Chapter Sixteen
chapter sixteen
KIRA
“Mommy, can I get whipped cream on my milk?” Violet looks at me with hopeful eyes.
“Sure.”
I push the stroller into the coffee shop that’s conveniently located near the local park that Ryder reminded me about when he insisted that I get out with the girls after three days of not driving anywhere despite him buying me a beautiful, over-the-top SUV.
It’s not that I didn’t want to go anywhere or that I’m not appreciative, but it’s hard to accept handouts, even with Ryder insisting there are no strings involved. I’ve always been independent, and after what I went through with Brian—allowing him to strip me of my independence—I never want to be that woman again.
“Oh, can I get apple slices?” Violet grabs a package of apple slices and peanut butter from the cold case and holds it up to me.
“Yep, grab one for Addie and a salad for me.”
Violet stacks the goodies into her arms and then drops them onto the counter.
I order myself a coffee and the girls each a chocolate milk with whipped cream and then pull my card out of my new purse to pay.
The barista directs us on where to go to pick up our drinks, and we head over to wait for them.
“Do you want to eat here or at the park?”
“Here, then go to the park,” Violet says. “It’s so hot out. I don’t want my drink to melt.”
I chuckle at my almost-five-year-old’s dramatics and nod in agreement.
“Kira!” the barista calls, pushing our three drinks to the edge of the counter.
“Thank you.”
I grab the girls’ drinks, stick a straw through the lids, and hand them to them. As I’m grabbing my drink and turning, I run straight into another body.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” I say to her.
Luckily, my drink is iced and has a lid, but when I glance down, her drink is hot, and a bit of it has spilled out onto her canary-yellow shirt.
“It’s okay,” she says. “Accidents happen.” She glances from me to the girls, and then her gaze lands on my purse. “I love your purse. Where did you get it?”
“Oh, thank you.” I smile, happy she isn’t pissed her shirt is now stained. “Honestly, I have no clue. I was given it for Mother’s Day.”
“Very nice,” she says. “I’m Marie.”
“I’m Kira. I’m sorry again about your shirt.”
“It’s no big deal.” She looks back at the girls again and leans down in front of the stroller. “And who are you?” she asks sweetly.
“I’m Violet, and this is Addie,” Violet tells her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she says, standing again. “Are they both yours?”
“Violet is mine.” I point to my daughter. “And I have the pleasure of taking care of this little one.”
“Oh, you’re a nanny,” she says. “That’s sweet.”
Her words almost sound condescending, but since I don’t know her, I don’t want to assume.
“I am.” I glance at the girls, who are getting restless. “Well, we need to get going. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
“We’re going to the park and then the library!” Violet exclaims.
“That sounds like fun,” Marie tells her. “Have a good day.”
Once the girls are done eating their snack, I purchase a couple of bottles of water to go, noting to buy some insulated cups to bring with us to the park in the future.
We spend a couple of hours playing on the equipment, and when I notice Addie is slowing down and rubbing her eyes, I let the girls know it’s time to go. Since Addie is too young to really appreciate the library, she naps while Violet searches for books and signs up for the summer reading program we didn’t know about. We hang out at the library, and once Addie wakes up, I let her run around, showing her the books for her age.
As we’re checking out, I get a text from Ryder.
Ryder
We’re going out on a date tomorrow night. And before you ask, Ana and Julian are watching the girls. It’s only for a few hours, and they’ll have their nanny to help as well.
Since he covered everything that I was going to bring up, I reply with an, Okay. I look forward to it , mentally trying to figure out what I should wear. Nothing I own is remotely nice enough to go on a date with Ryder, which means I’m going to have to go shopping.
Of course, since I’m new to the area, I have no idea where to go shopping, so I send a text to Ana, asking her for any ideas. Within minutes, she sends me names of several boutiques downtown and makes me promise to send her some pictures since she wishes she could go.
I’m on my way from one store to the next when I run into the woman from the coffee shop earlier. She spots me right away and stops.
“I know it’s a small town,” she says with a laugh, “but I feel like this was meant to be. Shopping for anything special?”
“Actually, I have a date.” I can’t help the way my cheeks turn pink at the thought of going on a date with Ryder.
Many other guys would’ve taken advantage of the fact that we lived together and tried to jump straight into bed. But Ryder seems to be taking things slow, like stopping at a kiss and asking me out on a date. I like Ryder, and I’d like to explore the chemistry between us despite working for him, but I’m glad he’s trying to go about it the right way.
“Oh,” Marie says, her green eyes lighting up with interest. “Shopping for a new outfit?”
“Yeah. I haven’t been on a date in forever,” I blurt out.
“Well, it just so happens, I’m the queen of shopping. Want some help?”
