“Sure.” He let his gaze drop to her breasts briefly before meeting her gaze again. “I’m going to be doing what I’ve always done. Keeping people safe.” He glanced at Donovan. “Stepping in when there’s a problem.”
Was he saying that he saw Donovan as a problem?
Donovan smiled at him. “From what I’ve heard, you have the reputation of being one of the best.”
Ryan gave him a puzzled look that turned into a half smile. “I like to think so.”
Leanne didn’t get it. It felt like the two of them were having a conversation and she wasn’t included—and it wasn’t about security and protection services. She frowned at Ryan and opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.
“I like to think I’m the best. But we all know that Leanne is the best. I’m glad you’re on board.”
Her heart raced. His smile looked genuine. She didn’t get what was going on here. Maybe there wasn’t anything going on and she was just overthinking it? “Thanks.” She reached down into her purse and pulled her phone out. Neither of them needed to know that she hadn’t just heard it buzz. She looked at it as though she was reading a message and then gave them an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I need to take this. Can you two do this without me?”
Donovan gave her a puzzled look, and she felt bad. But she had to go. She’d thought that she could sit through this, but she’d been wrong.
She headed straight back out to the parking lot, needing some fresh air. What was her problem? She should have been able to handle half an hour sitting in his office, listening to him tell them what he did, and what he planned to do. Where they’d fit in. If she couldn’t do that, how was she going to be able to work with him?
Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it. It was a text from Ryan.
You can have him back in half an hour.
You can have me back anytime you want.
She stared at it, her heart racing. She wanted to answer him and tell him that she didn’t want him back. But that would be a lie, and she had the feeling that he knew it—even if she was still struggling to admit it.
I thought we were going to stay out of each other’s way.
She didn’t know what else to say.
You only said until I prove that you were wrong.
She frowned. Yes. She had said that. And he wasn’t going to be able to prove it.
I’m going to do that tomorrow night, so …
What the hell was he talking about? She didn’t know, but she did know that he was sitting in his office with Donovan. So, why was he texting her instead of talking to him? She also knew that he’d be waiting for her to ask him to explain. She blew out a sigh and sent:
?
His reply came back almost immediately.
You’re having dinner with me tomorrow night. I’ll prove it to you then.
Damn, him! He had a nerve.
What makes you think I’m having dinner with you? I might have other plans.
You don’t. And we both know that Donovan won’t mind. I’ll pick you up at seven.
She stared at the screen. Her hands were shaking. Why was she letting herself get dragged back into this? It was bad enough that she’d crumbled and faced the fact that she didn’t hate him, that she did miss him. But was she really going to have dinner with him? Listen to his lies again and let him try to convince her with some kind of proof that she knew couldn’t exist? She shouldn’t do any of it. She should tell him to go screw himself. Instead, she tapped out her reply.
Okay.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ryan slid into the booth opposite Dan with a smile.
“What are you looking so pleased about? And what happened this afternoon?”
He shrugged. “I guess Leanne thought my time would be more effectively spent with Donovan.”
Dan frowned. “What happened?”
“Nothing. Honestly.” He couldn’t help smiling. “Okay, maybe I deliberately made her uncomfortable.”
“How?”
“By letting her know that I don’t plan to give up.”
Dan smiled. “So, what do you plan to do?”
“She’s going to have dinner with me tomorrow night and I’m going to prove to her once and for all that I didn’t cheat on her.”
“Good. I don’t know why you didn’t do that when you first found out what had happened.”
Ryan shrugged. “There was already too much water under the bridge by then. She swore up and down that she was done with me and that she hated me. I was still angry with her for that. I wanted her to believe me. If she needed proof, then that just said that my word meant nothing to her.”
“But if she still needs proof now … what’s changed?”
Ryan blew out a sigh. “I guess I have. I guess back then I needed her to prove that she loved me enough to believe me. Now, I’m prepared to give her whatever she needs so she can believe me.” He met Dan’s gaze. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For forcing the issue. I could have gone the rest of my life telling myself that we were over and done. But this … you’ve given me the chance to admit that I don’t want us to be over, that I want us to be back together. I don’t want her to be my past. I want her to be my future.”
Dan grinned at him. “Can I do anything to help?”
“I don’t think so. Not unless she asks you what I’m playing at. If she does, tell her the truth.”
“I will. Just set me straight on what the truth is?”
Ryan chuckled. “Okay. I’ll say it out loud. The truth is that I still love her, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.”
Dan’s eyes twinkled when he smiled. “Awesome! That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Ryan smiled back at him. “I just hope I can get through to her.”
“You will.”
After they’d eaten and he’d filled Dan in on his meeting with Sullivan in San Francisco last week, they walked back across the parking lot.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Dan said when they stopped at his truck.
“Yeah. Don’t forget that we have a call scheduled with Callahan at eleven. He’s saying he wants to come out here next week, but I know he wants to talk to you first.”
“Oh.” Dan’s smile faded. “I meant to tell you. I mentioned him to Leanne this afternoon. She didn’t look thrilled.”
Ryan sighed. “Yeah. She wouldn’t. But that’s just one more detail I need to get straightened out with her.”
“Good luck.”
“I think I’ll need it. But at this point it’s about more than luck. It’s about just deciding that I’m not going to give up until I get through to her.”
“And once you set your mind to something, you’re the most determined person I know.” Dan smiled. “Well, one of the two most determined people.”