Chapter Eight
Sarah swiped her peppermint lip balm across her lips for the umpteenth time while waiting in the hotel lobby for Ryan.
He’d met her downstairs minutes earlier, looking all sexy GQ-casual in his dark-brown jacket, black cable sweater, and beige pants, damn him. They’d traded awkward good-morning pleasantries before he’d rushed out to retrieve his car. A nice gesture since this morning’s temperature was more seasonable for December. Still, she couldn’t help but worry last night had unsettled him even more than she’d feared.
After replaying their kiss in her mind all night, each time just as good as the last, she decided to blame her recent dating dry spell. She’d missed the feel and taste of a man, that’s all. Nothing more, nothing less.
But this wasn’t just any man.
It was Ryan.
Her friend.
And, not to forget, the guy she’d asked for help to get the attention of his best friend.
What was I thinking? I’m the worst person on the planet. She plopped down on a nearby sofa and buried her head in her hands.
Maybe she should use the drive back home to work on her resignation letter.
“You okay?”
She looked up to see Ryan standing in front of her, concern in his eyes. “I’m fine. Couldn’t be better,” she blurted out and jumped up. “I’m ready to hit the road. Maybe do some carpool karaoke. Britney Spears, here I come. Let’s go!”
Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed by her incessant babble. Oh, Sarah. Just stop talking.
Ryan grabbed her suitcase. She followed him out the glass door to where his BMW was now parked and slid on her black sunglasses to avoid direct eye contact. How was she going to survive the next two hours? What should she say? Maybe she could pretend she was sleeping.
As they drove out of the parking lot, Ryan played with the heat vents. “Is it warm enough?”
“It’s fine, thank you.” Oh God. They were reduced to awkward small talk about the temperature in the car.
“How did you sleep?”
“Good,” she lied. “You?”
“Out like a light.”
Really? She searched his face for any sign that he was lying, too, but his relaxed expression gave nothing away. Was he not as preoccupied as she was by what had happened on the football field?
She’d barely slept a wink, replaying their kiss.
Heat crept up the inside of her turtleneck, and she pushed the car vent away from her. Their spontaneous make out had been hands down the hottest kiss of her life. However, when they went back into the gala, Ryan had acted like nothing significant had happened between them and, shortly after, drove them back to the hotel.
She’d wondered—okay, maybe hoped—that he’d kiss her good night, but he’d stopped at her room door, thanked her for joining him, and told her to sleep tight.
Yeah, right. As if that could’ve happened. There was no sleeping. Frustrated and confused, she’d flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling for hours, dissecting every minute of the evening leading up to their amazing kiss.
Sarah fiddled with the ring on her finger, not sure what to say. “Did you make it down to the breakfast buffet?”
“No. Are you hungry?” he asked. “We could stop somewhere if you’d like.”
And endure this painful conversation over pancakes? I don’t think so. “I’m good,” she said.
But after an hour of awkward small talk, she was far from good. There were too many what-ifs swamping her head for her to be good. Maybe she’d attacked his mouth, but Ryan was the one who’d initiated their kissing. Had he planned it?
Ryan pulled into a gas station and headed inside to grab snacks and pay.
Sarah thunked her head against the window. It didn’t matter if he’d planned to kiss her. Ryan Wright wasn’t looking for a relationship with anyone, despite his weird comment about being interested in someone like her. He’d made that point clear on several occasions.
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Yes. She and Ryan were better off friends. He wasn’t part of her plan to win the heart of a man ready to settle down. Logan was whom she needed to focus on. He was smart, good-looking, and wildly successful. They’d be good together.
Which meant, to get back on track, she was going to have to address what had happened, because after an hour driving, Ryan clearly wasn’t going to bring it up.
He opened the car door and handed her an iced coffee.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the drink.
“You’re welcome. Unfortunately, they didn’t have mocha.”
She took a sip. How sweet of him to remember her favorite drink. Would Logan?
Stop it.
“So…Ryan. I wasn’t sure how to bring this up, but before we get home, I think we should talk about what happened.”
“On the football field?” Ryan asked, turning on the car, shifting gears, and proceeding back onto the highway.
“Yes.” She paused for a second, collecting her thoughts. “I’m so embarrassed, and I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not a big deal. We were drinking and got carried away, that’s all.”
Her heart fell, hearing his casual explanation. She frowned. Was that how he saw it? They’d only had one glass of champagne each—nowhere near enough to play the alcohol card. Still, maybe to preserve their friendship it was better to agree and try to lighten the mood. “I did promise to give the town of Westbrook something to talk about…”
“And you certainly delivered.” His sexy chuckle did a number on her insides. “I’m sure you were just living out your Dillon, Montana farm-girl dreams of making out with a legendary high school football hero.”
“Oh, so now you’re legendary.” She returned his laugh with one of her own, relieved that they’d found their way back to their usual banter.
They spent the rest of the drive listening to music and chatting about what they both had on tap for the upcoming week. While she needed to prepare for two final budget meetings that Logan had with his senior team on Thursday, Ryan shared that he’d be meeting with the first tenant to lease office space at Vert Tower when it opened in the spring.
“You’re pretty excited about this new building,” she said as he turned onto her street.
“That’s an understatement.”
She touched his arm, and the same tingles she’d felt last night were back. She smiled inwardly at that small souvenir from their time together, even if it would never happen again. “I really did mean what I said to Melanie. Logan hired the right man for the job.”
“Thank you.”
“Unless you blow it,” she added.
“I’ll do my best not to.” Ryan grinned, pulling his car up in front of her apartment building. Before she could respond, he jumped out to retrieve her suitcase.
Sarah slipped out of the passenger side and met him on the curb, taking her bag from him. “I’ll see you in the office.”
“See you tomorrow.” He stood inches away, not making a move to leave.
She gulped, raising her chin. For a split second as their eyes locked, she swore he was about to kiss her again. Not sure she’d be able to resist, which would be bad, she took a step back. “Lunch at noon?”
“I’ll be there.” Ryan stepped off the curb and walked back to his driver’s side, sliding in.
Sarah turned to go inside, when Ryan called out her name. She whipped around to see he’d rolled down his passenger window, and her traitorous heart skipped a beat. “Yes?”
“Remember, my dry cleaning will be ready tomorrow afternoon. I use the place across from the office with the neon-blue sign.”
She chuckled. “Pressed pants. Place with the neon-blue sign. I’m on it.”
He grinned. “Bye, Sarah.”
“Bye.”
And just like that they were back to normal. She waved as he drove away. Tomorrow they’d joke around in the cafeteria, probably splitting one of his sister’s scrumptious desserts. Their friendship wouldn’t be ruined by some silly road trip make-out session.
She picked up her suitcase and watched his car disappear around the corner.
Normal. That’s what they needed.
So why did she feel like “normal” was no longer going to be enough?