Lately, I was just drifting, like now, taking the time to savor this moment rather than crossing something off a list.
Maybe it was the island. Or maybe it was the fact that something – and yes, I was referring to that giant cluster in Chicago – had finally forced me to slow down, take a breather, and figure out who I was.
But whatever the reason, I was no longer the same person I'd been only a month ago.
Or who knows?Maybe that old Tessa had never been me at all, but rather the embodiment of parental expectations along with every ridiculous bar I'd been trained to clear.
Even so, I couldn't stall forever, not even here under the light of a glorious moon with over six feet of trouble walking by my side.
I looked to Ryder and confessed, "I knew who you were."
He laughed. "I sure as hell hope so."
I shook my head. "Sorry, what?"
His tone grew teasing. "I'd hate to think you were kissing a stranger."
I swear, he was impossible."Youarejoking, right?"
He tossed me a devilish grin. "I still made you smile."
Damn it.He was right. Iwassmiling. Ryder had a way of doing that, making me smile when I didn't even realize it.
I was still mulling that over when he said, "And besides, you already told me that."
I did?Oh, that's right. I'd told him right before we'd kissed. But in my own defense, Ryder was so distracting, I was finding it hard to keep everything straight.
Embarrassed now, I said, "Right. But that's only part of it. I mean, yeah…I knew who you were. But that wasn't the problem."
"So, whatwasthe problem?"
"Alright. If you want the truth…I was kind of nervous that you knew whoIwas, too."
"But why would you be nervous?" he asked. "Don't tell me it's because of that mini-bar thing."
Damn it.Technically, that table of booze wasn't a mini bar, but I groaned, anyway. "Oh, my God. You heard about that?" Yes, I had suspected this from the start, but that was before I kissed him. Now, everything seemed different, and I couldn't even say why.
I mean, a kiss or two was nothing in the big scheme of things, right?
Keeping a steady pace, Ryder chuckled. "All of Chicago heard about that. You wanna tell me what happened?"
Relief shot through me. "So you haven't seen it?"
"Nope."
Thatnope was music to my ears. Footage of my viral meltdown had been making the rounds until it abruptly disappeared – no doubt thanks to the work of my employer.
One thing about Thatcher-Hale, they knew exactly how to get things pulled.But not quite soon enough.By now, probably half of Chicago had already seen it.
To Ryder, I said, "Trust me, you're not missing anything."
This made him laugh. "Oh, come on. Iknowbetter."
"How could you? You just said you didn't see it."
"Yeah, but I heard plenty."
"Then you don't need to see it, do you?" I waved it away. "But never mind that. What Ireallywanted to ask you was this." I blew out a long shaky breath before blurting it out in a rush. "You're not here for Evan Carver, are you?"
