Page 87 of Broken Butterfly
The snow flurries start to taper off and Ryder lifts me up, blanket and all, to wrap my legs around his middle before he sits back down on the car hood. The way he is able to hold me like I weigh nothing thrills me to no end.
What Ryder says next, catches me off guard. “While we were in Barcelona, Fallon confessed to me that he was in love with you.”
Fallon told himwhat?
“That if I screwed things up, he would step in and take you away again. I wanted to punch the shit out of him when he said it. But a part of me was happy for him. Fallon told me you knew more secrets about him than I did, so I’m pretty sure you know about his crappy childhood with an abusive father.”
If Ryder only knew that was half of it. But it’s not my secret to tell, just like Julien’s secret in high school was not mine to tell Jayson.
“So why were you happy about it?” I ask, perplexed. Soon after we came back home, I had told Ryder everything that happened between me and Fallon on our trip. He knows about the kisses and about Fallon sleeping next to me in bed. I laid every second out for Ryder, leaving nothing out.
Ryder pulls my winter hat down more securely, so my ears are covered. Little things like that show me how much he cares for me. I would take those small, loving, nondescript actions over a bouquet of flowers any day.
“Fallon has never loved anything or anyone.” He touches his forehead to mine. “Until you.”
“He loves you, Ryder. In a bromance kind of way of course.”
“I’m talking about pure, selfless love. I was happy that he could love you like that. I know he won’t do anything to get in the way of us or our relationship. I don’t know how to explain it better. In a way, it eases my mind that if something ever happened to me, then Fallon would take care of you and protect you because he loves you.”
“Yeah, I’m not so magnanimous. If another girl said she loved you, I would rip her hair out. Then I’d set Meredith on her.” We both laugh out loud at that.
“I promise I will never give you any reason to send Meredith my way.” He chuckles.
Our song ends and the snow finally dissipates. Ryder tips my chin up, hovering his lips a breath’s-width apart from mine. “I’d like to take my fiancé home now and make love to her for the rest of the night.”
Tingles spread like wildfire across my chilled skin. “Yes, please.”
Chapter 24
Ryder and I video-chatted with his parents, Brea and Jamie, the next evening. After giving them our news, Ryder and I couldn’t get a word in for over an hour. Faith brought up grandbabies again and started crying. Again. Jamie and Brea said they want to help me plan the wedding, and Randy teared up and had trouble getting so much as a complete sentence out. Overall, it went much better than we expected.
Now, I’m sitting in a small café near campus waiting for Ryder and Fallon to arrive. We’re going to tell Fallon together about our engagement. However, I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and one of those birds just walked in.
“Hey, wildcat.”
I stand up to give him a hug. “Hey, Trevor. Thanks for meeting me on short notice.”
He removes his long coat and scarf, placing them on the back of one of the small café chairs. He glides a hand through his messy hair making it stand up even more. I chose a table in the back of the café so we could have some privacy.
Another guy propositioned me today as I was walking across the quad. I hope Fallon is able to find out who posted those pictures. The sooner, the better. I’m getting tired of always feeling eyes on me or hearing snide comments whispered behind hands as I walk by. Meredith texted me earlier and said she found where the girls who called me a slut lived, and that she and Sara were going to pay them a visit today. There’s no stopping Meredith once she sets her mind to something, so my only reply was to tell her to be careful. Then we planned to have our girls’ night out at Belly’s this Friday. Finals are quickly approaching, and pretty soon we won’t have any time to hang out before I leave for Seattle and she goes back home for the two-week holiday. That means no boys allowed for our girl’s night.
Trevor eyes my hot chocolate. I asked for extra marshmallows and have been waiting for them to melt. “Do you mind?” he asks.
“Go right ahead.”
He takes my large mug and sips, licking gooey, white marshmallow fluff from his upper lip. “Okay, that’s really, really good. I’m going to order me one. Be right back.”
Trevor walks over to the counter to place his order. Knowing my time is limited before Ryder and Fallon show up, I mentally go through what I want to talk to him about. I’m calling in the favor he owes from his promise to trust me when the time came.
I watch as the girl behind the counter tries her best to flirt with Trevor. Either he ignores her small touches and bright, overenthusiastic smiles, or he’s completely oblivious. I suspect the former.
Sitting back down, he cups his hot chocolate in his hands, blowing on the rising steam. “Alright, out with it. You’ve been fidgeting since I walked in.”
I have? I still my restless hands. “And if this is about me dating Meredith, I am going to politely say no right now and we can enjoy our drinks in peace,” he continues and relaxes back in the chair.
“Actually, this is about the no-questions-asked favor you promised me.”
He looks intrigued.
