It’s silent in the house. Since we danced yesterday, and today, it’s been like old times. And now, with Ryder in my old bedroom, it still feels like I’m hiding him away. Although he’s been in this house so many times before, this time feels different.

I’m no longer a fifteen-year-old girl who’s crushing on her brother’s best friend. I’m an adult who has a boyfriend. Is he my boyfriend? I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Perhaps it’s too soon to assume so. But I want to. I want to assume everything between Ryder and me is real, that it’s not a dream and he’s not going to disappear if I blink.

I pull on the sweater, making sure it’s warm enough for our plans tonight. Ryder said he wants to take me to the drive-in. Our small town is known for the only working drive-in, so he’s proposed a romantic evening watching whatever is playing while we eat hot dogs and drink liters of Coke.

The tingling in my stomach hasn’t stopped since I fell asleep on his bed. It’s been there, even though just slightly. I don’t ignore it, because it’s this feeling that’s kept me going for four years while he was away.

I head back into my bedroom from the attached bathroom to find Ryder lounging on my armchair. The large ornate one-seater is right at the window, overlooking our vast gardens. I wonder if he knows I used to sit there watching him and Preston play ball in the backyard. Or if he knows I used to sit there only to see how he’d lie out in the sun, tanning his already golden skin while my brother would entertain all the girls he’d brought home.

“You okay there, baby girl?” Ryder questions, setting a magazine he was flipping through on the small table.

“I am. Do I look okay?” I near him, padding closer in my bright purple socks. His hazel eyes track me from head to toe and back again, but he doesn’t respond. “What?” I finally ask as he watches me intently.

“Just looking at my beautiful girl.”

My cheeks heat with a blush when he rises and closes the distance between us. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck and he leans in to kiss me.

“What is he doing in here?” The deep rumble of my father’s livid tone shudders through me like thunder rolling in. A storm is threatening and I know we’ll all get caught in it.

“Dad—”

“Don’t Dad me,” he bites out. “Get out of my daughter’s bedroom, right now.” I’ve seen my father angry before, but this is ridiculous. We weren’t even doing anything.

“Dad, I’m twenty years old,” I tell him, hoping he’ll calm down, but my father doesn’t see anything except the inked bad boy from my youth in my bedroom.

“I’ll see you later,” Ryder confirms, the sorrow so clear in his deep hazel eyes that they shimmer with guilt. He turns and leaves me with my father.

“No!” I race from the room, only to have my father reach for my bicep, gripping it almost painfully. “Let me go.”

“You are my daughter, Piper. Under my roof you live by my rules. This is my house and I will not have you disrespecting me.” I tug free from his hold and run down the stairs to find Ryder at the front door.

“Please don’t go,” I plead, my heart shattering, fragment by tiny fragment.

“I’ll see you soon. He won’t listen to me, or you,” Ryder tells me what I already know.

My father can be a tyrant. Ryder gently pulls me into a hug. His lips press against the top of my head in a calming kiss, but nothing can keep me from crying. Not right now.

“I want to go with you,” I tell him, gripping his T-shirt, holding on to him so tight. I’m scared if I let go, he’ll vanish like he did so many years ago.

“Are you still in my house?” My father’s venomous growl comes from behind me. His grip on Ryder’s shirt tugs him free from me and I’m soon stumbling backward.

“Richard.” My mother’s voice has me spinning around to see her coming from the kitchen with a cup of tea. “What on earth are you doing?”

“My daughter will not be lumped with a fucking man who cannot offer her anything. He’s already messed up our son’s life. Preston was expelled from college because of Ryder Kingsley. Look at him,” my father sneers, tugging on Ryder’s shirt. “He caused a drunken accident and lost his leg. Do you think I’m going to allow my daughter near the likes of him?”

“I’m an adult. If I want to be with Ryder, I’ll be with him.”

“Sir, with the utmost respect—”

“Respect?” The laugh my father responds with is livid and angry. He turns to me suddenly, pointing at the staircase. “Get to your room.” It’s been a while since he spoke to me like a child, like I was disappointing him, but the tone of his voice is enough to have my body vibrating with frustration and anger.

Without responding, I race up the stairs with one quick glance at Ryder. His eyes meet mine and I try to tell him to wait for me with a look. Once in my bedroom, I tug a small hold-all from my closet.

My mind is made up. I need to get out of my father’s house. I’ll never be happy with the way he wants to rule my life, and that’s his fault. Not mine. Stuffing clothes, underwear, and my toothbrush into the bag, I cast a quick glance around, making sure I haven’t missed anything vital. Shoving my feet into my sneakers, I make my way back downstairs in time to see Ryder walking out the door.

I sneak past my father. But as soon as I make it out the door, he roars at me. His heated gaze burns into my back. I don’t want to look at him, but I can’t help turning to face the man I grew up fearing.

“Where the hell are you going?” His voice thunders as he stalks closer to Ryder’s car.

“You said I can’t be with Ryder while I’m under your roof. Well, I’m making sure I’m no longer under your roof,” I tell him, following the man I love as he pulls the passenger door open, allowing me to slide into the seat.

“Get back here, Piper! If you leave you lose everything, and I mean every perk you’ve become accustomed to.” His warning is clear. I’ll be cut off from the family money.

“Piper, darling.”

I turn to my mother. “I’m sorry, Mom, it’s done.” I slip into the passenger seat and stare straight ahead. I don’t need to see the disappointment in my father’s eyes.

“Are you sure about this?” Ryder’s gaze is pinned on me. His frown lines crease his forehead and I’m struck by how much I do want this. How much I no longer care about the demands of my parents. All my life I’ve been a pawn in their lives, making sure I was the perfect princess. But I’m not that, nowhere near.

I smile, nod, then whisper. “I’ve never been surer about anything in my life.”

Ryder’s smile has always been my weakness. And right now, he gifts it to me in spades. The grin that makes my heart leap wildly in my chest is plastered on his face, but in his eyes, I see the sadness that it’s come to this.

“I’d have to choose at some point, my father would’ve always given me an ultimatum,” I tell Ryder. “And there’s no longer a choice in this. You hold my heart. You always will.”

My confession has him nodding his head and starting the car. As we make our way down the drive, I know I’ve made the best decision for me. I’m no longer worried about what other’s think. Ryder is mine and I’ll always be his.