Page 11 of Pull
As soon as they were out of the foyer and making their way to the dining room, we saw them. And they saw us.
Everyone froze. All eyes on me and Ryan.
The silence stretched through the entire house, like a giant balloon, filling up the whole place.
A throat cleared.
It was mine. “Hey, guys!” I threw on my biggest, fakest charm-you-out-of-your-panties smile, cocking my head to the side. “How’s everyone doing?”
No one responded. They all just stared at me, then Ryan, then each other.
I felt like I should nudge Ryan to get him speaking, but he seemed somewhat stiff himself. So I took matters into my own hands.
“You all remember Ryan, right?” I gestured to Ryan, as if they could have possibly forgotten who he was.
Sure. They’d probably forget who the president was before they could forget about Ryan Harper after that little show on Christmas Eve.
The quiet continued for few more excruciating seconds, before Jess’s best friend chimed in.
“Of course,” Rachel murmured, giving Ryan a polite, if not obviouslyconfused, smile. “Hi, Ryan! Good to see you again.”
My husband finally pulled himself together, swallowing visibly before his lips curved and he showed off those sexy dimples.
“Yea, you all too,” he hummed, shaking Greg and Bill’s hands, then going for kisses on the cheeks of the ladies.
“So what are you doing here?” Greg was the first one to ask, and Marie shot him a look. “Is Hailey home?” He started looking around.
“Or Tate?” Bill sneered, and the two of them started chuckling.
Dear Lord.
My patience for this whole stupid charade wore thin in an instant.I’m done with this.
“Nope. He’s here with us,” I spoke firm yet casual, then grabbed Ryan’s hand. “You guys want some food? That damn charcuterie looks delicious.”
I dragged Ryan into the dining room, Jess following closely behind us. Ryan pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down. Everyone wasstaringat us.
“So Ryan, did you come all the way from Albuquerque just for the buffalo chicken dip?” Bill asked with humor in his voice, though his eyes were serious, and aimed directly at me. He knew something was up.
“Uhh… no. No, can’t say that I did.” Ryan peeked at me.
I knew the look. It meant he wanted me to save him, but honestly there wasn’t much I could do. We were already sliding on ice. It was time to steer into the skid.
“You guys are probably wondering why we haven’t seen you in a while…” I started, cautiously. “Or, ya know… returned your calls.”
“Um, yea,” Greg huffed, sidling over to the food.
“We heard you went to Thailand…” Jess’s sister added, cocking her head as she watched Ryan huddled up at Jess’s side.
“We did,” I nodded, and said nothing more. It was excruciatingly awkward, standing around trying to figure out how to say what we needed to say, when all of their minds were likely running crazy with assumptions.
“What’s in Thailand?” Greg asked while shoving cheese into his mouth.
“We stayed at a gorgeous resort,” Jess jumped in, glancing up at Ryan with a smile. “Private, right on the water. It was tropical and just so damn beautiful. I want to go back.”
She tugged his hand, and he grinned. “Me too.”
Memories of the two of them in the pool flooded my mind, almost transporting me back there. It was trulyone of the best times of my entire life.If I could be back there right now with them, I so would. In a heartbeat.
