Page 77 of The Moment He Saw Her

“How do you know I wanted one?”

“Do you?”

“Yes, but you didn’t know that.” Ryder knew he sounded testy, but it felt like suddenly his life wasn’t his own anymore, and everyone in Lyntacky had a say in it.

“You sound testy. Not getting enough sleep?” Cill asked. “Jed gets real testy if he has no sleep.”

“It’s a man thing,” Nina added.

“Do you always have an audience for your work?”

“Only when I get important clients like you,” JD said.

Closing his eyes, Ryder blocked them out. He’d meditated a few times, especially when things were tough. He may seem easygoing, but inside his head was another matter entirely. Sometimes he had at least fifty tabs open with no hope of closing them.

Ryder often thought he’d taken a while to settle on something he loved because he’d had so many other things to discard on the way to finding it.

“He’s got good bone structure. Do you want a facial, Ryder?”

“No, Nina, I do not.”

“I could rub your shoulders,” Cill said. “Oh hey, Libby, you’re a doll for making us those drinks. I think JD should simply employ you full-time to work here and make us stuff. Do you bake for Ryder?”

He knew Cill was trying to annoy him, so he kept his eyes closed.

“I don’t, no. Ryder is your best bet when it comes to delicious food and coffee. I only know how to make it because he taught me.”

She’d said the words quickly, as if to soothe any ruffled feathers Cill may have given him. The woman clearly had avoided conflict and not lived anywhere like Lyntacky in her past life. Conflict started at breakfast in this town. Opening his eyes, he looked directly at her, as she was standing at the foot of the bed he lay on.

“Here’s your coffee, Ryder.” She held out a caramel-colored mug for him.

“Thanks.”

Her eyes went to the arm which JD was working on and grew wide.

“What is that about?” Nina said, pointing to his shoulder.

“You don’t recognize it? It’s a cartoon symbol called Popeye,” JD said.

“Ha-ha,” Ryder said, looking at Libby. What was she thinking? She looked shocked to him. “It’s the symbol of many things. Harmony, balance, growth, that kind of thing,” Ryder said.

“I’ll get back to work,” Libby said, and seconds later, she was gone.

“What’s her deal?” Cill asked, nodding to the door Libby had just fled through.

“How would I know what her deal is?”

“You work and live with her,” Nina said.

“For a handful of days, and we don’t talk at work because—this may come as a shock now, so brace yourself—we were working. At home she was always in her room.”

“Did you have sex?”

Nina’s words had Ryder choking on his coffee.

“Well, hell, is it okay if your tree has a branch out of its trunk that looks like a penis?” JD said. “Because you jerked your arm at the wrong time.”

“No, we did not have sex,” Ryder hissed.

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