Page 69 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“Exactly,” she said. “He’s fine. They’re taking their time and making sure they are safe.”
“It would be my luck that I finally found a guy I like, and he gets killed in a freak storm while we’re on vacation.”
She laughed. “There you go with the dark thoughts.”
“Dammit. I’m not supposed to do that. I have never had a good run of luck. This would be par for the course.”
“I can’t believe you fell for Ryan Jones,” she said. “You didn’t have even a little crush on him back then?”
“No!” I shook my head. “Definitely not. I couldn’t stand him. We always argued. We tried to keep it from you, but we were always snarking at each other. He told me I was jealous of him.”
“Jealous?”
“He was convinced I thought he was taking you from me,” I said. “I wasn’t. I just thought he wasn’t good enough for you.”
“But you think he’s good enough for you,” she said.
“He was definitely good enough for you back then as well,” I said with a sigh. “I was just a little snot. I was a different person back then. My parents spoiled me rotten. I was used to getting my way. When he was around, you did listen to him a lot more than me and it made me crazy. And I hated how smart he was. I was insecure. He was this confident, capable dude and I was always worried about gaining a couple of pounds or wearing something that wasn’t fashionable. He moved through life without a care in the world and I cared about everything.”
“He was pretty confident back then,” she said. “I think that’s what drew me in. To be perfectly blunt, I wasn’t all that physically attracted to him. He was cute enough, but it was Tony that got me hot.”
“Ew,” I groaned.
“Ryan makes you hot,” she teased. “You know he does.”
“Maybe a little,” I said.
“Girl, you damn near climbed him on that dance floor,” she said. “I thought I was going to have to turn the hose on you.”
“Do you think I’m totally getting my hopes up?” I asked softly.
“About him?”
“Yeah,” I said and looked out the window again. “I’m worried about a man that’s not even mine to worry about. He may never be mine.”
“He could be,” she said. “I don’t think you have to count anything out.”
The sound of the storm seemed to be getting worse instead of better. Sitting in the dark lobby with quiet conversations happening all around us was not helping me worry less. I could feel the fear of my fellow guests. Most of us were not used to this kind of thing.
The staff seemed calm. They were laughing and milling about with beverages and snacks. To them, this was just another day. Their calmness gave me some comfort. If this was normal for the island, whoever was bringing Ryan to the resort would be prepared for the weather. They would know how to navigate in the storm. He was going to be fine.
And then what? What was I going to say to him? I couldn’t tell him I was worried sick about him. That would imply there were feelings. He was looking at this as an arrangement. He wouldn’t understand why I was so worried he might not come back in one piece.
I was acting like a scared girlfriend. It was probably best if I made sure he made it back and then headed back to my room. I imagined after his flight, he was going to be looking for a little R and R. The last thing the man needed was a woman fretting over him.
I looked toward the doors once again. If it was possible to will a person to appear, I would have done it. I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer for the man that had somehow managed to capture my heart without even trying.
