Page 53 of The Moment He Saw Her

“Fuck off, Geoff,” Ryder said.

“I laid you out flat in school. I can do it again,” Fox said, advancing.

Oh my God, was she going to be the cause of Ryder Duke fighting again? Libby hated violence; it made her feel shaky and a little nauseous. Possibly because she’d not been exposed to much of it in her lifetime, which she knew was exceedingly lucky considering what some others had to put up with.

“I was five, Fox. Move on,” Ryder said. “Now, go back to your beer, and we’ll leave.”

Fox and Ryder eyeballed each other for long seconds, and then the man sighed.

“Just trying to earn some cash, man,” Fox said. “Easy for you Dukes. We all know you got money.”

“We work as hard as the next man,” Ryder said, and his voice had a mean tone to it now.

“Dukes are good folks,” another man said.

“I know,” Fox Gleeson added, shaking his head. “Sorry, Ryder.”

“All good, bud, but don’t try putting anyone else in there”—he jabbed a finger at the RV—“until you’ve cleaned it up.”

“I am quite happy to be staying in there,” Libby lied.

“Yeah. Guess you’re right, Ryder,” Fox said as if she’d not spoken.

She’d noticed that about people in this town. They tended to ignore her if Ryder was talking. It was irritating.

And that, as far as Libby could see, was that. Ryder tugged on her wrist, and seconds later, they were walking around the house.

“I’m not your property, Ryder. You may employ me?—”

“And let you sleep in my house,” he added.

“Fine, I owe you and have thanked you. I’ll work a day for free if that makes you happy.”

He opened the passenger door, then put his hand on her head like she’d seen police do on TV and forced her inside. He then slammed it. Ryder got in the driver’s side and slammed that door, too, and soon they were backing out the drive. He beeped the horn, and the men still seated raised their beers.

“I’m not sure what just happened,” Libby said.

“We grew up together is what happened. Fox knew he was wrong. Now, you need to listen to me, Libby.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Until a room comes free somewhere in town that is warm, dry, and not in Fox Gleeson’s backyard or the back seat of your car, you can continue to stay with me, and I will charge you a huge rent.”

“I can’t do that, Ryder. I’ve already been there too long.”

“Why?” He shot her a look. “This is not the Victorian era, Libby. People of different sexes cohabitate all the time.”

“Because you have a girlfriend!” The word came out a screech.

“And I told you I don’t,” he snapped. “SJ is someone I went to school with who was raised with shitty examples as parents, and she now thinks the only way people—namely, men—will appreciate her is if she flirts with them. I’m nice to her, which is possibly going to change after today,” he added.

“I still don’t believe you,” Libby said, folding her arms. “No one just kisses someone like that when they aren’t together.”

“So, by those standards, we should be together?”

She’d walked right into that one, Libby thought. “What we shared was not a real kiss like the one you and SJ had. It was just a comfort thing. We both knew that.”

He slammed on the brakes right there in the middle of the street. Seconds later, he was unclipping her belt and pulling her across the console so she was in his lap. He then kissed her. Shock held Libby still, and then she couldn’t think of anything but Ryder and the feel of his lips on hers. It was hard, possessive, and she’d never been kissed like that before. While she was grappling with the sensations bombarding her, he lifted his head and looked at her. Both of them were breathing hard.

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