Smiling, she opened her mouth to reply when his phone rang.
He lifted it from the cup holder where he’d set it, and sent her an apologetic look. “It’s the office. I won’t be long.”
“No problem,” she replied, her pulse tripping while she waited to see if it had to do with the ice cream parlor.
“Hey, Cathy. I’m on my way.” He stilled. “What? We did?” His gaze narrowed before pleasure straightened his brow. “That’s fantastic news. I wonder what happened to make Colarusso back out?”
Sophia knew, and relief helped her breath in some air, while making a mental note to thank her brother.
“I will. Thanks. See you in a few minutes,” he said, before hanging up. “I don’t believe it.” A slight smile curved his lips while bewilderment rounded his gaze. “Colarusso backed out. I got the ice cream parlor job.”
“That is fantastic news,” she said, heart hammering out of control.
This was it. The perfect time to come clean. To tell him about her family, and how she’d asked them to back off and they did. Her family was not unreasonable. They weren’t the enemy. Neither was she. He’d see that. Surely he would.
Her palms were sweaty and they shook, so she entwined her fingers to keep them steady on her lap.
“Guess the New York big shots bit off more than they could handle. Spread themselves too thin.” He shook his head and frowned. “And put honest, hardworking people like me out of business.”
The need to defend her family because too much. “They probably started out the same way.”
His brow rose, then he shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s companies like that that tick me off.”
And everything she was about to get off her chest died on her lips. Maybe it would be better when he wasn’t so worked up.
“Sorry,” he said, reaching out to play with a strand of her hair. “Let’s get back to my question.” Leaning close, he dragged his mouth across her jaw to her ear where he nibbled.
His question, her family, their jobs, how to breathe…everything disappeared into the warm, sensuous fog taking over her mind.
“Mmm…” She fisted his shirt and tipped her head to give him better access. “I like the way you ask.”
He chuckled near her ear. “I like the way you taste.”
She turned her head to give him her mouth when her phone started to ring. Setting her forehead to his jaw, she sighed. “Think we should’ve stayed in bed.”
“We can always go back.” Amusement and heat were evident in his tone.
Her body perked up at the suggestion, but she fished out her phone and did her best to ignore the awareness pooling low in her belly. She glanced at the screen, and frowned. “It’s my dad.” She answered as Ryder shifted back to his seat. “What’s wrong?”
“How do you women do that?” he said. “It’s like a sixth sense or something. I’m calling because you need to come home.”
She swallowed a groan. “If this is about answering phones, I—”
“No,” he cut her off. “It’s about your mother. She’s at the hospital in the emergency room.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sophia’s heart dropped to her knees. “What’s wrong?”
A warm hand covered hers and squeezed. She glanced at Ryder, finding the warmth and concern in his eyes a welcomed comfort.
“She has stomach pains. Apparently she’s had them for days and hasn’t said anything. I married a stubborn woman,” her father huffed. “I told her to go easy on the pepperoncini, but does she listen? No. Now they want to admit her to take out her gallbladder.”
Gallbladder?
Okay, she breathed a little easier. That was kind of routine.
“She keeps going on about a night coat or house shirt, or something,” her father continued in a frustrated rush. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. I need you back here to help me get what she wants, and to help her when she’s home recovering. I won’t be able to stay home. I’ll need to get back to work. And you know how willful she gets. I can’t trust her to overdo it. Someone has to watch her.”
