Page 54 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 13
Goodbye Vegas,” Chloe said, stretching her legs out and shutting her eyes.
Ryder passed her a bottle of water and stared out at the view as the jet lifted higher into the air. It had been a fun few days, and he was starting to wish they’d hidden from reality for longer and stayed. Or maybe gone somewhere else so Chloe didn’t have the fear of god in her over running into her father again.
“Does that mean you won’t be coming to watch me ride at the National Finals next month?”
Her eyes popped back open, searching him out. “But by then we’ll…”
He held up his hands. “I know, I know. Our fake relationship will be over and you’ll have moved on.” Ryder shrugged. The words came easy, but the idea of what they had between them being over by then was really starting to piss him off. “I just thought you might like to come be my little good-luck charm one last time.”
Her smile was hesitant at first. “Well…”
Ryder pulled a sad puppy-dog face and jumped over to her sofa, landing on the cushions upside down and dropping his head into her lap. “I know you want to. Besides, after that atrocious turn on the bull at the Rockhouse, you really ought to have another go.”
“Get up and stop reminding me what a colossal failure I was on the tin bull.”
He grinned. “Does that mean yes?”
“It means I’ll think about it.”
He sat up and grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap. “We’re really calling this off once the deed is done?” Ryder still wasn’t convinced she was going to walk her talk, but then she hadn’t exactly bluffed and not followed through with anything else. Or maybe it was just the fact that he wanted her to stay rather than have to admit how he felt about her and be the one begging her to hang around.
Her expression was solemn again, mouth set in a firm line with no hint of a smile. “No strings, Ryder. Don’t push me.”
Ryder stroked her long hair, wrapping it around his hand and tugging her head back. He brushed his lips across hers. “Whatever you say, darlin’. Whatever you say.” He could talk his way into anything, which meant he was intending to pull out all the stops to keep her from walking once the card game was over. He hadn’t had nearly enough skin time with Chloe yet. He’d always been the one making it clear to women he was only interested in short-term flings, and now here he was starting to realize what it felt like from the other side.
“So this next rodeo’s a big deal?” she asked, unscrewing the top of her water.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Ryder told her, staring at her hand as he stroked the inside of her palm. “It’s the biggest competition in the country for all rodeo riders, so it’s the one not to miss.”
She frowned and fiddled with the plastic bottle top she was holding. “Your brothers seem pretty sure that you need to retire. Any reason why?”
“They have this absurd idea that it’s too dangerous for me.” Ryder chuckled. “But don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours. It hasn’t killed me yet and it ain’t going to.”
“They just care about you.” She sighed. “Don’t take it for granted that they give a damn.”
He stopped stroking and held up her hand to press a kiss against her knuckles. “I won’t. And you can stop thinking that no one gives a damn about you, because it’s bullshit.”
She raised her eyes, stared into his like she was willing him not to say it, not to go too far.
“I give a damn about you, Chloe,” he murmured, finding it hard to say the words. “And don’t you forget it.”
Tears shone in her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. “I give a damn about you, too,” she whispered back.
Ryder kept hold of her hand as she looked away, staring out the window at the clouds now that they were cruising higher. When she finally glanced back at him she pulled her hand away to worry the label on her water bottle.
“I have my first shift back tomorrow night,” she told him, clearing her throat and turning to face him. “I’ll find out when they’re likely to play again, get everything set in motion.”
Ryder nodded, deciding to keep his trap shut. Something was happening between them that neither one of them wanted to admit to, but like it or not, parting ways had to be done and it wasn’t going to be easy. Not for her. And sure as hell not for him.
“How long do you plan on staying at my place?” Ryder asked, watching as Chloe flicked through a magazine. She stopped and looked up when he spoke. “Are you still going to crash with me or are you going back to your friend’s place?”
“Maybe only a couple of weeks tops if I end up playing him sooner than later.”
Ryder nodded. So there went his months of having her in his bed.
“We’ll swing past your place on our way home, grab some of your things.”
