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Someone cleared his throat behind him. Noah.
Vicky’s eyes shot over Ryder’s shoulder to his brother. The false smile snapped back onto her face.
“Well, I’ll let you get to your fitting!” she chirped. She whirled back in the direction of her office before he even had a chance to consider responding.
Behind him, Noah leaned in close to his ear. “I’d like to have a word with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Could you give us a few minutes, please?” Noah asked the tailor the instant he entered the room. The older man, busy unpacking tape measures, pins, and the like from a carrying case looked back and forth between Ryder and Noah before clearly deciding it was best to obey. He nodded and scurried out of the room.
“Bullying innocent craftsmen, Noah? This isn’t like you.”
“Cut the crap, Ryder. I don’t know exactly what’s going on between you and Victoria, but I do know she’s been upset the last few days, and it doesn’t take much imagination to guess it has to do with you.”
Of course, obviously good ol’ good-for-nothing Ryder would be the cause of any upset.
“That’s good,” he bit out, “because you never did have much imagination, did you?”
His little bro did something very uncharacteristic then, he got right in Ryder’s face. Glaring, eyes boring into his, Noah hissed, “Do not screw her over, Ryder. She’s vulnerable.”
Ryder wanted to quip back with something snappy like Whose fault is that, Noah? But he couldn’t because the more important point was Vic. He took a deep breath, then he spoke with as much careful control as he could muster.
“Vicky’s not vulnerable at all. She’s the most self-possessed person I know. She’s compassionate, creative, and unbelievably driven. If you look at her and see some frail flower, then I don’t care how long the two of you were together. You don’t know her at all.”
Noah blinked back at him in stunned silence.
* * *
Vicky hadn’t meant to be eavesdropping. Okay, maybe she had tiptoed back toward Noah’s office as soon as they’d gone inside so she could try and see how things were going between the two men. And maybe she was currently hiding in a little alcove behind a large potted fern. But that wasn’t what was important right now.
What was important was what Ryder had just said. He thought she was . . . well, a lot of things she’d been second-guessing lately. Since the breakup, really. Somehow losing her boyfriend hadn’t been the real blow. She’d lost her confidence. Without Noah, she wasn’t sure she really was the competent, pulled together, go-getter she’d always fancied herself.
But here was Ryder, saying otherwise. Warmth spread through her chest, and suddenly her throat felt tight. He believed in her even when she didn’t know if she did.
Inside the room, the men had gone silent. That couldn’t be good.
Vicky inched closer, slipping halfway out of the alcove and pretending to inspect the plant’s leaves for signs of overwatering as she strained to hear what was going on in Noah’s office. She waited to hear whispered threats or, God forbid, the sound of fist against face as the two finally came to literal blows.
What she didn’t expect was for Ryder to come storming out into the hall.
“Where are you going?” Noah’s voice called from inside the room. “You have a fitting.”
Ryder stopped and spun around. “I’ll send the tailor my measurements.”
“This is so like you! Very mature, big brother!” Noah yelled. But Ryder kept walking.
Vicky was frozen, half behind the fern, half not when Ryder glanced in her direction and did a double take. Their eyes locked, and in the split second she had to make a decision, her hand decided for her, reaching out to grab his arm and pull her into the hidden alcove with her.
But once they were there, she was on her own. And because it was not a hidden alcove built for two, she was basically pressed against him.
She looked up into his eyes. They were so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. They just stared at each other for a moment.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
He looked caught between confusion and amusement. And, God, his eyes were beautiful.
