“I can’t let you do that,” I said. It was enough that he and Jakobi had made quick work of packing Ines’s room and then hauling her into her new—though much more temporary—accommodations. Even if Ryan said she was welcome hereindefinitely, I couldn’t imagine he wanted her taking apart his oven. Or that espresso machine.
“Yes, you can.” He folded his arms over his chest as he stared at me. “You can argue with me about it all you want but that’s not going to solve any of these problems and it won’t make you feel better so don’t.” He turned, opened a drawer. He pulled out a small bottle and shook two tablets into his hand. “Come here. It’s time for another dose. You need to stay ahead of the pain.”
I shuffled over and accepted the pills while he filled a glass of water. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
He watched me swallow before asking, “What’ll it be? Are we going out or am I making a call?”
I knew the money was nothing to him. Some clothes, a laptop—it was pocket change. And I knew that if our roles were reversed—if I was famous and outrageously wealthy and he was a refugee of his flooded apartment—I’d haunt the shit out of him until he let me help. I’d be so fucking mad if he tried to put on a brave, self-sufficient face about it.
And that was why I stopped fighting him. Why I didn’t pull out my pride and let it be the only thing keeping me warm while I suffered.
“I guess you can call them.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, a slight smile pulling at his lips.
“When you do get married,” Ines started, “can I play the harp at the ceremony?”
We shared a glance before turning to her. Ryan asked, “You play the harp?”
“No, but it’s not realistic to assume you’ll be able to coordinate a large wedding with less than twelve months of lead time and I’ve always wanted to take lessons.”
We shared another glance. He shrugged. I gave a quiet laugh as I rubbed at the band of my ring.
“Will you learn ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’?”
Ines squinted at him. “What’s that?”
I snorted out a laugh. “It’s the song fromTop Gun.” Shaking my head at him, I said, “You can’t be serious.”
“I never joke aboutTop Gun.” He had the audacity to look offended. “It’s a great song. Thebestsong.”
“It’s about falling out of love,” I argued.
“It’s about putting it all on the line before it’s lost,” he replied. “It’s about fighting right to the end, even when you can’t get a single point on the board.”
“A football song, then. Gotcha.” I gave him a cheeky thumbs-up that had him muttering about my willful misunderstanding. “You can have your sad song if I can walk down the aisle to ‘Maneater.’”
He slapped a hand over his heart. “Muggs, I’d require it.”
“Okay so that’s ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ and”—Ines eyed me, a brow quirked over the rim of her glasses—“‘Maneater.’ Do I have that right?”
“What? Would you prefer something fromLes Mis?”
“Yeah, I don’t know much about weddings,” she started, “but is the French Revolution’s death opera really the vibe you’re going for?”
“It is not adeath opera,” I cried. “And it’s set several decadesafterthe French Revolution, thank you kindly.”
Ryan leaned against the island and crossed his arms. “‘On My Own’ is not the soundtrack to a happy marriage. And I know because I’ve listened to it with you no fewer than six thousand times.”
“That seems like an exaggeration,” I said. “If we take lonely little Eponine from ‘On My Own’ and the guy who knows his gal won’t be getting the lovin’ feelin’ back anytime soon, and toss them together, there’s a chance they’ll be very happy. Or much worse off. Who are we to tell?”
Ryan stared at me like he had something to say but he shook his head and turned to Ines. “Take those lessons.”
“Awesome. Thanks.” Ines pumped a fist and grabbed her backpack from the floor. “Am I allowed to use the gym? Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything and I won’t get in your way. It would just be cool to practice without taking two buses to do it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, anytime.”
Another fist pump. “This place is great.” Giving me a baleful look, she added, “Our place was great too. Just great in a primitive, cave-dwelling kind of way.”
