chuckled, “He’s kind of the quiet type. Get a few beers in that guy though, and it’s a whole different story. Honestly, I don’t think I could have asked for a better brother-in-law.”
“He seemed really nice, even though he really didn’t say much. I mean, he and Cody did stop to help me, after all.”
“So what is the story with you and Cody?”
Ryan could feel herself blush. “I don’t know, really. We had dinner with Mac and Riley that night, and the two of us spent yesterday at the beach with a bunch of his friends. And tonight… We're going to climb the dunes at the park to watch the sunset over the Sound.” Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crept on her lips.
“Ooh, sounds romantic,” Abby grinned. “Is he a good kisser?”
Ryan’s face went from slightly pink to red in half a second. She could feel it. Abby just laughed.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Abby said, still laughing.
“Let’s just say he kisses like I could have never imagined, Abby,” she grinned as she pretended to swoon.
The two friends continued their lunch, catching up on events they had missed in each other’s lives. This was definitely the type of relationship to treasure. They hadn’t seen each other in years, but it was like they had never been apart.
They finished their lunch and Abby promised to get in touch with Mac to figure out a girls’ night out while Ryan was in town.
Chapter 5
Ryan had just enough time after returning from her lunch with Abby to play a little catch on the beach with Berkley and get ready for her date with Cody. She was grateful she had spent the afternoon with Abby. It was great catching up with her, but it also helped keep her mind off her upcoming date. She liked Cody, and the more she thought about the date, the more nervous she got.
Knowing they were climbing the dunes that night, she wasn't quite sure what to wear. She wanted to be cute, but the dunes weren't going to be easy and she'd likely be sweating by the time they were done. Staring at her clothing options, she heard her phone ding with a text message.
“Oh, crap!” she said out loud to no one, realizing she hadn’t called Madison to let her know how the date had gone the day before.
She picked up her phone and smiled, seeing the text was from Cody.
Cody: Hey. Got caught up on a project and am running about 20 minutes late. Be there as soon as I can.
Ryan was happy to see he had been able to dive back into his work after they had texted earlier. She knew what those creative ruts were like, and they sucked. Plus, his 20 minute delay meant she’d have a chance to call Madison and fill her in. Before she made the call, she sent a quick text back to Cody.
Ryan: No problem. See you when you get here.
Smiling to herself as she dialed Madison’s number, she loved that he was courteous enough to let her know he was running late. Chalk up another positive mark for the guy.
“Where in the hell have you been? I wasn’t sure if you were dead in a fucking ditch somewhere!” Madison answered.
“So much for hi then, huh?” Ryan said, laughing.
Only Madison.
“Hi,” Madison answered meekly.
“I’m fine, Mad. I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. We got back late and I was exhausted from spending the day at the beach. Still love me?”
“No.”
Ryan laughed again. Madison could be so dramatic when she wanted. “If you were that worried, why didn’t you call me?”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault I thought you were dead?”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh again. God, she loved this girl! “So how are things going? Miss me at the office today?”
“Fuck yes. It’s not the same when you’re not here. But I don’t want to talk about this place. How are things with Cody?”
“Things with Cody are… they’re great. But I have one work question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“How are things going? Has anyone been looking for me?”
“First of all, that
“He seemed really nice, even though he really didn’t say much. I mean, he and Cody did stop to help me, after all.”
“So what is the story with you and Cody?”
Ryan could feel herself blush. “I don’t know, really. We had dinner with Mac and Riley that night, and the two of us spent yesterday at the beach with a bunch of his friends. And tonight… We're going to climb the dunes at the park to watch the sunset over the Sound.” Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crept on her lips.
“Ooh, sounds romantic,” Abby grinned. “Is he a good kisser?”
Ryan’s face went from slightly pink to red in half a second. She could feel it. Abby just laughed.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Abby said, still laughing.
“Let’s just say he kisses like I could have never imagined, Abby,” she grinned as she pretended to swoon.
The two friends continued their lunch, catching up on events they had missed in each other’s lives. This was definitely the type of relationship to treasure. They hadn’t seen each other in years, but it was like they had never been apart.
They finished their lunch and Abby promised to get in touch with Mac to figure out a girls’ night out while Ryan was in town.
Chapter 5
Ryan had just enough time after returning from her lunch with Abby to play a little catch on the beach with Berkley and get ready for her date with Cody. She was grateful she had spent the afternoon with Abby. It was great catching up with her, but it also helped keep her mind off her upcoming date. She liked Cody, and the more she thought about the date, the more nervous she got.
Knowing they were climbing the dunes that night, she wasn't quite sure what to wear. She wanted to be cute, but the dunes weren't going to be easy and she'd likely be sweating by the time they were done. Staring at her clothing options, she heard her phone ding with a text message.
“Oh, crap!” she said out loud to no one, realizing she hadn’t called Madison to let her know how the date had gone the day before.
She picked up her phone and smiled, seeing the text was from Cody.
Cody: Hey. Got caught up on a project and am running about 20 minutes late. Be there as soon as I can.
Ryan was happy to see he had been able to dive back into his work after they had texted earlier. She knew what those creative ruts were like, and they sucked. Plus, his 20 minute delay meant she’d have a chance to call Madison and fill her in. Before she made the call, she sent a quick text back to Cody.
Ryan: No problem. See you when you get here.
Smiling to herself as she dialed Madison’s number, she loved that he was courteous enough to let her know he was running late. Chalk up another positive mark for the guy.
“Where in the hell have you been? I wasn’t sure if you were dead in a fucking ditch somewhere!” Madison answered.
“So much for hi then, huh?” Ryan said, laughing.
Only Madison.
“Hi,” Madison answered meekly.
“I’m fine, Mad. I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. We got back late and I was exhausted from spending the day at the beach. Still love me?”
“No.”
Ryan laughed again. Madison could be so dramatic when she wanted. “If you were that worried, why didn’t you call me?”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault I thought you were dead?”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh again. God, she loved this girl! “So how are things going? Miss me at the office today?”
“Fuck yes. It’s not the same when you’re not here. But I don’t want to talk about this place. How are things with Cody?”
“Things with Cody are… they’re great. But I have one work question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“How are things going? Has anyone been looking for me?”
“First of all, that