Ryan tried not to let his nerves show on the drive to the house. He debated telling her about Dex, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Would she go back to him? It didn’t seem likely. Ryan didn’t think Bailey was really in love with the guy, but if she was and Dex offered some sort of commitment, like a proposal, would she accept?
When they got to the house, Ryan loaded her suitcase into her trunk and turned to face her. “I’ll see you later?”
“Yes. Do you mind if I come see you play tonight?”
“Of course not.”
“Okay.” She pulled her keys from her purse. “Ryan, thank you for everything. I’ll never be able to tell you how grateful I am that you hung in there with me and helped me get through the last couple of days.”
“What are you talking about? I was in that car, too.”
“No, I mean flying to Wisconsin and helping me with all the research and—”
“Bailey, I’d never let you go through that alone. You know that.”
She nodded and looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry about everything else. I feel like if we would’ve stayed home, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“No, no, no. You don’t get to take the blame for that. Don’t go there, Bay.” He waited a beat then said, “But I wish you would let me tell Harper about the letters. He might be able to help us.”
“I don’t think implicating my uncle and my mother will help anything at this point. Those letters look bad, but it’s also not the whole story. I just want to know where I came from, and possibly exposing an affair between them won’t help. My mother couldn’t get pregnant, so the scenario of me being their child doesn’t fit.”
“All right, I’ll drop it for now, but if something else happens—”
“Nothing is going to happen. I think you’re just being paranoid about a connection. Harper was right. The pieces just don’t fit together.”
Ryan nodded. “Don’t use that as an excuse to let your guard down. Okay? Be extra careful…extra watchful for the next few days. Will you?”
“If it makes you feel better.”
“Thank you. Will you also let me know when you hear something about Patrick?” he asked.
“Yeah, I asked Anna to keep me informed.”
“I’ll see you tonight, then.”
She popped the door handle, and his heart jumped in his chest. “Bailey, wait.”
“What’s wrong?” She tossed her purse into the passenger seat.
“Before you go, I want to tell you something.”
Ryan shifted his weight from foot to foot. His freaking voice wouldn’t work, and he didn’t know what he would say if it did. This was his last chance to make a move or at least tell her how he felt.
“Ryan, I promise I’ll be careful. Please, stop worrying about me.”
His stomach churned at the faint sound of concern in her voice. “Bay, are we okay?” The words came out before he could edit them. “You and me.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I just… I don’t want you to feel weird with me or anything.”
She lifted to her tiptoes and hugged him. Ryan froze at first, then relaxed into the hug.
With a sigh, she said, “You’re my best friend. I love you. Don’t ever feel weird around me.”
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and buried his face in her hair. With a deep inhale, he took in the fragrance of lavender mixed with Bailey’s natural scent and tried to set it to memory. If he lost her to Dex today, this would likely be the last time he’d touch her. His breathing hitched at the thought, and he pulled her tighter.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
He nodded and loosened his grip. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt in that accident. It would kill me to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Ryan. Ever. And I don’t want you to feel bad about not sharing the house. It’s okay that you don’t want to live with me. I won’t hold it against you.”
He chuckled. “Okay, good. I wouldn’t want a stupid house to come between us.”
They lingered in the hug for a few more seconds before letting go. A sense of dread crept up, and Ryan knew he hadn’t done what he should have. Or had he? Would she be safer with Dex? Was she better off without Ryan confusing her and screwing things up for her? He didn’t know, but after all that had happened over the last two weeks, he couldn’t find a good reason for her to choose to be with him. He’d done nothing but make things harder on her and put her in danger.
* * *
Ryan rested his head on the cool desk in the El Lago office, fighting nausea. His stomach burned at the thought that Bailey could, at that moment, be with Dex, doing God knows what. He wondered if it would’ve been better not to know. What if Lucas hadn’t told him? He didn’t think the surprise of seeing her with Dex would have made it easier. Now he could at least try to bury his feelings and stick to his promise. If she saw he was jealous, it would go against his pledge that nothing had changed.
He hoped she came in alone. She might just send the guy packing. There was no reason to believe Bailey would take up with him again after what he had done. Then again, there was the whole commitment thing Lucas had mentioned. Mae told him it sounded like Dex was really sorry and ready to take the next step with Bailey, whatever that was.
He slowly lifted his head when he heard footsteps approaching the office. When his eyes rested on Lucas, then Dex, he didn’t know what to think.
“What’s going on?” he asked, confused as hell since he thought for sure Dex would be with Bailey.
Lucas glared at Dex, then turned back to Ryan and said, “Sorry. He wouldn’t take no for an
