“I think we need to address some things,” he said without looking at her. “I can’t help if I intimidate you. I realize it’s something I strive for in business dealings, but I didn’t realize it came across at social events too.”
She wanted to call BS on that statement, but kept it to herself.
“But this is business, Peyton,” he went on. “I’m not going to jump through hoops and change who I am just to amuse you. Believe it or not, I’m trying to help you.”
“Help me? How?”
“I realize I’m hiring you as a consultant, but I’d also like to help you learn a little more about how to grow your business. Sort of like a teacher or a mentor.”
While that was a sweet offer, it would be easier for her to handle if he were about twenty years older, six inches shorter, and possibly bald. The man standing beside her was very…tempting. It didn’t seem possible, but she found him even more attractive right now than she did in a tuxedo.
I’m in deep, deep trouble…
Ryder turned his head and caught her staring at him. Blushing, Peyton wanted to look away, but his eyes sort of held her right where she was.
It was practically hypnotic.
Peyton had always been shy around boys, and later, men.
And those had just been average-looking guys.
There was nothing average about Ryder and now, as she stood close to him–could smell his cologne and feel the heat radiating off his body–she felt way out of her element. It would be incredibly rude to walk away from him twice, and she realized he was waiting for her to respond.
“Oh.”
He arched a dark brow at her. “Oh? That’s all you have to say?” Amusement laced his words.
Forcing herself to look away, Peyton let out a long breath and chose to focus on the waves while she spoke. She wanted to say it was odd how he was taking an interest in her and her business, but considering what he’d just done for her cousin Garrett, maybe it wasn’t so odd.
Say something!
“I appreciate the offer, Ryder. You certainly don’t need to do that. I’m sure you’re very busy as it is without adding teaching me to your schedule.” She paused, but the confession was out before she could stop it. “I’ve worked very hard to manage everything. I’ve only really taken the lead at the café in the last year because the staff had everything under control and I wanted to learn as much as I could before stepping in and being the boss. I doubled up on classes at school when I inherited it and I’m always taking online classes to make sure I’m as up-to-date as possible on everything, but it’s exhausting. I’ve got no one to talk to about it and I keep a smile on my face so no one knows I’m struggling.” Then she let out a mirthless laugh before turning and facing him. “Still want to take me on as a consultant?”
Ryder’s expression was intense and he was quiet for so long that she was on the verge of babbling an apology. But then he reached out and took one of her hands in his and her knees went a little weak.
“Thank you for sharing that with me,” he said, his voice low and soft. “I know it’s not easy to admit to struggling and I’m sorry you don’t have some sort of support group of friends or family that you can turn to. But you’re not alone. Not anymore.” He squeezed her hand as tears stung her eyes. There was a sincerity there that she didn’t expect, and it was crazy how much she wanted to lean in and hug him.
But she didn’t.
“Part of being good at your job is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and always wanting to learn how to do better. Based on what you just told me, I bet you’re doing a better job than you think.”
“I don’t know about that…”
He gave her hand another gentle squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go back inside and start talking about our visions.”
“Our?”
Nodding, he explained. “I obviously have a vision for the resort and you have a vision for the restaurant you were going to build. I’d be honored if you shared some of that with me.” He gave her a boyish grin that seemed completely out of character for him. “Of course, I’d completely understand if you wanted to keep it to yourself and use on a future restaurant.”
“I doubt…”
She never got to finish.
“I told you I’d build your restaurant,” he quickly interrupted. “But if you’d rather hold on to your original plans and use them at a later date, that’s fine too.”
This was all almost too good to be true. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. But then Ryder squeezed her hand and she figured that was close enough.
“Let’s go inside,” he said softly, and Peyton was more than happy to let him lead the way.
As soon as Peyton excused herself to go get her laptop and files, Ryder let out a long, uneven breath.
He wanted her.
When he had followed her out onto the deck and listened to her confession, he’d felt something he’d never felt before–the need to comfort and protect. In his mind, he kept telling himself to treat her like a friend’s little sister who was off-limits. When that didn’t work, he reminded himself how they were entering into a potentially long-term business arrangement and how he never mixed business with pleasure.
Then he went and touched her and all those thoughts flew right out the window. The rush to get her inside to talk about plans and strategy was less about him actually wanting to do it, but more like he needed to. If they had stayed outside any longer, Ryder knew he would have pulled her into his arms to offer her comfort and then…
It didn’t matter. He’d taken control of the situation and he knew he would hold onto it while they opened a dialogue on how they saw these two projects going. He’d never had a problem keeping his focus on a task before, and he didn’t plan on having one now.
“Why don’t we sit in the living room and I’ll lay everything out on the coffee table,” Peyton said with a smile as she walked back into the room.
Ryder watched as she moved with the grace of a dancer, and realized he’d also never done business with a beautiful woman wearing yoga pants and a clingy top.
Austin had warned him not to do this, not to show up on her doorstep and try to convince her to work with him. Of course, Austin’s reasoning for it being a bad idea had nothing to do with how alluring his cousin was.
She walked by him on her way to the kitchen. “Would you like another glass of wine? A bottle of water?”
“Um…”
“We really didn’t finish eating, either,” she called out. “Want me to warm the pizza up and we can eat while we work?”
“Um…” For a man who always had something to say, Ryder found himself at a loss for words. Not that it mattered. Peyton was fluttering around putting the pizza in the oven, pouring him another glass of wine and grabbing a bottle of water for herself. Within minutes, she had everything set up on the large coffee table and was sitting with her feet tucked under her. She smiled up at him, and he knew he would need to sit down.
Close to her.
Think business…statistics…financial statements…
He sat putting the most distance he could between them without being obvious and thanked her when she handed him a plate with another slice of pizza on it.