Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
I hold my breath and then let it out slowly and then nod my head to confirm. “Okay, yeah, sure. Brock will love that.”
I’m not sure who is more excited. Ryker smiles as if I just gave him a million dollars or something. “Yes. I would love that.”
“Woo-hoo!” Brock shouts from the backseat. “Everyone will be so excited.”
He's on his phone the rest of the ride. We drop him off first, and then Ryker is taking me to the doctor's office. “So... uh, should I be worried about the fact that you knew where I lived last night and I didn't have to tell you how to get there?”
He keeps looking straight ahead. "I'm not going to lie to you. I never will. I've kept an eye on you through the years."
“What exactly does that mean?”
He shrugs. “It means that I've followed you on all social media. I've seen you every time I've come into town."
I interrupt him. “You haven’t been in town."
He nods. “Yes. I'm in town a lot. It was hard going unnoticed, but I did it."
I remember what Caroline told me at work. “Did you come to Brock's basketball game the other night?"
He doesn’t even hesitate. “I did.”
I shrug. “Why didn't you say hi then?"
He just shrugs.
He pulls into a parking spot at the doctor's office, and I gesture at the building in front of us. “And you knew I worked here. How?”
He clenches his eyes closed, shakes his head, and looks at me. “I knew you worked here. I follow the social media page for the office, looking for any glimpse of you, and I had my dad switch doctors to be able to check on you.”
As I absorb all that, he asks me for my phone.
I'm thinking about everything I just learned as I hand it to him.
He types into it. “I'm putting my number in here. Call or text me if you need me before you get off work today. Or, uh, if you just want to talk."
I take my phone back, grab my purse, and am about to get out. “Ryker?"
“Yeah, honey?"
I wish I was the type of person that can just sit back and enjoy things, but I’m not. I have to analyze every situation, every word, everything. “What are we doing here?”
He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I'm going to win you back, Izzy."
“Why?” I ask him.
“Because I never stopped loving you."
Hearing those words from him has me trembling. “Thanks for the ride.”
He has one arm hooked over the steering wheel, and he’s smiling at me. “I'll see you at five."
I get out, shut the door, and hurry to the office.
Once inside, I have a few minutes in the lounge to myself. Ryker Kirby just told me he loved me.
Oh my God, I don't know what I'm going to do. If what he says is true and he really is here for me, how am I going to resist him?
I can't. I know I can't.
My phone rings, and I smile as I dig it out of my purse, wondering if it's Ryker.
When my ex-husband's name pops up, I answer with a guarded “Hello.”
“Isabel, I won't make the game tonight.”
“Okay,” I answer. At one time, I would have argued with him, but I've given that up since the divorce finalized. I hate that he keeps letting Brock down, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
Allen starts to make up an excuse, but I'm not interested in hearing it. "Okay, well, I need to go. I just got to work."
His silence lets me know I've caught him off guard.
I clear my throat. “And just so you know, you don't have to tell me you are not coming anymore. We're divorced."
I hang up before he starts to argue with me. I know it's coming, and I don't have to listen to it anymore. I walk into the break room and take my coat off. As I’m putting my things away, Caroline walks in and sees my face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who do I need to kill?"
“No one…. Allen.” I make a growling noise. “Grrrr. How can he make me feel like this and we're not even together?"
Caroline laughs. “Isabel, are you kidding me right now? You caught your husband railing some woman in your bed. Of course he's going to make you angry.”
I nod. “I know.” I suck in a breath. I know that today someone is going to say something about seeing me at Pizza Haven with Ryker last night, and Caroline will never forgive me if she hears it from someone else.
“I need to tell you something," I confess.
She puts a hand on her hip. “Bitch. I know you do.” She starts to count on her fingers. “You had dinner with Ryker. You introduced him to Brock. And you didn't tell me.”