“You sure?” I ask, stunned that this woman I don’t know is willing to help me find an outfit, especially after I spilled coffee on her shirt—which I notice she’s no longer wearing. I hope the stain comes out. “I imagine you have better things to do.”
“I’ll use any excuse to go shopping,” she says with a laugh, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder. “Besides, us women need to stick together. C’mon. I’ll show you my favorite stores.”
We spend the afternoon shopping, and the girls do great. It helps that Marie keeps them entertained while I try on various outfits. After several stores, I have a brand-new outfit that I’m happy to say didn’t break the bank, so to speak—speaking of which, I need to ask Ryder about where I should open a bank account since I plan to stick around for a while and the cash that he’s been giving me is starting to look a little suspicious, piling up in my underwear drawer.
“So, you never mentioned,” Marie says as we walk back to the car, “who are you going on a date with?”
“Actually … it’s the guy I work for,” I admit.
She stops in her place. “Ryder?”
“You know him?”
“You mentioned his name.”
“I did?” I don’t remember doing so, but things can get crazy with two kids.
“Yeah, earlier,” she says. “Do you think it’s wise to go on a date with your employer?”
This time, it’s my turn to stop and look at Marie. I don’t know her well enough to gauge her tone of voice, but she almost sounds offended.
“We’ve become friends,” I explain. “And we both want to see where things go.”
“And what happens when it doesn’t go in the direction you want?” she snaps. “Will he kick you out?”
I jerk back at her tone.
“It’s not like that,” I say, going on the defense.
Her features immediately soften. “I’m sorry,” she says, her tone gentler. “It’s just … if a guy is willing to date his employee, what does that say about him? How well do you know this man?”
“I know that when Violet and I were struggling, he opened his home to us. He not only gave us a roof over our heads, but he also gave me a job.”
“And you don’t think maybe he’s taking advantage?” she asks. “If you say no, where does that leave you … back out on the streets?”
“No.” I shake my head, refusing to believe Ryder is like that. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“How do you know?” she asks. “I’m not trying to rain on your parade, and I know we’ve only just met, but I’ve been in your position, and I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”
“What happened to you?” I ask.
“I thought he loved me and we were on the same page, but the second I didn’t agree with him, he pushed me out the door, leaving me to fend for myself.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “Are you okay now?”
“Barely,” she says, tears filling her eyes. “But I will be.” She smiles a watery smile. “Just be careful.” Then, she pulls out her phone. “I know you mentioned you don’t know a lot of people. I don’t have many friends either. Take my number, and I’ll give you mine. And if you need anything, please call or text me anytime.”
While Marie seems a bit over the top, I feel like her heart is in the right place, and since the number of people in my corner are limited, I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Okay.” I hand her my phone so she can put her number in it. “And if you need anything, I’m here as well.”
“Thank you,” she says, handing my phone back to me. “And, Kira, please think about what I said. I know it’s easy to get caught up in the fairy tale, but what happens when he doesn’t turn out to be your Prince Charming?”
Her words send a chill up my spine because not too long ago, I was thinking similar thoughts about Brian, and now, she’s using the same analogy about Ryder.
The entire drive back to the house, I can’t get Marie’s words out of my head. While I like Ryder and believe he’s a good guy, she does have a point. What if he changes his mind? Then, I’m out of a home and a job. Sure, I have money saved now so Violet and I won’t be out on the streets, but I love my job. I’ve grown attached to Addie, and I care about Ryder. Then, there’s the new friendships I’ve found in Ana and Paige. I’m looking forward to our girls’ night and the book club get-together. Is the chance of finding love worth the risk of losing everything?
After giving the girls a bath and settling them on the couch to chill out since they’re both exhausted from our busy day, I start dinner, my mind half on the food I’m cooking and the other half wondering if I should cancel my date with Ryder.
I’m taking the macaroni casserole out of the oven when Ryder comes up behind me, scaring the crap out of me. The heavy pan sways in my hands, but I thankfully get it to the counter before it hits the floor.
“You can’t be sneaking up on people!” I hiss, turning around and glaring at him. “I could’ve burned myself or dropped dinner all over the floor.”
Ryder raises his hands in a placating manner. “I’m sorry, but I did call your name three times.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “For a second, I thought you had noise-canceling headphones on.”
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I guess I was lost in thought. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“It’s okay. What’s going through your head that has you completely zoning out?”
I debate whether to lie and say nothing, but instead, I go with the truth. The last thing I want is to start a potential relationship off with a lie.
“I met a woman today … well, more like I spilled coffee on her.”
Ryder laughs. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah.” I roll my eyes. “We ran into each other again later, and she helped me shop for a dress for tomorrow night.”
