“Nice to see you too, Gillian,” Ryan said as he stepped out of hiscar, clearly
amused.
“I’m sorry,” she said, flustered. “I just didn’t expect to see youhere.
Um, did youknow I was here in Virginia?” she asked, and as a thought occurred to
her she began to panic. “Is something wrong? Grandmama?”
“No, no, Gillian, “ he said, sensing her panic. “Everyone is finein Pine
Valley.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
Suddenly, another thought occurred to her and a tingle of pleasurespread
through her body.
“Are, were you looking for me?”
Ryan still hadn’t decided what to do about Gillian - and Jake forthat matter. He
hadn’t at all expected to run into her, but when he saw her standingalone he
couldn’thelp but finally make his presence known. Since he didn’t know how to
answer thatquestion, he decided to lie. “Actually, I’m on vacation,” he said.
“Vacation? Here?”
“Yeah, well, I had an aunt who lived near here. She was really theonly
decentmember of my family. Every so often I’d visit her. She died a few years
back. I just
thought, in light of everything that’s happened recently, it might benice to
relive a happy childhood memory.”
“Oh,” she said, for lack of anything better to say. “I’m onvacation, too.”
Gillian, you sound like an idiot, she admonished herself.
“Yes,” Ryan said, smiling that smile that made her knees go weak.“I can see
that.” He was teasing her, and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Gillian felt her face flushing, half from embarrassment, half fromthe
pleasure ofhaving him tease her - and the fact that she enjoyed it so much. God,
he is good-looking, she thought.
“So, you drove down here all by yourself,” Ryan said, testing thewaters
carefully.
“Taking risks. That’s like the old Gillian I knew. All though, I don’t
suppose this really
compares to the time you snuck out of the hospital last summer.”
She felt like dirt - lower then dirt.
“Uh, actually, Jake came with me. We’re sort of here....um,together.”
“Oh,” Ryan said, trying to express the correct mixture of surpriseand
pain at heranswer. He found that the latter wasn’t at all hard to conjure up.
It began to sprinkle.
“Well, the reason I stopped was to help you. It looked like youwere
having somecar trouble?”
“Yeah,” she said, gladly turning her attention to the car.
“It won’t
start. I don’tknow what’s wrong.”
“Okay. I can probably jump your car. I have some cables in the trunk.”
“What?” Gillian asked, not understanding what he meant.
It started to rain harder and they were now getting wet.
“Never mind. Listen, just get in the car,” he said, opening the passenger
door for her.
“Ryan, I -”
“Gillian,” he said, cocking up an eyebrow.
She obeyed him and got in the car.
“It’s too late to try and jump the car. If we don’t leave now we’llbe
caught in the
middle of the storm,” Ryan said, glancing up.
“We still might be. I’ll drop
you off atyour hotel. I’m staying at the Paradise Beach Resort. That’s out of
town a while. Your hotel is probably on the way, right?”
“Actually, I’m staying there, too. At the resort, I mean. Jake andI.”
“Perfect,” he said, ignoring her last comment.
He started the engine and turned on the wipers.
“I don’t know, Ryan. Maybe I should just take a taxi,” Gillian said.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What for? I’m going there, so are you. It only
makes sense.”
“I, I just don’t think it would be a good idea for the two of us to show up
together,” she reasoned.
“Come on, Gilly,” he said, coaxingly. “Let me drive you home.”
I just don’t understand it, she thought. How is it possible that he can
even make a ride in the car seem sexy? She looked at him and smiled, relenting.
“All right.”
He looked in her eyes then and saw it. Saw that she still wantedhim. Saw
that she still loved him. Saw that it wasn’t too late. And, in thatmoment,
he made up his mind that he would do everything in his power to haveher back
again.
