He stared at his reflection. If he felt so strongly about her, he had to tell the truth, because no good could come from starting a relationship based on a lie. Today at brunch, he resolved, he’d tell her the truth and hope that she understood.
As he shoved his foot into the second tennis shoe, the doorbell rang. Quickly, he tied the shoelace and raced to the door. Peering out the peephole, his heart plummeted when he saw an unexpected face.
What the . . . ?
Ryan ran his fingers through his hair, his mind racing.
The doorbell rang again, longer this time. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.
“Surprise!” The perky blonde dropped her bag and flung her arms around his neck.
Ryan returned a tepid hug. “Holly, what are you doing here?”
“Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?” She pouted up at him.
Holly Cullen, the reason he took the trip to Chicago. He’d needed to get away from the constant pressure of marriage talk. It seemed everyone knew he and Holly should get married—their friends and family, Holly, her parents, his parents. Everyone except Ryan.
He’d known her forever. They’d gone to the same schools, and their parents were best friends, so their families spent time together often. Once old enough to date, it was understood they would date each other, which they did, but broke up for a while when they went to college. They both moved back home after she graduated and he dropped out, and they’d been dating off and on ever since.
Eventually, Holly started hinting around about marriage, and his mother and hers added pressure. In his head it made perfect sense that marriage should be the next step in their relationship, but his heart wasn’t in it.
He cared about Holly a lot, and he thought she’d make a good wife. She knew how to cook, worked at a daycare center, and was great with kids. But the more he thought about getting married to her, the more it felt like what others expected him to do. Not what he wanted to do.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Ryan said, bringing her bag into the living room.
“That’s because I wanted to surprise you, silly. Wow, this is nice.” Her mouth hung open as she walked deeper into the apartment. Ryan and his had different tastes. Where Ryan would have gone for a more rustic abode, his brother’s home impressed with sleek lines and modern technology. A remote controlled everything, from the lights to the appliances.
“It is a great place,” Ryan agreed. The almost two weeks he’d spent there had been pleasant, but now his refuge had been disrupted by the person he’d been seeking escape from.
“It’s gorgeous.” Holly flung open the drapes and looked down at the street.
Ryan glanced at his watch. He had to meet Shawna for brunch in a few minutes. “Um, Holly, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, Ryan. You haven’t been returning my calls.”
“I’ve been busy. How did you get here?”
“I flew.”
No way she’d bought a ticket on the spur of the moment to come out and see him. It would’ve been cost-prohibitive, so she must have bought the ticket long before and been planning this all along.
“I told you I wanted to come out here to think.” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice, but he heard it creeping in.
“About what? Are you reconsidering your career in making furniture?” She asked the question with a hopeful tone in her voice. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” she added hastily.
Sometimes he wondered if she really loved him, or did she love the thought of getting married. Or, did she simply go along with everyone else’s expectations.