Maybe a bowl of pasta that tastes a little bit like heaven will appease Ryder and wipe our slate clean.
“You arrived out of the blue and you’re keeping secrets,” he says, measuring every word. “Carter’s a very careful man on a normal day under normal circumstances, Bianca. He’s ten times worse when he’s worried about Hailey’s safety.”
I spin abruptly. “So what? He thinks I’ll kidnap her?”
“He doesn’t let me in on his every thought. For now, you’re a question mark. A puzzle. Your intentions aren’t clear. Whether you can be trusted is yet to be determined.”
I don’t like the sound of that. It seems the only way for them to trust me is knowing the embarrassing truth. Then again, that truth might throw a wrench between me and Hailey...
We just met but I’m looking forward to seeing her again. I want her in my life.
Shaking off the conversation, I change the topic. “What time do you guys swap your shifts?”
“Eight in the morning,” he answers. There’s no malice in his voice. No emotion at all. “Why?”
I glance over my shoulder. He’s still in the loveseat, eyes on the screen, face impassive as if our full-blown screaming contest less than an hour ago never happened.
“I’d like to open the shop as soon as possible. I usually head down to the market for flowers every morning, and I guess one of you will be escorting me.”
“You can’t reopen until the security system is in place.”
“How long will it take?”
I hear him get up, his footsteps getting closer. The intoxicating, masculine scent of his cologne grows stronger with every step he takes.
“Another couple of days. Once I finish up here, I’ll move to the shop. You could open on Wednesday.”
Three days. I want to ask why connecting a few cameras takesthreedays, but I catch myself before I spill any more harsh words.
We’ll live here together for God knows how long. Arguing every step of the way won’t make anyone’s life any easier. I should be grateful that they’ve dropped their own lives to look after me, but I can’t help my annoyance.
If it weren’t for people like them,criminals, I wouldn’t need any security. My life wouldn’t have been upended just because I wanted to know why my mother abandoned me.
“What time do you leave for the market?” Ryder asks, his voice so close I spin around.
He’s on the stepladder again, adjusting another camera. He took his hoodie off at some point... as if he knows the sight of his bare arms messes with my wiring. The ink marking his forearms and biceps is on display, shifting under his skin, almost dancing around the hard muscles.
My mouth waters.
How can a guy whose job is sitting on his ass and staring at a screen all day long look like him? He’s sculpted to perfection, every muscle hewn in stone, the greenish veins protruding in a sexy way. Not bulging and swollen, just... visible.
Everything about this man is sexy. The way he moves, like a panther on the hunt, those dark, penetrating eyes, his immaculate physique, the tone of his voice...
Such a fine specimen ruined by his condescending personality. He doesn’t know me, yet he treats me like a nuisance.
“Around six,” I reply, turning around before he catches me scrutinizing every inch of his too-perfect body.
“How long are you there?”
“An hour, two max.”
I regret the answer as soon as I say it. He told me Arthur finishes at eight am. Two hours from six in the morning takes us right to their shift changeover, robbing me of spending more time with Ryder.
Like I said,hopeless.
He’s not interested in me. He’s irritated when we’re in the same room, but I can’t fool my brain: I’m disappointed that he won’t be growling and glaring at me in the mornings.
Ryder doesn’t respond for a long beat.
