She purses her lips, realizing she just gave herself away. “Stop being so happy about that.”
I tug her close, leaving a kiss on her shoulder. “I promise I’m not leaving forever. Just for a little while. I have some stuff I need to take care of. And I need to get everything set up so Sana has more power, if I’m going to be spending more time here.”
She smiles again, and it makes my chest go all tight. “Okay. I look forward to our date. But I want a lot ofmeatballs. An inordinate amount. They’re better than the spaghetti.”
“Deal. I’ll give you all the balls you want.”
She snorts. “Meatballs.”
“They’re meaty.”
“Oh, Ryder!”
I nod toward the stairs. “What book are you reading? One of the spicy ones?”
She gives me a flat look. “Yes. You know I like the spicy ones.”
I grin. “Maybe you’ll get a noodle tonight, too.”
She shakes her head, laughing as she pushes away from me and heads upstairs.
“I take that as a yes?”
She throws me a look over her shoulder as she disappears onto the second floor.
And yeah, work can definitely wait for tomorrow.
31
EVE
Ihead to the barn an hour before sunset, an overnight bag packed as if I can’t just run home at any moment if I need something. I curled my hair and threw on a nice dress, and I conveniently forgot to put on any underwear solely because it seemed like Ryder thoroughly enjoyed that.
And when I get there, I can smell dinner from the stairs leading up to the loft. I push the door open, music flowing from the barn’s Bluetooth speaker.
And there’s Ryder, in jeans and a T-shirt with a dish rag thrown over his shoulder. He grins when he sees me, abandoning the wooden spoon he’s using to stir the sauce and coming to greet me with a kiss on the cheek.
“Well god, Evie, you didn’t need to show me up like that,” he says, taking my bag out of my hand and pushing me into a spin that causes my dress to flare out around me. And wow, the breeze is a littlenicerthan I thought it would be.
“I wanted to look nice for our date,” I say.
“You always look nice,” he says, winding one arm behindmy back to pull me in tight against him. He kisses me deeply, his tongue winding into my mouth and his fingers scrunching into the fabric of my dress. I taste tomato sauce and a hint of whiskey, and I’m disappointed when he pulls away from me to drop my bag by the bed and return to the stove.
He stirs the sauce, then pokes at the meatballs. “Looks like we’re just about done,” he says, grabbing a bottle of my favorite wine from the fridge and pouring me a glass. “Sit, sit,” he says, motioning to the already set table in the middle of the room.
When I do, the whole thing becomes a little surreal. I’ve never experienced the barn as a guest before, but sitting at a freshly made table with the smells of dinner all around me, I feel like I’m in a totally different place.
And when Ryder plops dinner down in front of me and joins me at the table, the feeling multiplies. I’m on a barn date with some dude I pushed into a stream a couple months ago who, for some reason, took a liking to me.
Who’s a really wonderful guy, now that I’ve gotten to know him.
“Eat, Evie. Before it gets cold,” he says, taking a sip of his whiskey before he dives into his own food.
As we eat, I’m struck by how easy this is. Having him here feels natural. The scent of his toothpaste after he brushes his teeth and the way he snores softly in my ear in the morning. His quiet presence has quickly become the background noise of my days, and it hits my chest with a sharp pang that I’m going to miss him when he goes.
“How long do you think you’ll be in New York?” I ask, my stomach turning at the lack of a return date. I rest my utensils along the side of my plate.
“Only as long as I have to be,” he says, eyeing the food left on my plate. “You okay?”
