Page 16 of Off-Limits Bad Boy

Ryan nods. “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.”

“Exactly!” He gets it.

He glances at me, and that’s my only warning before he throws a live grenade into our casual chat. “So, are things getting serious between you and Kade?” He tosses the words out casually, as if we’re discussing the weather or a new song on the radio and not something I didn’t want him to know.

I stiffen, my heart slamming painfully hard. The question hits me like a physical blow, unexpected and disorienting. Sitting back on the couch, I try to gather my scattered thoughts and think up a response that’ll make sense and throw him off the trail of the truth.

Ryan watches me closely, his eyes searching my face for some clue to the truth I'm so desperately trying to conceal.

“Um...” The word catches in my throat and I almost choke. I shake my head instead, sending my hair swirling around my shoulders. “No, no. Not serious. We just worked together the other night.” I laugh off the statement as if it’s inconsequential. “And he’s an ass. So he was trying to apologize, I guess.”

But Ryan is studying me, and I shift nervously.

“He’s just being polite,” I say, “so I don’t complain to Alex about him.”

Ryan’s eyebrows lift.

I swallow hard. While nothing might be serious between Kade and me in the way Ryan means, everything about Kade shakes the very foundation of what I thought I wanted.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” he asks.

My heart threatens to beat right out of my chest, but he flashes a smile and reaches out to push my shoulder gently with one hand in a playful gesture. “I’m just messing with you. He really rattled you, huh?”

That’s one way to put it. I think about how Kade had come so close to kissing me... and how much I’d wanted him to.

I nod, reaching for the pepperoni pizza. Stuffing food in my face might discourage conversation. I hope so, at least. I leave the box open between us in an open invitation for him to eat with me.

“Emma,” Ryan's voice is gentle, but instantly puts me on edge. “What’s the real reason Kade was at the door?”

My hand pauses mid-air, the slice inches from my face. My chest tightens. I don't want to think about Kade, let alone talk about him. “Can we not?” I mumble before shoving food into my mouth. At least I’ll have a reason not to respond right away.

Ryan's gaze doesn't waver. “So something did happen. Did he kiss you?”

I shake my head, but I must have moved too quickly or given myself away somehow.

“Almost kissed you?” He arches a questioning brow, and I can’t bring myself to lie to his face like this.

I let out a sigh and set my pizza down with a single bite taken out of it. “I said I don't want to talk about it.” I want him to respect that.

“Okay, okay,” Ryan says, though his eyes tell me he's not convinced and he’s making assumptions. He picks up a slice of pizza, the cheese stretching before breaking away. “I guess that means you don't like him, huh?”

His question is like a splash of cold water in my face.

I force myself to pick up my pizza and pick the pepperoni off the top; I need something to do with my hands. What part of I don’t want to talk about it makes him think I’ll answer his questions?

I avoid his gaze, staring at my pizza like it holds all the answers. Instead of answering, I take another bite, savoring the tangy sauce and spicy pepperoni. As I chew, my mind races, desperate for a response I can give him that’ll make him stop asking. How do I steer the conversation toward anything other than Kade?

“What do you think about the DJ?” I ask.

“I think you’re right. Don’t change things if they’re going well,” Ryan says, his eyebrows raising as he takes another bite, clearly not fooled by my sudden change of subject.

But he doesn't jump right back to talking about Kade, so I breathe an internal sigh of relief. He puts his pizza down, taking a napkin and wiping a stray spot of sauce from his fingers.

“I think I know why you don’t want to talk about Kade,” Ryan says softly, his gaze locking on mine with a sudden intensity that confuses me.

Before I can ask what he means, he leans in, his lips pressing to mine in a sudden, startling - and unwelcome - kiss.

Shock stiffens my body, and I shove him back with hands that tremble. “Ryan! You're my friend, I don't like you like that.” The words burst out of me and we sit there, staring one another down for a heartbeat, then two.