Page 61 of Broken Butterfly
“Just ignore him. He’s not going to ruin our evening.”
“Once he finds out that Fallon is here, he won’t try anything,” Ryder surmises, tucking his hand in mine.
I reach for Jayson to get his attention. “Do you think we should find Julien and warn him?”
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go find him.”
“Elizabeth, we can leave. We don’t have to stay. I know Marshall is a sore spot for you.”
I love how Ryder always tries to protect me. I crook my finger at him to get him to bend down. “I love you,” I whisper then tiptoe up and kiss his lips. Our skin is cold, but our breaths are warm and the contrast between the two causes tingles to erupt across my cheeks. I swipe my tongue against his one last time and drop down.
Ryder’s eyes are glassy and hooded. “You better be glad we are in an open, public place right now.”
I wink at him and giggle, giving him a silent promise of more to come later tonight. A familiar profile catches my eye. “Is that Elijah?”
Ryder turns to look where I’m pointing. “Crap, it is. Jules is going to shit a brick.”
“Do you know why they broke up?”
Ryder won’t directly look at me. “Yes, I do, but it’s something you need to talk with Jules about.”
Well, that’s cryptic and worrying. And impossible at the moment since Julien refuses to talk to me. I take out my phone and type.
Me: On your left.
I watch as Elijah takes his phone out, looks at the screen, then looks to his left. He finally spots me after a few seconds.
Elijah: Ha, ha. I guess that means I have America’s ass.
Me: The man next to me owns that title Thought you’d like the Avengers reference. Coming over.
“You’re back!” Elijah’s grin splits his face as Ryder and I walk over.
I run the rest of the way into his open arms and am lifted in a huge bear hug. “I am back. I’m sorry I left. I have a lot to tell you. But it looks like you have a lot to tell me too.”
“Is he here?”
Ryder cuffs his shoulder in greeting. “Yeah, man.”
Elijah sets me back down and kisses my cheek. “I knew we’d run into each other eventually. We do go to the same college and live in the same county. So, when did you get back?”
“We arrived the day before Thanksgiving.”
“We?”
“Fallon flew Ryder out to meet us in Barcelona. He stayed for the rest of the trip,” I happily reply, hugging myself to Ryder’s side.
“Wait. I thought Jay said—” Elijah shuts up when his gaze flicks to Ryder.
“We so need to talk,” I tell Elijah. “Ryder, do you mind?”
“I’ll go hang with Fal while you guys catch up.” He gives me a quick peck and I swat his butt as he walks away. Yep, my man definitely has a world-class ass.
“Are you back with Ryder or still with Ryder? Your life is very confusing sometimes, Liz.”
“Don’t I know it. I’ll give you the condensed version. Yes, my memory came back. Yes, I did something with Jayson that I’m not proud of, but something that is not up for discussion at any time now or in the future. I was in a messed-up place. Yes, I went off with Fallon. He helped me figure things out. No, I’m not back with Jayson. I love Ryder. I’m with Ryder. Hopefully, one day, I will drop down on my knee and ask that man to marry me.” I can do unconventional.
Elijah startles out a cough and I realize what I just said. “Shit, Elijah. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Yesterday, Elijah had planned on proposing to Julien.