At that, Ryder’s face lights up. “Oh, yeah? I can’t wait to see you in it.”
I must frown because his brows dip.
“Do you not like the dress? You don’t have to wear one …”
“No, I do. I love the dress and heels. But, um …” I swallow nervously, darting my gaze over to the girls.
Addie is playing with her doll, and Violet is immersed in the show she’s watching.
“When she asked who I was going on a date with and I told her you, she was concerned.”
“Why?” He steps closer to me.
“Because I work for you, and if something goes wrong, I’ll be the one to lose my home and job. I mean, technically, this isn’t my home but?—”
“It damn well is your home,” he growls, cornering me against the counter. “And what does she think is going to go wrong?” From the sound of his tone, it’s clear he already doesn’t like Marie even though he’s never met her. And that was not my intention.
“It’s not like that,” I say since she’s not here to defend herself. “She didn’t say anything bad about you, but she’s been in a similar situation, so she just wanted me to be careful.”
“You just met this woman,” Ryder murmurs, palming my cheek. “If Ana or Julian thought us dating was wrong, they would’ve said something. Yet both are rooting for us.”
He rubs his thumb back and forth along my jawline, and I lean into his touch.
“You have nothing to fear with me,” he continues. “I would never kick you and Violet out, and unless you did something to hurt Addie—which I know you never would—your job isn’t going anywhere.”
“Okay, but what if we go out and it doesn’t work out? Will you really want a woman you dated living under your roof? And what if you move on and find someone else? The last thing I’d want is to be around to watch you date.” Just the thought of Ryder with another woman makes me feel sick to my stomach.
“Kira,” he says, “there are a million what-ifs in life. And I get where you’re coming from because, like you, I put my faith in someone who fucked me over. I’ve spent the past year avoiding women because of it. But with you, it’s different. You had me hooked from the moment I met you. First with the way you cared about Addie and then with the way you cared about me. I can’t possibly know what the future holds, but if I wasn’t serious about wanting something more with you, I wouldn’t be pursuing this with you.”
He closes the gap between us so our bodies are almost flush, and then he wraps his arms around me so I’m looking up at him. “I’m scared shitless to open my heart up. To let someone else in. But if there’s anyone who’s worth taking a risk on, it’s you. I don’t want to hurt you. I want the chance to be with you. To protect you, to love you.”
“I’m scared,” I admit. “Every time I thought I’d found myself a prince, he turned out to be the villain. And for the first time, I feel like I’ve finally saved myself. I want to let you in, but I’m scared because if you turn out to be like every other guy, I don’t know if I’ll have it in me to save myself again.”
“You’re so fucking strong,” Ryder murmurs. “Stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
He leans down and brushes his lips against mine. It’s not a long kiss, but it’s enough to remind me of the connection we share.
“I have no doubt that if you got knocked on your ass, you would find a way to get back up,” he says. “And the fact is, even if everything goes perfectly with us, there’s no guarantee that life won’t still knock you down.”
He releases me, and with one hand, he tenderly glides his knuckles down my cheek. “But the difference between those other guys and me is that if you fall, I’ll be there to catch you. And if I can’t, I’ll be right there on the floor with you.”
“Ryder,” I whisper, my heart swelling in my chest at his words, making it hard to breathe. I drop my head and close my eyes, needing a moment to think.
There’s a chance everything he’s saying is a lie, and it won’t be the first or second time a man has screwed me over, but I refuse to live my life scared.
Marie made valid points, but the problem is, she doesn’t know Ryder. She doesn’t see the way he looks at me, the way he reads to me when I can’t sleep. How he treats my daughter like his own. And even though this isn’t our home, he’s made us feel more welcome in the short time we’ve been here than I’ve felt anywhere else in my entire life.
“Kira,” he says after several seconds. His fingers settle around my throat, and he tips my face back up to look at him. “It’s okay to jump, baby. I got you.”
I inhale a deep breath and then exhale. “Okay. I’m going to jump, but if you don’t catch me, I’m going to be seriously pissed,” I half joke.
The second I finish my sentence, Ryder’s lips descend onto mine, and he kisses me deeply. Like every time, butterflies take flight in my belly, and my lady parts tingle, begging to be given some attention as well. My arms wrap around his neck, and he lifts me onto the counter, parting my legs so he can stand between them. I’m so lost in Ryder that I forget where we are until Violet calls out my name, reminding us that we’re not alone.
I shove Ryder back and jump off the counter so fast that I lose my balance, but before my ass hits the ground, Ryder catches me.
“You see, baby? I won’t let you fall,” he whispers into my ear. “I like your ass too much to let it get bruised.”