Page 27 of A Lot Like Love
“You okay?”
Ryder’s hand on her shoulder calmed her, his voice deep and soothing.
“Fine,” she said, taking a breath and slowly turning to face him. “I’ll be just fine.”
“It’s the bubbles,” he told her, taking her hand firmly and leading her back to one of the large cream leather chairs. “One glass in the air is like three on the ground.”
Chloe took the bottle of water he passed her, unscrewing the top and taking a big gulp. She did it again and started to feel less like her head was full of cotton candy. When the plane lurched for a third time she grabbed hold of Ryder’s hand again, tight. His fingers interlinked with hers, grip firm as he tugged her hand down to rest on his thigh.
“We’ll be fine. It’s just bad weather,” he said, swapping hands so his right was holding her right hand, so he could put the other arm around her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have let you have a second glass without warning you.”
Chloe relaxed into him, forgot her anger. “Thanks,” she mumbled, wishing she wasn’t acting like such a baby. Planes didn’t just fall from the sky, but a few bouts of turbulence and she was a nervous wreck.
“Maybe we should have taken the road-trip option, huh?” Ryder said as rain started lashing the wings of the plane while they both stared out at the sky. “We could have been singing along to some country music and eating greasy burgers about now.”
She leaned into him and laughed, comforted by his hold as the plane moved a little too much for her comfort. She’d gone from being furious with him to thankful he was beside her, and she did have to admit that he was kind of fun. Chloe hadn’t let her hair down in a long time because life had become too serious, so maybe she needed to just enjoy Ryder’s company.
“If we were in a car we’d have the wipers going flat-out and you’d be struggling to see the road.”
Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, there is that.”
When the weather settled and the plane hadn’t lurched for a while, Chloe pulled out of Ryder’s arms and picked up her bottle of water again for something to do. She took a sip.
“Could you live without all this?” she asked, looking around at their surroundings before fixing her gaze on him. “If it was all taken away, what would you do?”
Ryder didn’t look at her, just grunted and stared straight ahead. “If all this was taken away from me, it’d mean my family didn’t want anything to do with me. And I couldn’t live with that. The luxuries, sure, but not them.”
“Then why did you take that gamble on Saturday night?” she asked, wondering if she’d just seriously overstepped. “It just doesn’t make sense. You might be fun and impulsive, but it’s still just…weird.”
His shoulders moved up, then down as he took a big breath and let it go. When he turned, all she saw was regret.
“I’ve never lost big before,” he told her. “I’ve been on a high since coming back to Texas, but I’ve also been keeping a low profile, trying to keep out of trouble. Only to prove that I’m one big screw up.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe that’s what you are.”
“It’s taken a hell of a big effort to stay on the straight and narrow since I’ve been back, but maybe I’m just not supposed to be the reformed bad boy,” he told her. “I was better when I didn’t give a damn and I wasn’t known for my family name. When I was away from home, I made a name for myself. I didn’t need to dropKinginto a sentence because everything I had was self-made.”
“So this is what this is about? Wanting to prove yourself?”
“Is it so bad to want to have a shot at life on your own terms? Without anyone else’s expectations following you around like a shadow?” He grimaced. “I love my family, but I’m the youngest of two overachieving brothers. It felt good to show the world that I could hold my own.”
“Don’t you ever take what you have for granted,” she said, reaching for his hand again and studying his tanned skin as she made their fingers interlace. “When I win it all back for you, I want you to promise me that you won’t gamble again. You don’t have to be good all the time, and you can be whoever the hell you want to be, but you do have to not be stupid.”
He dipped his head. “Why are you doing this for me, Chloe?”
She was going to joke, like she always did when things became too serious, but she stopped herself. “Because I want something you can give me.”
“It’s not just for that,” he said. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Chloe stared at him. Either he was fishing for information or he actually took a lot more notice than she would have given him credit for.
“Look, I liked you when I met you, and then when I saw what happened the other night…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I could see that me helping you could be mutually beneficial. I don’t exactly like working my ass off for minimum wage and tips.”
“But you don’t think I’m a complete fuckup?” he asked.
Chloe wrapped her arms around herself. “No,” she said honestly. “I don’t.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I did this?” he asked, running a hand down her arm at the same time as raising an eyebrow.
