WRECKER: A Bad Boy Cowboy Romance (A steamy billionaire romance story) (17 page)

I
straightened
my skirt and turned to face him. I felt suddenly embarrassed about what had just happened despite the fact that he had instigated it.

“
N
ow that we
’ve gotten that out of the way. Tell me about your bigger problems so that I can take care of them for you.”

Tempting Me

Aria:

The only thing I need is him...

It was the night before my wedding. Maybe I cursed it by visiting my fiance. I didn’t expect him to cheat on me with my best friend.

T
hat night
I ended up going to the strip club. The same one I went for my bachelorette party. That guy told me to come back if it didn’t work out. I laughed at the thought. Well, it came true, because it didn’t. What was I to do next?

R
yan
:

I want her, but I know I can’t...

I had my eye on her the whole night at the club. Usually, I can control myself. But not that night.

S
he came from a rich family
. I came from the trailer. She was educated. I wish I was. There was no way it would work. But maybe if things changed, they could?

T
his is
a full length bad boy novel, with
NO
cliffhanger and a
happily ever after
.

E
xcerpt of Tempting
Me

“
M
ost likely
. You might even be able to settle quickly out of court. It will save you fees and time.”

“
I
think
,” he says deliberately. “I think if there is money that comes out of what happened to them, I want to use it for something less superficial than what I have been doing.”

I
tighten
my hand around his in reassurance. I know it must be hard for him to share this with me.

H
e stops
me and places both of his strong hands on my shoulders. The sun is bright and I notice for the first time that he has hints of gold in his dark hair. We are so close I can smell his soap and the scent that is singularly his. For a moment, I think he is going to kiss me. I try not to look at his smooth lips but when I turn my focus to his broad muscled shoulders, it just makes the anticipation worse.

“
I
want
you to help me to read.”

H
is words jar
me out of my reverie.

“
R
ead
?” I stammer.

“
Y
es
, you said you can help me. Will you do that?”

“
O
f course I can
. I mean, I would like to help. I’ve done some training and some volunteer work with kids that have learning disabilities.”

I
worry
that he will take offense at my using the word “disability” but he seems almost relieved. I can’t imagine how it must feel for him to know that with some tools and practice, he’ll be able to read as well as most people.

W
e make
a plan to meet in the morning so we can get started right away. I need to do some studying myself on how best to go about helping him. I have only worked with kids, so this will be a change for me.

R
yan’s piercing
eyes hold mine when we go to part ways and he takes both my hands in his.

“
I
knew
you were someone special when we met.” He leans in and kisses me softly on the forehead.

T
hen he is gone
around the corner before I can say anything. I want to yell after him that I knew the same about him, but I stay silent.

I
get back
to Theresa’s and all I want to do is sit on the couch and process everything that happened. She is there waiting for me though.

“
W
ell
, what did he want? I hope you didn’t let him sweet talk you into bed.”

“
I
t wasn’t
anything like that,” I told her. I don’t tell her about the dyslexia but I do tell her about his parents. I had forgotten that she knew them and she is upset by the news.

“
W
as
the fire only in their trailer or were other homes in the park burned as well?”

I
was so caught
up with Ryan and his problems that I didn’t think about Theresa’s mom. Just because she hasn’t spoken to her in years doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be concerned and saddened if anything happened to her.

“
F
rom what I can tell
, it was just Ryan’s parents and their home.”

“
W
ow
, this is awful … poor Ryan. Now I feel bad for being so hard on him when he came by this morning.”

“
I
’m sure he understands
,” I reassure her. “He apologized for how he behaved the other night at the club.”

“
G
ood
. He needed to apologize. But promise me you’ll be careful around him. I don’t want you to get hurt and all he knows how to do is use women for sex.”

I
don’t want
to argue with her about Ryan right now. Especially because a part of me knows she is probably right.

“
I
’ll be careful
,” I promise.

M
y phone rings
and the caller ID shows that it’s my father again. I take the call both because I don’t want to talk about Ryan with Theresa anymore and because there is no point in putting off talking to my father.

“
A
ria
, your mother is too upset to talk but she wants to know if you’re safe.”

“
I
’m fine
. I’ve made some new friends, have a safe place to stay since you kicked me out of my home, and a job.”

I
don’t tell
him that I’m living in a studio apartment in a questionable neighborhood and that I’m tending bar in a strip club.

I
can hear
him pass this on to my mother and then he pushes forward with the real reason he called. They need my answer now so that they can cancel the wedding before guests start flying in for the occasion. The rational part of me knows this is the right thing to do. But the hurt daughter in me wants to scream and yell at them for being such harsh and judgmental parents.

I
think
about my promise to Ryan and of how when I’m with him, I know I can do anything I want. I also think about the way he held my hand and the glimpse of what might be between us in his intense gaze. We will be spending every morning together and I am just as excited about that as I am about being able to help him change his life.

“
I
’m not coming home
,” I finally tell him. “You can go ahead and cancel everything. And just remember; all I did was decide not to marry a man I don’t love and to stay in the city and start a career. You are the ones that are cutting me out your lives.”

M
y father doesn’t
bother to reply but simply disconnects the call as his answer.

F
or better or for worse
, New York and the club and Theresa and Ryan are my life now. I head to the library to use the computers and start a lesson plan for tomorrow morning so I’m prepared for my first tutoring session with Ryan.