“Because…” He paused a moment, looking uncertain. “Because you shouldn’t have meddled in my family business with Trent.”
Ouch.She took an involuntary step backward. She didn’t know how to respond because she wasn’t sorry for a single word she’d said to Trent. “Excuse me?”
Ryan met her gaze, but instead of warmth and laughter, she saw only cold, hard anger reflected in his eyes. “You heard me.”
“Yeah, I did.” She folded her arms over her chest and glared up at him. “And I thinkyou’rethe one overstepping here, Ryan, if you think you have the right to tell me who I can and can’t have a friendly conversation with.”
“You should have backed me up.”
She stepped forward and jabbed a finger against his chest. “You honestly think I don’t have your back? Don’t be such an ass.”
“We let this go too far, Emma. I never meant to end up here.” He looked down at the handlebars of his bike. “But it’s done. It ends tonight.”
She flinched, as hurt mixed with anger inside her, swelling into a big ball of emotion in her chest. “Just like that? We had our first fight so now you’re breaking up with me?”
“We always said we’d go back to being just friends when the time came. And the time is now.” His voice sounded flat, distant. Cold.
“That’s just…what the actual fuck, Ryan?” She didn’t know whether to cry or punch him.
“What did you expect?” he asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Too much, I guess.” Tears pricked behind her eyes, and she blinked them back, desperate to hold on to her anger until he had gone.
“Well, there you go.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, pinning her in that dark, angry gaze. “You wanted me to help you be a little bit bad, right, Emma? You wanted a hot fling with a guy like me, but I’m not—”
“Stop right there,” she cut him off. “Fuck you, Ryan. Good-bye.”
