Page 70 of Say it Ain’t So

“Promise?”

She hummed in response.

I hated that hum.

“I’ll promise to call if you promise me something.”

“Chey—”

“I mean it, Joss. You need to tell him. You deserve to know what you are to him. I’m not saying you have to dust off your marriage certificate, but⁠—”

“I know⁠—”

“But you both deserve to know.”

My God, I loved him. I loved him so much it hurt.

What if he didn’t love me back? What if, like Cheyenne said, I was nothing more than a booty call?

“Promise?” she asked, prompting me out of the spiral of my thoughts.

“I promise,” I whispered, pushing the words through my tight throat. “I love you, Chey.”

“Love you too, babe. Talk to you soon.”

After hanging up, I peeked over at Rylan and Van. They were still talking, Van acting as if he had nothing better to do in the world. I pulled up Rylan’s name on my phone and shot off a text, telling him to meet me at my place when he got free. Then I put my car in gear, waved at the two men, and drove out of the lot.

21

RYLAN

Joss was nearly to the front door of her apartment building when I pulled to a stop, my tires squealing on the pavement as I double parked. She jerked her head up, and I hated the fright I could see in her eyes before she realized it was only me. Her shock quickly changed, her smile growing faster than I could roll my window down and yell out, “Hey gorgeous!”

“Rylan!” She raced my way, climbing into the cab and not even bothering to close the door before she was leaning over the center console to kiss me. “I didn’t think you’d be able to come.”

I kissed her back, relishing the way her cold lips felt against the heat of mine, the way her mouth tasted when I slipped my tongue inside and ate up the moan that rose from her throat. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Behind me, a horn honked, startling Joss enough for her to pull away. Her cheeks flamed as she grabbed for her door and settled herself into her seat. Once she was buckled—and not a moment before—I drove away, around the corner until I found a parking spot.

“I thought for sure you’d be another hour at least,” she told me after I shut off the engine and grabbed her hand.

Grinning, I kissed her knuckles. “I may have run a few stop lights to get here.”

“Rylan!” She ripped her hand from my grasp, then gripped my face between her cold palms. “Don’t you ever do that! Ever! Do you hear me?”

“Joss, baby.” I pulled her to me, cursing my big mouth. “I was kidding.”

She cut me off with a kiss, her lips pressed hard against mine. Her grip on my cheeks tightened and she pressed her forehead against my own.

“I didn’t run any lights, I promise,” I told her, our breath mingling together. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Joss slammed her eyelids closed, and I swore I could feel her trembling. If there was one thing I was always conscious of, it was her anxiety around driving and traffic. I should have known better than to joke about this. Smoothing my hands down the back of her head, I nudged my nose against hers, trying to get her to calm. When she finally opened her eyes, she wouldn’t meet my gaze.

She fingered the short hair on my face. “How—” Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat. “How did you get here so fast?”

Telling her the full truth wasn’t an option. She didn’t need to know about my rolling stops, or the one light I probably shouldn’t have gone through. I squeezed her tighter and kissed her nose. “Told Van I had a hot date so I could get away.” When she giggled, I pushed on. “He told me you were on the phone with your husband.”

That finally got her to look at me. Her wide, beautiful eyes stole my fucking breath. “I was talking to Chey!”