Chapter 21 #2
“Point made,” Savanna added. “On the bright side, can you believe how quickly this is all happening?”
“What, specifically, are you talking about?” I asked, lifting the last bite of my sandwich to my mouth.
“It seems to be happening one at a time, but our group is slowly finding love.” I swore I could see the hearts in her eyes. “I know you and Ace have only been at this for a week, but you two will make it, which means that four of the eleven of our original group are down for the count.”
My sister was just as excited. “I wonder who’s going to be next.”
“And I wonder if any of the remaining single ladies, which would be you two, Lark, and Mia, are going to follow in my footsteps and wind up with one of the guys.”
“Better chance of that happening for Savanna.”
“Why would you say that, Harper?”
“Because there are three guys left. Archer, Kingston, and Phoenix. Two of them are my brothers. And quite frankly, Kingston feels like one, too.”
“Right. I see what you mean. Maybe Lark or Mia, then.”
I arched a brow. “Do you already have your sights set on someone?”
Savanna shook her head. “No, but—”
“Tessa?”
At the sound of the familiar but unwelcome masculine voice, I felt sick. Not again. Not again.
I twisted my neck and looked to the side.
It was him.
Seemingly ignorant to the sneer I was sending his way, Ryan approached the table. “Tessa, babe, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Somehow, you keep popping up everywhere I am,” I seethed.
When he came to a stop beside the table, I noticed two scratches running along the side of his face. He looked like he’d gotten into a battle with a cat. Ryan noticed me looking and said, “I got these because of you.”
Disbelief washed over me. “Excuse me?”
“I keep telling my ex that she and I are over,” he revealed. “I told her I’m madly in love with you. That she and I will never be together again, but she’s not happy about it. She won’t accept it.”
“Sounds like you two belong together.”
“Tessa, I’m serious.”
“I am, too.”
Harper cut in. “I think you should leave, Ryan.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. That guy finally isn’t around. We need to talk, Tessa.”
“Stop. I’m not talking to you. Not now. Not ever. We’re done. It’s over. And no matter how many times you do things to try to scare me into coming back to you, it’s never going to happen.”
“Scare you? Tessa, babe, let’s just talk. Give me five minutes, and—”
“No!” I let out a growl. “No. No. No. The answer, in case you missed it, is no. We’re not talking about anything. I’ve moved on. And if you don’t stop following me around town, I’m going to take out a restraining order. Imagine what that’ll do to your career.”
“That’s just it. I don’t care about any of that. Only you.”
Savanna said, “Maybe you should’ve thought about how important she was before you decided that hooking up with your ex was a wise idea.”
Ryan ignored her and reached for me. He curled his fingers around my arm and tugged.
“Let me go, Ryan.”
“Tessa, please,” he pleaded, still yanking on my arm. “I’m begging you to give me just five minutes.”
“Remove your hand from her immediately,” a deep voice ordered.
My eyes slid to the side, where I found Savanna’s cousin, Kash Cunningham, standing and staring down Ryan. Evidently, Ace hadn’t messed around when it came to investigating Ryan. Immediately, Ryan’s grip loosened, and he released me. “Who are you?”
“I’m going to be your worst nightmare if you don’t walk away right now.”
I was vaguely aware of my phone ringing, but I couldn’t look away from what was happening in front of me.
Kash towered over Ryan. He could’ve wiped the floor with him if Ryan was stupid enough to challenge him.
Ryan dared to look at me, his lip curling with disgust. “I’m going to get you alone one of these days, Tessa. We are going to talk.”
My phone stopped ringing.
Kash removed any remaining distance between himself and Ryan. It was a power move, and it was smart. Kash was an intimidating man as it was. But with the fury blazing from him, even I was a bit nervous. “The only thing you’re doing is walking away.”
My phone started ringing again. This time, Kash looked at me. “That’s Ace, darling. You better answer before he loses his mind.”
I didn’t hesitate to pull out my phone. “Hello?”
“Are you okay, Princess?”
Warmth spread through me at the sound of his voice. How had I ever believed that Ace didn’t want me?
“I’m okay.”
“Kash said Ryan put his hand on you. Are you hurt?”
How had Kash communicated that to Ace and stepped in as quickly as he had?
“No. I’m fine. Honest.” I looked to my left and saw that Kash was guiding Ryan right to the exit. “Kash took care of it. Ryan’s already out the door.”
“Everything else is okay?”
Looking at the two women I’d come to lunch with, I saw them smiling at me. I returned the smile and said, “It’s perfect, handsome. I just came out to have lunch with Harper and Savanna.”
“Alright. And Lark’s dropping you off at home tonight?”
“She is.”
“Good. I’ve got to get back to work, then. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, Ace. I’ll talk to you later.”
We disconnected, and I looked at my girls. “He’s so in love with you, it’s not even funny.”
I giggled, thinking about how much I liked the idea of Ace being in love with me. Then the girls and I gathered up our trash, tossed it, and left.
And later that night, when I was wrapped up in Ace’s arms, in his bed, I allowed myself to enjoy the kissing without fretting over what he wasn’t attempting to get from me. It would happen soon enough.
I had two days to work up the courage to give him the best birthday of his life. I could only hope it was going to be a success.