Page 115 of The Moment He Saw Her

“How dare you!” He saw the moment the woman raised her hand. Stepping out of the shadows, Ryder moved fast and grabbed it before she could touch Libby.

“You touch her, and you’ll be sorry.”

“Who are you?” Dianne Lucas demanded when he’d released her.

“Who are you?” Ryder countered, moving closer to Libby. “You okay, baby?”

She nodded.

“Get away from her at once! You’ve had your fun with him, Elizabeth, but now we’re leaving. Simone,” she said in a high-pitched, agitated voice, which was nothing like the one she’d used before.

“I wouldn’t, Simone,” Sawyer said, coming out of the alley with Brody and Dan. “Nice name, by the way,” he added. “Soft and feminine, just like you.”

“Now you need to listen to me, Dianne,” Libby said, moving closer to Ryder until her boots brushed his. “I’m not leaving here, and Andrew and I are not pawns for you to move around the chessboard of your life.”

“Nice,” Ryder said. Libby had more strength in her voice now.

“You need to leave, and maybe I won’t tell my mother that her supposed best friend has been sleeping with her husband for years… or Andrew, for that matter.”

Simone, Ryder noted, had backed up a few steps, so maybe he wasn’t the hard-ass he portrayed, and in fact it was all about the look and smart suit he wore.

“You go on and leave my town now, Dianne, and if you set foot in it again, we won’t be as hospitable. And just so we’re clear, what you did to Libby, or made your weak-kneed son do, was a shitty thing, but I’m glad you did it, or she wouldn’t now be mine to love,” Ryder said.

“You love me?” Libby looked up at him.

“Love,” Dianne scoffed.

“Okay, so we’re done with you now. Time to go, Di, and take your beefcake of a pretty boy with you. Collect your son on the way out of town,” Sawyer said. “No one mocks my brother and gets away with it… especially that one.” He pointed to Ryder.

“Why especially him?” Dan demanded.

“He’s more sensitive than the rest of you.”

“True,” Brody said.

“Right, let’s go,” Sawyer said.

Ryder grabbed Libby’s hand and led her back into the alley as his brothers escorted Dianne Lucas and Simone away. He turned her to face him when they were halfway down.

“Okay, I hadn’t planned on saying that then, but it came out. But yes, I love you, and I know it’s only early days, and there’s a lot we don’t know about each other, but?—”

“I love you too,” she blurted. “I’ve never felt like this, and I knew it was different… you were different from the start, Ryder. You make me feel alive and hopeful. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I don’t know where this is going, but?—”

“We’ll work it out.”

She nodded.

He cupped her face. “We need to talk about so much, and I want to find a way through all of it, Libby. I want to be with you.”

“I want to be with you too, and I really am sorry I lied, Ryder. After everything you did for me, you deserved more.”

He kissed her softly. “It’s okay, but right now I have to get back for the next game.”

“Oh my gosh! You need to go!”

He smiled at her excitement.

“Lyntacks are counting on you, Ryder.” She tried to push him away, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

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