Page 15 of Rush
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and picked up the pen.
Sitting in that little Chinese restaurant across from Ryan Harper, blast from the past, I contemplated my life’s work and all the things I’d wished I’d had the courage and time to do. What had I missed that would’ve meant something to me? What were some of the things I’d gushed about seeing on the Discovery Channel with Harper that we’d never ended up going to do? What had my life lacked while I was working twenty-four seven at Slattery?
Putting pen to paper, I scrawled a few things that came to mind. I supposed they were okay, but I had no idea what I wanted out of life anymore, let alone know if my list was lame. Which it probably was.
“Are you going to share it with me?” Ryan asked with a grin. “I’m dying to see what you think is worthy of being on a bucket list.”
Placing my finger on the receipt, I edged it across the table. He picked it up and scanned the meager list I’d scrawled, his expression completely unreadable.
“Experience the world like a child.” He raised an eyebrow.
“I was always studying and working,” I said in my defense. “Get good grades, and you’ll go far, Jade.” I mimicked my dad’s voice. “At the expense of going to the zoo, eating ice cream at the beach, getting my face painted, riding carousels and Ferris wheels. You know. Kid stuff.”
“You never went to a zoo before?” Ryan asked, looking shocked. “Not even on a school excursion?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Sad, right?”
“Kinda.”
“I was always working extra shifts to pay for school and keeping my grades up to qualify for scholarships.”
“You were a scholarship kid?” he asked, sounding surprised. “I always thought you were rich like all the others.”
“Far from it, actually. I suppose that’s why I was so desperate to belong.”
“Fair enough.” He made a face and read the next item on the list. “Go hot air ballooning.”
“Self-explanatory.”
“Free fall.” He glanced at me. “Skydiving?”
“Too cliché,” I replied with a flick of my hair. “Something different. That one’s still a work in progress, I suppose.”
“Pull an all-nighter.” He laughed. “All those parties in high school and you never went the distance?”
“Never. See item number one for the explanation.” I rolled my eyes.
“What does this one mean?” He turned the piece of paper around and pointed to item number five. “Three question marks.”
“I don’t know,” I replied with a shrug. “Once I complete the first four, I’ll know what to put in there. Or at least, I hope I will.”
“So tell me,” Ryan began, the list still clutched between his fingers. “Are you actually going to do all these things?”
I was feeling passionate about it now, but who knew how lazy I would be in the morning when I had to get up and drag myself to work—aka, reality.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I snatched the list back and shoved it and the pen into my bag.
“Are you still staying at that hotel?”
“Yeah. I haven’t had time to think about finding a place, let alone get all my stuff from Hunter’s place. I’ll have to get one of those storage sheds and hire a mover… Hunter’s going away on Wednesday, so I can get in without seeing his cheating ass.” Glancing up, I frowned when I saw the look on Ryan’s face. He was scowling, his brow knitted together with an intensity that made me worry about the integrity of the vein in his forehead. “What?”
“How much is that shit costing you?”
“What? The hotel?”
He nodded.
“A hundred and fifty a night, I think. I have no idea what one of those crappy little sheds is worth. I’ll have to get my assistant to check it out for me tomorrow.” Thinking about Juliette, I knew she would have my back, but Slattery paid her to.
