Jill Shalvis - Roughing It With Ryan

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, just go with her.” This from Suzanne, who stood up and dusted off her hands. “Have fun.”

“Suz-”

“’Night!” And she was gone, the door to the building shut in his face. Shut very politely, mind you, but shut good and tight.

“Do you mind that I came here?” Finally sensing his confusion, Allene matched it with a little pout of her full, red lips. “I just thought that since I had tickets to that play, we could save time, and-”

“No.” Ryan managed a smile. “It’s fine, it’s just that…” He looked into her melting brown eyes. “I’m really tired, I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” She looked down at a set of tickets in her hand, and Ryan felt like a jerk. “I…understand.”

Ah, hell. “But…”

Allene brightened. “But?” she said with such hope Ryan knew he had to do this.

“But I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Great! We’ll stop by your house so you can shower and change first.” She took his hand and tugged him toward her car.

Ryan watched Taylor’s building fade away and wondered what Suzanne was thinking. Probably not fond thoughts.

Then he wondered exactly how he should kill his brother. Slowly, he thought. Slowly and painfully.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER Allene dropped Ryan back off at Taylor’s building for his truck. Turning off her car, she turned and sent him yet another dazzling smile.

After an evening of those mega-wattage smiles-which Ryan now knew covered up an innate inability to have a conversation that didn’t apply to her makeup, her hair or her clothes-Ryan felt a little mega-wattaged out.

He hadn’t been able to ditch her. When he’d tried, she blinked wet eyes at him, saying Rafe had promised he’d take her for dessert after, and he’d folded like a cheap suitcase.

Damn it. Now all he wanted was a couple of aspirin and a glimpse of another woman.

Suzanne.

He didn’t consider it a good sign that he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head the entire evening. It wasn’t as if she’d wanted to go out with him. Hell, she hardly wanted to talk to him.

But somehow he knew that to be a ruse. That what was happening between them simply terrified her.

He understood that. He felt it himself. But it had to be faced.

Tonight. With that in mind, he turned to Allene with an apologetic smile. “It’s late,” he said, leaning back a bit when she unhooked her seatbelt and moved in on him. “Allene, wait-”

Nope, she didn’t wait, she straddled him, right there in the Miata, which had to be a nearly impossible feat given the gear shift. “Allene-”

“I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you there on those steps, all stretched out, hot and sweaty and sexy as hell.” Fisting her hands in his hair, she kissed him.

He had a beautiful woman sitting on his lap, trying to shove her tongue down his throat, and he was actually going to fight her off.

What was wrong with this picture?

As gently as he could, he pushed Allene back to the driver’s side of the Miata. She fell there, mouth wet, eyes hot, her body sprawled out and hopeful.

She sighed. “It’s another woman, right?”

“I’m so sorry.”

She tossed her hair out of her eyes. “It’s okay. I knew it.”

If she’d known it, he was worse off than he’d thought. Figuring she’d let him off easy, and also feeling a little guilty about it, Ryan practically scrambled out of the Miata. Ran up the steps.

And came face-to-face with Suzanne, who stood there, leaning against the door, arms crossed, face utterly unreadable.

“Hey,” he said, skidding to a stop, a little breathless.

Reaching out, she swiped a finger over the corner of his mouth. She lifted it to show him the bright red lipstick Allene had left there.

Then she turned and went into the building.

And this time, the door slammed. Hard.

AFTER SLAMMING THE DOOR-why had she done that, she didn’t care who Ryan went out with-Suzanne stalked through the dark hallway, up the stairs and straight into Taylor’s apartment.

“Taylor?” She let herself in. “I need an ice cream fix!”

“Well, then, come on back! I have a brand new gallon and two clean spoons.”

Suzanne stormed into the kitchen, headed for Taylor’s freezer and grabbed the gallon container. Since Taylor had sold her antique dining room set to start work on the loft, there was nowhere to sit, so they each hopped up on the counter.

Doing her best not to remember what had happened the last time she’d sat on a counter, Suzanne took the spoon Taylor handed her and dug in.

Taylor waited until they’d each had five good-sized bites. “So.” Swinging her feet, she sucked a drop of ice cream off her spoon. “What did he do?”

“He who?”

“He who. Ryan who.”

Suzanne studied a swirl of chocolate. “What makes you think he did anything?”

“Because he’s got a penis, hon. He can’t help but be an idiot.”

“Yeah.” Suzanne sighed. “But for some reason, I always forget that idiot part.”

“Well, I have to admit, Ryan does seem to have evolved slightly further than the average knuckle-dragger. I mean he looks at you, really looks at you. If you gave him any encouragement at all, I think he’d go for it.”

Suzanne snorted and shoveled in more ice cream.

Taylor lifted a brow. “Are you saying he’s already gone for it?”

“No.”

“Oh,” Taylor said with disappointment.

“ I went for it.” At Taylor’s shocked laugh, she sighed. “Remember when the electricity went out the other evening? We nearly…”

Taylor put down her spoon. “Nearly what? ”

Suzanne dug back into the container with more force than was required. “Let’s just say the electricity came on just in time and my sanity returned.”

“ Wow. So you nearly…” Taylor sighed. “He’s got the best body.”

“One he took out a date tonight with a woman who looks like a Barbie doll.”

“Hmm.”

“He kissed her.”

“No.”

“Oh yeah.”

Taylor put her spoon down. “Should we kill him?”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Taylor hopped off the counter, and looked deep into Suzanne’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I’ve seen him watch you. There is no one else, there couldn’t be.”

“There was tonight.”

“Talk to him.”

Suzanne hopped down, too, but kept a hold of the tub of ice cream. She wasn’t letting go of her comfort food. “No way.”

“I think you should.”

“And I think we need to renew our vow to remain single, since you’ve apparently forgotten it. I’m borrowing this ice cream.” She went out the door.

Taylor sighed. “I’ll renew my vow,” she said to the swinging door. “But I have the feeling you won’t be needing yours for long.”

CONCENTRATING ON shoveling ice cream into her mouth at a rate that would ensure obesity by her next birthday, Suzanne headed toward her own apartment.

Her throat was tight, her eyes burned and it bugged the hell out of her. Good Lord, one would think she actually cared who that Neanderthal dated, when everyone knew he dated anything in a damn skirt.

It didn’t matter, not one little bit, because she was never going to date again. She was never even going to look at another man again, no matter if he was Adonis.

She’d have to get a vibrator, of course. Or turn lesbian.

No, a vibrator would do.

Reaching out blindly for the front door of her own apartment, she nearly swallowed both her tongue and the spoon on it when she encountered a hard chest instead.

She knew that hard chest.