Jay busted out laughing again as we headed to her car. “You still in the mood to shake your ass?”
A feeling of dread washed over me. Was I really going to walk away from something as amazing as Ryder? No, of course I wouldn’t. This whole silent treatment thing from him wasn’t something he would do either.
With a frustrated sigh, I shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t really move around on my ankle. Maybe I should pass.”
“Pass? Why can’t you sit your ass at the bar while I get my salsa on then? Why must we both be punished because you feel guilty for flirting with the hot doctor?”
“I don’t feel guilty, because I was not flirting with him.”
Jay shook her head. “Fine. Then I see no problems with going out tonight.”
Dropping my head back, I moaned. “Fine. Just drop me off at home so I can stare at my stuff and wonder if I’m moving to Montana or not.”
Jay dropped me off and called out, “I’ll pick you up at eight!”
Once I got back into my apartment, I dug in my bag and pulled out Kate’s journal. I sat on the sofa and quickly got lost in the pages of a young girl lost and confused.
“YOU STILL HAVEN’T called her?” Nate asked.
“No. I want to surprise her.”
“And you don’t think by her calling you and it going to voice mail that she might think you’re pissed at her?”
I stopped walking and stared at my brother. “Shit. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“She called last night.”
“What?”
Nate smiled an evil smile. “She called my cell phone and asked if you were okay. I told her you were sitting right next to me.”
Anger raced through my veins. “And you didn’t think to let me talk to her?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you threw your phone and smashed it into a million pieces or the fact that you didn’t want to call Layton or Reed and ask them for her number for fear Reed would think y’all were fighting and use that against you. You could have called Walker.”
“I called him and left a message! He never got back with me! And again, why didn’t you let me talk to her? Plus if she called you have her number on your phone asshole!”
“Huh. That sucks for you and she didn’t want to talk to you. She only wanted to make sure you were okay and her number came up private asshole or I would have given it to you.”
“Fucking hell. Why do I keep messing up with Ava?”
Nate walked out and took in a deep breath. “Feel that? That is beautiful Texas seventy-degree weather in December. Hell yes.”
“Just get a damn taxi.”
Nate chuckled as he held up his hand and a taxi came pulling up. “How do you know she’s at her apartment?”
“I know Ava.”
“So you think you do. Clearly you don’t know how not to keep pissing her off.”
“Fuck you, Nate. Let’s hurry up so we can stop at the bank and I can get to Ava. The sooner I see her, the better.”
When the taxi pulled up to Ava’s apartment building, I jumped out. “Shall we wait?”
I glared at Nate. “I hope when you hook up with whoever you’re hooking up with tonight, your dick goes limp and stays that way!”
Nate’s eyes widened in horror. “Why would you say something so terrible like that?”
Rolling my eyes, I slammed the car door.
“Hey, Harry!” I said as I walked up to the doorman.
He lifted his brow. “Do I know you, sir?”
“I’m Ava Moore’s fiancé. Ryder. Ryder Montgomery.”
Harry looked me over. “Mr. Montgomery, I do remember you.”
Smiling, I asked, “Is Ava home?”
“She is. She returned from her trip and was feeling rather happy with getting her cast off.”
“Her cast off? She got her cast off?”
A woman walked up carrying a large amount of bags. “Harry! Please, will you help me with my shopping bags?”
I quickly reached for the door and held it open. Harry was so occupied with helping the woman that he forgot about me. I made my way over to the elevator and headed up to Ava’s apartment.
My heart was racing in my chest. I knew Ava was going to be pissed at me and think I had been ignoring her. I only hope what I picked up at Nate’s place would show her how sorry I was.
Taking in a deep breath, I reached my hand up and knocked on the door. It took a few seconds before the door opened and I saw her beautiful face.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes lit up. “Ryder. I thought … what are you doing here?”
“I missed you.”
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “But … you haven’t been answering your phone.”
Puffing my cheeks, I blew out a breath. “Yeah, about that. I didn’t mean all the shit I said, Ava. I was so angry with myself for all of that I threw my phone and it broke into pieces. Then when I realized your number was in my phone and I couldn’t remember it, I kind of freaked out.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“I didn’t want to call your family, then your father would ask why I hadn’t taken the time to memorize his little girl’s number if I asked her to marry me. He would know we argued and I didn’t want that.”