’t do that, and we’re twins.”
“Sexy twins,” I correct.
Ryan grins. “You’re so good for my ego, babe.”
“Trust me, your ego doesn’t need any stroking, Ryan.” I eye his food. “I want a bite.”
“Of course you do,” he says dryly.
“What you’re like Joey from Friends now, you don’t share food?”
“Friends.” He chuckles. “We should watch that tonight.”
“Let’s. We should take home dinner for Reid, too.”
Ryan gives me a taste of his steak, I give him a bite of my chicken. We finish up and then head back to their apartment, with a shitload of food for Reid. I wonder if he’s even home yet. What I don’t expect to see, as we walk up the stairs to the front door, is a woman standing there. Dark red hair and fair skin. I can’t tell the colour of her eyes from where I’m standing, but I instantly recognise her as the woman from the bar.
“What are you doing here?” Ryan growls from behind me.
“I need to talk to Reid,” she says in a stern tone.
“Reid’s moved on, doc, you needa let him go,” Ryan says, nothing gentle in his tone. I should have known she'd show up here at some point, because that’s just how lucky I am. Ryan walks around her, his hand on my wrist, pulling me closer. While he unlocks the door, my gaze can’t help but be glued to Reid’s past, I never got a good look at her the first time around. She’s a lot older than me, that much I can tell. She must be in her thirties, so older than Reid, too. Ryan shuffles me into the house, hesitating with his hand on the door. She’s still standing there, and Ryan clearly doesn’t want to just shut the door in her face. He looks at me and shrugs his shoulder.
“We can’t just leave her standing there,” I whisper.
Ryan looks at me quizzically. “You’re a one of a kind woman, babe.”
“Why?”
“Other women would throw her down the stairs then slam the door shut in her face.”
“Great, now I’m thinking about it.”
Ryan gives me a belly laugh. We’re both saved from making any decisions about letting her in when we hear Reid’s deep voice.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he growls, and I cringe, because his tone is downright hostile.