“I’m glad you did, too.”
This wasn’t supposed to be a visit to Ryan. She was supposed to be out here checking on Kendrick, and then she was supposed to get back to the gallery to plan a show that was coming up next week. But right now, the things she was supposed to be doing paled considerably in comparison to standing here and being kissed.
She had to keep her head, despite the feel of his arms around her, the taste of his mouth, the way he looked at her …
“Enough of that.” She pushed him away. “Now that I’ve checked on Kendrick, I’ve got to get back to the gallery. Alex is expecting me. We’ve got a show opening next week, and I can’t …”
His dark-chocolate eyes were looking at her with a mixture of amusement, desire, and affection. She couldn’t think. She lost track of what she’d been saying.
“Okay.” She started again. “I really have to go.”
“All right.” He ran one hand up her arm in a gesture that she found immensely soothing and comforting. “But, listen. My mom wanted me to ask you over for dinner.”
She blinked at him. “You mean … here? At the house? With your family?”
“Well, this is where we usually have dinner, so, yeah.”
He was laughing at her. Not outwardly, but she could see it in his eyes.
“Well, that’s …” Terrifying, is what it was. He wanted her to meet his mother? Of course, she’d already met his mother, on numerous occasions, but that was informal, unofficial. This was different. He wanted her to Meet His Mother.
“You don’t have to be nervous.” He was looking down at her with his amused gaze, and it pissed her off that he could read her expressions so easily.
“I’m not nervous.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not!”
“Whatever you say.”
She smacked him on the arm, and he laughed.
“Look. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like you’ve never met my parents.” He sat down on the top step of the porch, and she sat beside him.
“Right, but that was before we were dating.”
“And they liked you before we were dating. There’s no reason they shouldn’t like you now that we are dating.” He reached out and took her hand in his.
“But …” Oh, God. The thought of the money entered her head again. Not only were she and Ryan dating, but now the whole issue of the Delaney fortune was on the table as well. She could only imagine that Ryan’s parents would be suspicious of anyone he took a romantic interest in. They had to be looking for ulterior motives. What if they thought she was a user? What if they thought …
“Gen,” Ryan said gently. “I know it’s a big deal when the guy you’re dating wants you to have dinner with his parents. I know that. It means you’re not just dating anymore, you’re in a relationship.”
They sat so close that her arm was pressed against his, the length of her thigh kissing his. She felt a nervous, giddy tingle in her center. “Is that what this is? Is this a relationship, Ryan?”
“I hope so.”
Her heart sped up at the thought of that.
“But if you’re not ready …” he said.
“I might be.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “But it’s complicated.”
“I know.” He avoided her gaze. The hammer he’d been using to fix the porch sat beside him atop his toolbox, and he picked it up and started fiddling with it. “You’re still planning to go back to New York once this thing with Kendrick is done.”
She swallowed hard. Was she still planning that? It was hard to think with him so close to her.
“That’s been my plan.”
He nodded, still not looking at her.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Well. I won’t pretend that I want you to go.” He fiddled with the hammer some more. “But that’s not a decision I can make for you. You’ve got to do what’s right for you.”
“Maybe … if I do go … would you ever …” She wanted to ask if he’d ever consider going with her, moving to New York to be with her. But she was afraid to ask the question, because she was afraid of what the answer would be.
“Would I go with you? Is that what you want to ask me?”
She nodded.
“Well. That’s complicated, too.”
“I know.”
They were silent for a while, sitting side by side, considering the weight of the choices before them.
“Listen,” he finally said. “All of this … it’s all going to work itself out. Dinner is just dinner. Will you come?”
She doubted that the dinner would be just anything, but she nodded. “Of course. I’d love to.”
“Great. Sunday?”
Of course they had a big Sunday family dinner. Of course they did. That figured. “Sure,” she said. “Tell your mother thank you for inviting me.”
She got up from the porch, dusted off her butt, and gathered herself to return to the gallery. She turned to him, where he was still sitting on the step.
“Ryan?” Her heart was pounding.
“Hmm?”
“I …” She took a deep, steadying breath. “Nothing. I’ll see you later, okay?”
She’d been one word, one breath, from saying I love you. She’d come so close before she’d stopped herself. Why hadn’t she said it? Did she mean it? Was this love?
Back at the gallery, she dragged herself glumly through the front door and to her desk. She stowed her purse in the bottom drawer and plopped down onto her chair.
“Something go wrong with Kendrick?” Alex had emerged from the back room when she came in, and now he was studying her mood.
If they’d been in New York, Alex would have been a trim metrosexual with an expensive haircut and sleek black clothes, probably with an eyebrow wax. But here in Cambria, Alex was just Alex, a medium-sized, brown-haired twenty-something in jeans, scuffed boots, and a flannel shirt. He hadn’t known anything about art when Gen had hired him, but he was earnest and hard-working, and he had learned fast.
“No, Kendrick’s fine. He’s good, in fact. He’s working outside today.”
“That’s new.”
“It is. I think it might be really positive.”
“So what’s wrong, then?”
She looked at him miserably. “Ryan wants me to meet his parents.”
“But you’ve already met his parents.”
“No. Alex. Ryan wants me to Meet His Parents.”
Alex’s eyes opened wider as the full meaning of her implied capitals sank in. “Oh. But you two have only been dating for a few weeks.”
“I know.”
“Must’ve been a pretty good few weeks.” He raised his eyebrows.
“It was! But! This is a step! When a guy asks you to have dinner with his parents? It’s a big step, right?”
“Yeah. I dated my last girlfriend for two years before I brought her to meet my parents.”
“Two years!” She stretched out her arms to him in triumph. “Why don’t I get two years? I want the full two years!”
Alex shrugged. “Well, then again, that wasn’t a very good relationship. There was a reason I didn’t want to take The Step.” He could do implied capitals, too.
Gen considered this. “Huh.”
“So? What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about.”
“Especially when you consider the Delaney fortune,” Alex added helpfully.
“You know about that? And you didn’t tell me?”