covers over me, he leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Sleep, baby.”
“Mmm . . . night, Tristan.”
Hearing him chuckle he whispered, “It’s only ten in the morning.” Smiling, I lifted my hand to touch his face, but sleep took over my body.
I dreamed of a cabin in the woods and Tristan making love to me as he whispered how much he loved me.
RYN HAD BEEN STAYING AT my place ever since she sprained her ankle. I was trying like hell to keep my hands to myself, but each day was getting harder and harder. There were a few times I thought for sure she wanted me to kiss her, but I wasn’t going to take advantage of her being hurt to make a move on her. I wanted to show her I could take care of her and be with her without it being about sex.
Knowing Ryn was probably going stir crazy inside, I had arranged for us to eat dinner on the beach tonight.
Walking into the living room, I smiled. “You ready to head down to the beach?”
Smiling, Ryn nodded her head. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying here? I feel bad for taking up all of your vacation.”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “Nonsense. It’s been nice having you here.”
Ryn’s eyes lit up and I felt a sense of hope. I just needed to be patient. She hadn’t talked to Dodge in over three days. At least, not that I knew of anyway. Reaching down, I picked her up.
“Tristan, you do realize I can walk.”
Chuckling, I held her tighter. “Maybe I like having you in my arms.”
Ryn looked at me with a weak smile before looking away. For a brief moment, I saw something flash across her eyes. The time we were spending together was slowly bringing us closer.
We walked up to the blanket I had put out a few minutes earlier. Setting Ryn down on the blanket, she looked at me with a surprised look on her face. “What is this?”
Giving her a look like she had just wounded me, I said, “Dinner, what does it look like?”
Shaking her head, she said, “Something I can’t picture Tristan Williams doing.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I dropped to my knees. “You wound me, Kathryn.”
Her smile instantly faded. I wasn’t sure if it was from me calling her by her full name or if something else bothered her. Pushing it away, I opened the basket that contained our dinner.
Ryn leaned over to peek into the basket. The moment I pulled out the Subway sandwich, she started laughing. “Subway, huh? Wow you put some serious effort into this dinner.”
Flashing a smile in her direction, I gave her wink. “Hey, it’s a BMT and if my memory serves me right, that is your favorite sandwich from Subway.”
Ryn’s smile dropped as she nodded her head. “Yeah, it is.”
After we ate, we talked for a bit about Ryn’s company.
“How is your business doing?” I asked.
Grinning from ear to ear she said, “It’s doing amazing. I’ve hired on two sourcing managers so I have a lot more time to take on other things, like gain more business.”
Lifting my mouth into a smile, I looked into her eyes. “I’m proud of you, Ryn. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“I am. I’ve worked really hard to make this company successful.”
Looking away, she shrugged. “Guess I wanted to prove to my parents I could do it.”
Ryn hardly talked about her parents. Really she never talked about her past. The most I knew was that she went to college in Florida and moved to Austin the day after she graduated. She hardly ever talked to her parents, which seemed weird to me. Both Lark and I were close to our mother and father. I couldn’t image my life without them in it.
Once the sun went down, we laid back and stared up at the endless stars. I wanted desperately to tell her how sorry I was for what happened last Christmas, but something kept holding me back. I hated that I let my fear of giving myself to Ryn one hundred percent get in the way.
I wasn’t sure if my lifestyle would be what Ryn wanted. My dream was to take over my father’s ranch someday. Then, of
“Mmm . . . night, Tristan.”
Hearing him chuckle he whispered, “It’s only ten in the morning.” Smiling, I lifted my hand to touch his face, but sleep took over my body.
I dreamed of a cabin in the woods and Tristan making love to me as he whispered how much he loved me.
RYN HAD BEEN STAYING AT my place ever since she sprained her ankle. I was trying like hell to keep my hands to myself, but each day was getting harder and harder. There were a few times I thought for sure she wanted me to kiss her, but I wasn’t going to take advantage of her being hurt to make a move on her. I wanted to show her I could take care of her and be with her without it being about sex.
Knowing Ryn was probably going stir crazy inside, I had arranged for us to eat dinner on the beach tonight.
Walking into the living room, I smiled. “You ready to head down to the beach?”
Smiling, Ryn nodded her head. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying here? I feel bad for taking up all of your vacation.”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “Nonsense. It’s been nice having you here.”
Ryn’s eyes lit up and I felt a sense of hope. I just needed to be patient. She hadn’t talked to Dodge in over three days. At least, not that I knew of anyway. Reaching down, I picked her up.
“Tristan, you do realize I can walk.”
Chuckling, I held her tighter. “Maybe I like having you in my arms.”
Ryn looked at me with a weak smile before looking away. For a brief moment, I saw something flash across her eyes. The time we were spending together was slowly bringing us closer.
We walked up to the blanket I had put out a few minutes earlier. Setting Ryn down on the blanket, she looked at me with a surprised look on her face. “What is this?”
Giving her a look like she had just wounded me, I said, “Dinner, what does it look like?”
Shaking her head, she said, “Something I can’t picture Tristan Williams doing.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I dropped to my knees. “You wound me, Kathryn.”
Her smile instantly faded. I wasn’t sure if it was from me calling her by her full name or if something else bothered her. Pushing it away, I opened the basket that contained our dinner.
Ryn leaned over to peek into the basket. The moment I pulled out the Subway sandwich, she started laughing. “Subway, huh? Wow you put some serious effort into this dinner.”
Flashing a smile in her direction, I gave her wink. “Hey, it’s a BMT and if my memory serves me right, that is your favorite sandwich from Subway.”
Ryn’s smile dropped as she nodded her head. “Yeah, it is.”
After we ate, we talked for a bit about Ryn’s company.
“How is your business doing?” I asked.
Grinning from ear to ear she said, “It’s doing amazing. I’ve hired on two sourcing managers so I have a lot more time to take on other things, like gain more business.”
Lifting my mouth into a smile, I looked into her eyes. “I’m proud of you, Ryn. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“I am. I’ve worked really hard to make this company successful.”
Looking away, she shrugged. “Guess I wanted to prove to my parents I could do it.”
Ryn hardly talked about her parents. Really she never talked about her past. The most I knew was that she went to college in Florida and moved to Austin the day after she graduated. She hardly ever talked to her parents, which seemed weird to me. Both Lark and I were close to our mother and father. I couldn’t image my life without them in it.
Once the sun went down, we laid back and stared up at the endless stars. I wanted desperately to tell her how sorry I was for what happened last Christmas, but something kept holding me back. I hated that I let my fear of giving myself to Ryn one hundred percent get in the way.
I wasn’t sure if my lifestyle would be what Ryn wanted. My dream was to take over my father’s ranch someday. Then, of