emotion.
Maybe the key to getting the full story out of him is riling him up. He must be pissed about Sadie running off to the Caribbean the way she did, even if he claims the breakup was mutual. They’ve known each other for almost nine years, six of those spent as a romantic couple.
Part of me wants to keep him talking, to get him complaining, and maybe opening up at last about what happened. Another part would rather leave it alone for now. But whether it’s for my sake or his, I can’t quite tell. Either way, I need to be careful and not try pushing his buttons too soon. Otherwise, he’ll completely clam up about everything.
With a ding, the elevator doors slide open to reveal the empty car, and Ryan follows me inside. “She has someone in mind for you, doesn’t she?”
His question pierces my musings, and I want to shake my head no. “What makes you think that?”
“Because she always does.” He hits the button for the lower lobby, then turns to effectively cut off my protest. “Every time you come to Atlanta for a visit, she sets you up with somebody. That guy from her work at Christmas, for example. Or the guy from my office in April. And don’t forget the string of jackasses she tried out during the two years you roomed with her after college.”
“She means well.” I can’t deny the blind dates and matchmaking attempts Sadie has made over the years. “She’s just not good at picking out guys who’d be a good fit for me.”
His silence is almost tangible as the elevator slows. “She doesn’t want you to be alone.”
I shrug and give him a grin. “She never got that I don’t mind being alone. I’m not lonely. I have Tess and work, and I have you guys.” With a mental slap, I shake my head. “ Had you guys, I guess, is a better way to phrase it.”
“You still have both of us, Carmella.”
His fingertips brush the back of my arm, reassuring, and my eyes burn. Fortunately, we reach the hostess station at the restaurant entrance before I start crying. By the time the hostess shows us to our table, I regain my composure. Ryan pulls a chair out for me, and I ease onto the seat as smoothly as I can in my clingy dress and high heels.
“Anyway, you’re right. I think she’s planning to set me up with the best man.” I can’t say future brother-in-law out loud. If I’m going to get under his skin, it needs to be subtle. “But I have no intention of following through.”
“Not mildly curious?”
“Not mildly stupid.” I wait for him to sit down before perusing the menu. “I’m gonna take Tess’s advice to stand up for myself, and not let Sadie push me around on this trip.”
His frown puzzles me. “Isn’t the fact that you’re going a little contrary to that vow?”
I scan the list of salads before answering. “So you think I’m a pushover, too.”
He says nothing, and the implication bugs me. Ryan, of all people, understands why Sadie and I are friends. He’s the only person I never had to explain it to; the only one who never asked. Despite all her air-headed ideas and emphasis on appearance over substance, she’s always been there for me when it counted.
She picked me out of a crowd on registration day and showed me the ropes of our Georgia college town. When my grandfather died and I was stuck hundreds of miles from home, with no way to get back in time for the funeral services, she arranged for her dad to get me as far as the Newark airport when he was traveling to Manhattan on business. After college, with nothing in the landscape resembling a paying career for a newly-minted historian, she convinced her grandmother to let me cook and clean for her. And then, after she moved to Atlanta, she found me a temp job at her marketing office and let me rent her extra bedroom for far less than it was worth.
Ryan knows all this, and knows how she cried and pleaded with me to stay in Atlanta, instead of moving to Savannah to work for Tess and chase opportunities as a
Maybe the key to getting the full story out of him is riling him up. He must be pissed about Sadie running off to the Caribbean the way she did, even if he claims the breakup was mutual. They’ve known each other for almost nine years, six of those spent as a romantic couple.
Part of me wants to keep him talking, to get him complaining, and maybe opening up at last about what happened. Another part would rather leave it alone for now. But whether it’s for my sake or his, I can’t quite tell. Either way, I need to be careful and not try pushing his buttons too soon. Otherwise, he’ll completely clam up about everything.
With a ding, the elevator doors slide open to reveal the empty car, and Ryan follows me inside. “She has someone in mind for you, doesn’t she?”
His question pierces my musings, and I want to shake my head no. “What makes you think that?”
“Because she always does.” He hits the button for the lower lobby, then turns to effectively cut off my protest. “Every time you come to Atlanta for a visit, she sets you up with somebody. That guy from her work at Christmas, for example. Or the guy from my office in April. And don’t forget the string of jackasses she tried out during the two years you roomed with her after college.”
“She means well.” I can’t deny the blind dates and matchmaking attempts Sadie has made over the years. “She’s just not good at picking out guys who’d be a good fit for me.”
His silence is almost tangible as the elevator slows. “She doesn’t want you to be alone.”
I shrug and give him a grin. “She never got that I don’t mind being alone. I’m not lonely. I have Tess and work, and I have you guys.” With a mental slap, I shake my head. “ Had you guys, I guess, is a better way to phrase it.”
“You still have both of us, Carmella.”
His fingertips brush the back of my arm, reassuring, and my eyes burn. Fortunately, we reach the hostess station at the restaurant entrance before I start crying. By the time the hostess shows us to our table, I regain my composure. Ryan pulls a chair out for me, and I ease onto the seat as smoothly as I can in my clingy dress and high heels.
“Anyway, you’re right. I think she’s planning to set me up with the best man.” I can’t say future brother-in-law out loud. If I’m going to get under his skin, it needs to be subtle. “But I have no intention of following through.”
“Not mildly curious?”
“Not mildly stupid.” I wait for him to sit down before perusing the menu. “I’m gonna take Tess’s advice to stand up for myself, and not let Sadie push me around on this trip.”
His frown puzzles me. “Isn’t the fact that you’re going a little contrary to that vow?”
I scan the list of salads before answering. “So you think I’m a pushover, too.”
He says nothing, and the implication bugs me. Ryan, of all people, understands why Sadie and I are friends. He’s the only person I never had to explain it to; the only one who never asked. Despite all her air-headed ideas and emphasis on appearance over substance, she’s always been there for me when it counted.
She picked me out of a crowd on registration day and showed me the ropes of our Georgia college town. When my grandfather died and I was stuck hundreds of miles from home, with no way to get back in time for the funeral services, she arranged for her dad to get me as far as the Newark airport when he was traveling to Manhattan on business. After college, with nothing in the landscape resembling a paying career for a newly-minted historian, she convinced her grandmother to let me cook and clean for her. And then, after she moved to Atlanta, she found me a temp job at her marketing office and let me rent her extra bedroom for far less than it was worth.
Ryan knows all this, and knows how she cried and pleaded with me to stay in Atlanta, instead of moving to Savannah to work for Tess and chase opportunities as a
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