He gave her a half smile. “That’s up to the boss lady here.”
“You get a vote,” she told him.
“Then I’d say, yes, we’re here to stay. But I don’t have all the information yet, do I?”
Leanne blew out a sigh and checked her watch. They’d spent some time with each of Dan’s departments today. They’d even had half an hour with Manny, which hadn’t been as bad as she expected. But what Donovan was referring to was the fact that they hadn’t been in with Ryan yet. “No. You don’t. And I think I could use some fresh air before you get it.”
Brayden gave them a puzzled look. “What else do you need? I’d be happy to …”
Leanne held up a hand and smiled at him. “I wish you could. But we need to talk to Ryan.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” She got the impression that everyone here knew about the history between them and she didn’t want to make this an awkward moment for anyone. So, she smiled. “I’m going to take a walk around the parking lot. When Dan gets back, would you tell him I’m out there?”
“Sure.”
Donovan followed her outside. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. And thank you. I know I shouldn’t have said … shouldn’t have told Ryan that you were, that we were …”
He chuckled. “I’ve told you. It’s not a problem. And I don’t mind. I’ll play it however you want me to. When you first explained it, I thought I’d be able to run him off for you …”
She looked up at him. He was a handsome guy. She almost wished that she were capable of liking him, of actually being with him instead of just pretending to Ryan that she was. But she wasn’t. “I was never expecting you to do that. And now that you’ve seen him, you can understand why.”
“It’s not that.” He chuckled again. “Though you do have a point. I’d try, but I get the impression that he’d snap me like a twig. But that’s not what I mean. After seeing you with him …” He hesitated.
“Go on, say it.”
“Okay. It’s obvious that there’s no running him off. And there’s no running you off, either. I always wondered why you never dated. Now I know.”
She frowned. “What do you mean? What do you know?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, I don’t actually know, but I’d put money on the fact that you’re still in love with each other.”
She stared at him. “Is it that obvious?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It is. Like I said. I’ll play this however you want me to. But I can see that it’s not about getting rid of him. It’s about how you two find your way back to each other, right?”
She inhaled sharply. “It can’t be.”
“Why?”
“Because …”
She turned when the door behind her opened and Dan stuck his head out. “Sorry about that, guys.” He came out to join them. “I didn’t know it’d take so long.”
Leanne smiled at him. “You look stressed. I don’t know about bringing us in to take care of the legal side, what you really need is someone to come in as an operations manager, let them run interference while you get back to doing your thing.”
Dan gave her a wary look.
“What?”
“You’re right.” He smiled. “As usual.”
She laughed. “Nothing new there. But that’s not what has you looking so uncomfortable. What is it?”
“I have someone in mind to come in and do exactly what you just said.”
Leanne narrowed her eyes at him. “Who?”
“Callahan.”
She didn’t answer that. How could she?
“Would you be okay with that?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“We can talk about it. He’s supposed to be coming soon but I don’t know when yet. For now, we should get you in with Ryan.”
“Yeah. I guess we should.” She wanted a few minutes before she had to go into his office, wanted to fix her makeup … give herself a good talking to … something. But Dan was opening the door, leading them back inside. What the hell. Better to get it over with.
Donovan raised an eyebrow at her when Dan knocked on Ryan’s door. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She lifted her chin. This was work. That was all. This wasn’t about Ryan and her or their past. Or even their future. She closed her eyes. And where had that thought even come from? They didn’t have a future.
They followed Dan inside. Her heart raced when she saw him. He’d always looked good in a suit. She was surprised to see him wearing one—navy, with a crisp white shirt. The other guys were dressed more casually.
He got to his feet with a smile that made her heart feel as though it might beat out of her chest. It was his old smile, the lines around his eyes crinkled deeper than they used to, and it was even sexier.
“Come on in.”
Dan glanced at her. “I’ll leave you guys to it, unless you need me for anything?”
She shook her head. He was offering to stay as a buffer if she needed him, but she didn’t. She could handle this.
He left while Ryan was shaking hands with Donovan. “Good to meet you. We didn’t get the chance to talk the other night.”
Leanne watched them. She’d planned to have the two of them talk on Saturday night. But that plan had gone awry. Instead of having Ryan talk to Donovan, she’d gone out back with him—and kissed him. She squeezed her eyes shut at the memory of that kiss.
He turned to her and took hold of her hand, closing both of his around it. She didn’t have time to react as he pulled her in close and kissed her cheek. “It’s good to see you, Lee.”
Damn him! The smell of leather and spice filled up her senses and the warmth and nearness of him filled up the space around them. She stepped back quickly. “You, too. I have to say, I’m impressed.”
He gestured for them to take a seat and went back around his desk to sit opposite them. “I can’t take any credit for it. It’s all Dan.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “The tech side is, but from what he’s said, and what I’ve seen, you’ve done a lot of legwork to set up the rest of it.”
He shrugged. “Nothing would ever have happened without Dan.”
Her chin jerked up and she met his gaze. Was he still talking about work? She wasn’t sure. It felt like he was talking about the two of them. Or maybe her mind was still addled from standing too close to him? From wishing that he’d kissed her lips and not her cheek. Shit! She needed to get a grip.
“True.” She conceded either way. “He said you’re going to fill us in on your plans for the physical side.”
One eyebrow raised slightly, and the corners of his lips quirked up so slightly that she doubted Donovan would even notice. It was only because she knew him so well. She knew all his facial expressions.