Page 6 of Falling for Mr. Wright

Melanie would be at the gala. Hell, the invitation he’d received in the mail listed her as the event’s chair, and her return address was on the envelope. Seeing her with Jeff wasn’t at the top of his bucket list, nor was reconnecting with any of the other girls he’d known in high school. Ryan wasn’t looking for love. Been there, done that, and had paid numerous deposits for a wedding that didn’t happen to prove it.

Maybe he did have commitment issues, but who could blame him?

His gaze fell on the bag of malt balls still sitting on his desk. There’d been a moment during last year’s NPH holiday party when he’d thought maybe he could fall in love again. He’d found Sarah asleep in Logan’s office chair, her feet tucked under her, strappy black heels discarded on the floor. She’d worked so hard on the party—in hindsight, probably to impress Logan.

Ryan had crept in and removed a red throw from the back of the couch opposite Logan’s desk and gently draped it over her, his hand brushing the red tendrils of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

Yeah, it had been a sweet moment, and okay, his heart might have skipped a few beats, but he hadn’t been in a place to even think about taking the moment further than a passing fantasy. With her wavy red hair and collection of sky-high heels, Sarah was hot. No question about it. His attraction to her was a given.

Now, though… Now, he wasn’t so sure what he wanted stopped at attraction.

Logan strode back into the room, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry about that. So what do you think?”

Ryan sighed. He needed to stop thinking about Sarah, given she’d pretty much just begged him to help her bag the guy once again sitting across from him. “What do I think about what?”

Logan pointed to the paper. “My speech.”

“Right. Sorry.” Ryan quickly read over the two pages that were written in typical Logan style. His remarks were short, formal, and to the point. He thanked his mom, his deceased dad, and former teachers, while sharing a little about how his high school experience had led him down the path of wanting to carry out his dad’s legacy of running a successful design company.

“This is great,” Ryan said. “I still think you should lead with the story of how you were the one responsible for the football team sneaking into the high school pool the night after winning our homecoming game, though. Imagine their faces when you tell them we all jumped in naked with the entire cheerleading squad.”

“Noted.” Logan smiled. “Maybe we should reenact it. I’m sure there will be a number of former cheerleaders there who’d be willing to go for a skinny dip.”

Ryan chuckled and handed back the sheet of paper. “I’m really proud of you, man.”

“Thanks. I think my father would be, too.”

“He’d be thrilled about the Vert Tower, that’s for sure. One hundred and twenty-eight floors. It’s a big fucking deal.”

Logan leaned back in his chair, his smile turning wistful. “He would have walked around with a hard hat on, full champagne glass in hand, toasting everyone who passed.”

Logan’s father, William Scott, had passed away unexpectedly seven years ago. The man had always gone out of his way to make Ryan feel like part of the family, despite his family’s circumstances. Ryan had shared Mr. Scott’s love for sports, so they’d talked game stats for hours while looking over William’s vast baseball card collection. Growing up without a dad, Mr. Scott was the closest thing Ryan had had to one.

Logan stood and headed for the door. “Thanks for reading this,” he said and slid the paper back inside his suit jacket. “I’ve got to jump on a conference call.”

“Later.” Ryan picked up the framed photo of William, Logan, and himself that he kept next to his computer. It’d been taken one summer on the golf links. William had pulled him aside that night, said that he was worried about Logan working himself crazy, and asked Ryan to look after him—maybe help him find a nice woman to settle down with and start a family.

He set the picture down. Would feeding a spunky redhead information on his best friend be considered looking after Logan, or would it only get her hopes up?

And what about his own attraction to her?

Maybe Logan was a better fit. Sure, his friend was private when it came to his love life, but Logan had also confided that the recent anniversary of his dad’s death had him reevaluating things and he wanted to settle down.

Sarah might be exactly what Logan needed. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and determined to get what she wanted.

But what about what Ryan might want? He lifted his Starbucks cup and stared at the red slip of paper hidden underneath, at the name “Sarah Leonard” scribbled in green ink.

Yep. His bachelor status wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

He was screwed.

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