Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Free-for-all.
An absolute, wall-to-wall mess.
Rylee was used to large crowds. The parties she was asked to attend with Roxy in New York had prepared her for the spotlight like nothing else ever could.
And yet, this was different.
The women all knew each other intimately. It was the one named Sammie who sidled up beside Rylee as Hallie and Wendy spoke animatedly about one of their husbands. “We’re all married to a big group of cousins.”
Rylee’s mouth dropped open and her eyes swept through the room. There were so many of them.
Sammie laughed. “Well, we’re all related to one family in particular. Some of us are on the guy’s side of the family and the rest are on his wife’s side. It’s a whole lot to get used to, believe me.”
Rylee nodded. “I believe it.”
“No siblings?”
Shaking her head, Rylee reached for a grape tomato and popped it into her mouth. “It was just my dad and me…” she trailed off and tried not to tear up over the memory of losing him. “But I spent a lot of time with Tate and Jason when I was younger.”
Hallie seemed to perk up at that statement. “I knew something was going on with him. He’s been off lately.”
“Off?” Rylee asked.
Faith sliced a dismissive hand through the air. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He’s just been having to deal with a lot. Always has. It’s about time he’s found someone.”
Rylee’s face flushed so hot she nearly darted from the room. “I’m not… We’re not…” The warmth spread everywhere and pulsed beneath her skin. “Really, we’re just friends.”
Wendy snorted. “Yeah right. What was he doing here anyway? I’ve only ever seen him work. He’s too busy for social calls.”
“Leave the girl alone,” Serenity said, amused. “You’re going to scare her off and then what will happen? You won’t want to be on Tate’s bad side.”
“Oh whatever. Tate doesn’t scare me.” Hallie flashed Rylee a wide smile. “He’s just a big softy anyway, right?”
Rylee blinked. She hadn’t seen any sign of Tate being more than just a sweetheart. Okay, there was that first night when he’d been a little stiff, but then he’d warmed right up to her. “He’s always been sweet,” she hedged.
The room went deathly quiet. All eyes turned to her, and her mouth went dry, and nothing came to her. Would Tate be upset if she told these women about their… friendship? Relationship? Situationship?
Yeah, that one sounded about right.
As one, the women in the room seemed to link their minds together and ooohs rang out.
Well, all except Serenity, who went on insisting they leave her alone with all their teasing. “You guys are getting to be too much,” she muttered.
Jane laughed and nudged her. “It’s all in good fun.”
Serenity shot Rylee a concerned look and even though Rylee was certain she looked like a ripe tomato, she gave her a reassuring nod. “It’s fine,” she whispered.
“Darn right, it’s fine. Tate likes her.” Hallie rested her elbows on the counter and then her chin in her hands. “Okay, so tell us all about him. You lived here when you were younger and you hung out with him and Jason?”
Rylee nodded. “That’s right. A lot of my memories are fuzzy, but some of them are coming back.
” She smiled despite herself. “I actually had a huge crush on him when I was younger.” Her eyes darted to Faith then away, but Faith didn’t react.
“I was just the annoying little girl who followed him around everywhere. I tagged along even when he told me to go home. I’m pretty sure he was thrilled when I moved. ”
At that, Faith frowned. She tapped her chin for a moment and Rylee thought she might say something but then Hallie—the ever talkative one—jumped into the conversation again. “Well, clearly things have changed.”
“Hallie!” Wendy whispered, glancing at Serenity then Rylee.
“What? It’s all just gossip anyhow, right? Whatever we say can’t be used against us if we don’t have any evidence to back it up.” She turned to Rylee again, a broad smile filling her face. “I heard that Tate’s been helping you out. Right?”
“Well, yeah,” Rylee admitted. “He and Jason have been rebuilding the barn. And he built a chicken coop.” As she spoke her own smile materialized.
“There was this one night… it was stormy and my power went out. Then I heard this loud crash in the basement. When I showed up at his place, he insisted that I stay put until morning when he could check it out.” By the time her story had finished, Rylee realized all eyes had turned her way and not a single one of her new friends were chatting. “What?” she murmured.
An eruption of giggles followed suit, and Rylee turned to Sammie, who seemed to be her new confidant. “What?” she repeated.
Sammie sighed and bumped her shoulder against Rylee’s. “I think it’s safe to say there’s more going on between the two of you, even if you’re not privy to it.” She laughed at Rylee’s blank expression. “Don’t worry. Tate’s harmless.”
That wasn’t what Rylee was worried about. She’d just had the rug pulled out from beneath her, because up until this point, she’d been holding back. She didn’t want to make Tate uncomfortable. And in truth, she knew it was a bad idea, solely because she didn’t plan to stay.
Right?
She couldn’t stay.
Or maybe she could?
Rylee groaned internally. Why did this feel like high school all over again? Someone squeezed her shoulder, but she didn’t look up to see who was offering her comfort.
“Come on, Faith. You have the inside scoop. He’s your brother after all.” Hallie prodded.
Unable to meet anyone’s eye, Rylee kept her attention on the veggie tray before her.
Ears burning, cheeks too, she did her best to convince herself that none of what they said mattered.
Because if Tate felt for her the way they were insisting, he would have said so.
He would’ve demonstrated his affection or at least asked her out.
“I hate to say this, Rylee, but Hallie has a good point.”
At that, Rylee’s head snapped up, and she stared at Faith.
“He’s always been a private person. Girls don’t really hold his interest for long periods of time. So…” she let the sentence hang as she shrugged her shoulders.
With all eyes once again on Rylee, she forced a blank mask to her face. Then with extreme effort, she rolled her eyes and flashed all of them a dismissive smile. “That can’t be true.”
Hallie snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah. Don’t forget that he had a serious girlfriend for a while. How long did that last?”
“Oh yeah! I forgot about her. It was only for…” Faith hummed to herself, looking at the ceiling. “Two and a half weeks at most, though. And he was the one who broke it off.”
Hallie wagged her brows at Rylee. “See? He’s interested.”
“Okay, that’s all well and good to suspect…” she emphasized. “But he hasn’t even asked me out. Just because he’s being a good neighbor—”
“Good neighbor.” Hallie scoffed. “If that’s what you want to call it.” She turned to Faith. “Did you ever figure out why he broke up with her?”
Faith shrugged. “Not a clue. Tate isn’t exactly Mr. Chatty, is he?”
“More than Jason,” Hallie tossed back.
The girls all laughed like they were in on a joke.
Rylee frowned, glancing from one to the other. Jason had always been quiet, sure. She could remember distinctly that Tate was the talkative one. Had that really not changed over the years?
“But if you had to guess,” Wendy drawled, “what would you say?”
Faith sighed. “I don’t know. I guess because he’s seeing all his friends get married. And me…” She glanced at Rylee and smiled sweetly. “Maybe he’s realizing that he wants to settle down. He just needed to find the right girl, first.”
Rylee’s whole body went hot then cold all at once. Her limbs felt numb and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to continue standing. Faith wasn’t trying to scare Rylee. That much was clear. And yet the nerves nearly knocked her off her feet. She smiled weakly.
Was she ready for something serious?
No.
That was the whole reason for spending the summer away from all the suitors that seemed to flock to each and every one of Roxy’s social events.
And yet, if she were to settle down with someone like Tate?
Her heart fluttered madly.
Someone nudged her and she jumped. “What?”
More giggles filled her small kitchen. “Well? If he asked you out, would you?” She couldn’t remember the name of the girl who asked. Kat? Or was it Lacey? It didn’t matter, because she wasn’t going to tell them anything close to what she’d been thinking.
“I’m not ready for anything serious,” she insisted.
Hallie groaned. “That wasn’t the question. Would you go out with him if he asked?”
“Sure,” Rylee hedged. “That could be fun.”
Wendy clapped her hands. “See? I knew it.”
Rylee glanced around. She’d clearly missed something when she’d been lost in her own thoughts. “What?”
“You two are totally going to end up together,” another one of them insisted.
Rylee released a laugh. “Nope. I’m not interested in anything serious. I already told you.”
Someone else waved a dismissive hand through the air before plucking a piece of broccoli from the veggie tray. “Fate does what it wants. You can’t control it, sweetheart. You’ll only get a bigger headache if you try.”
Sammie leaned in close. “Kat’s not wrong. Sometimes you fall into something when you’re least expecting it. But don’t let them scare you. Just because they’ve never seen Tate act this way doesn’t mean they’re right.” She winked but it wasn’t exactly reassuring.
Rylee could only nod, feeling numb after all the information she’d been given on Tate’s dating habits. When her phone buzzed, she blew out a relieved breath and jumped to answer it, and only afterward thought about the caller ID.
“Rylee? You answered.” Alexander sounded stunned, and that said it all. She’d avoided far too many of his attempts to reach out to her.
“Alexander,” she murmured, walking out of the kitchen and into the hallway adjacent. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
He was quiet for a long moment. So long, that she had to pull the phone away from her ear to confirm he was still on the call. When he finally spoke, she almost wished she’d hung up during his silence. “When are you coming home? I want to see you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told you. I won’t be coming home all summer. You might as well start seeing other people.”
“But I want to see you. I care about you, Rylee.”
Sighing, she plucked at a piece of lint on her shoulder. “I don’t know how else to say this, Alex. I’m not interested in dating right now. I have a lot on my plate and I need to figure out a few things first.”
“I’ll wait.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t say stuff like that.”
“Why not?” he demanded. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think I might be in love with you.”
She grimaced. “You’re not in love with me, Alexander. You’re infatuated. The more time we spend apart, the more you’ll come to realize that.”
“You’re wrong,” he insisted. “We were made for each other. If you’d only let me prove—”
“That’s enough. I’ve already made my decision and it’s time you accept it. If I come back at the end of the summer, then maybe we can reevaluate.”
“If?” It came out a near screech and she cringed. She hadn’t meant to say “if.” And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to make the correction. Especially not to Alexander King. He was getting far too overbearing for his own good.
“Goodnight, Alex. And please, give me the space I requested.” She hung up the phone before he could argue with her further. When she turned around, she came face to face with Faith and she nearly screeched. Her hand flew to her chest and her breathing grew ragged. “Faith. You startled me.”
Her new friend was giving her a curious look. “Bad breakup?”
“Something like that,” Rylee muttered. Though she’d never dated Alexander. It just felt like it sometimes with how clingy he had become. “Did you need something?” she asked in an attempt to change the subject.
Faith chewed on her lower lip, her scrutinizing gaze almost too much to handle. “You said if you go home. Did you really mean that?”
Rylee blanched. That made two people who had heard her slip up. Two people who would now start to wonder if she was as serious as she tried to sound when she said she wasn’t ready to settle down.
“It’s okay,” Faith said with a wave of her hand. “You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious.” She forced a smile. “Tate is… he’s really special, you know?”
Nodding, Rylee fidgeted with her phone. “Yeah, I know.”
The phone was still warm in her hand. She thought about blocking Alexander’s number. Then she thought about what Roxy would say when she found out, and settled on changing his ringtone instead, so at least she’d know when not to look at her phone.
“Good.”
Faith’s comment definitely wasn’t a compliment, but wasn’t quite a warning, either. Rylee stood alone in her hallway trying to decide what kind of smile she should put on when she went to the kitchen to follow Faith.