Don’t Forget to Remember Me (26 page)

He kissed my cheek and then my temple, all
the while his arms still held me tight. “You’re remembering on your
own and I think it will continue. I’ll tell you whatever I feel is
safe, so can we just play it by ear?”

I should agree. After all, I now had a
bracelet and engagement ring which was an amazing gift. If he
wanted to take it slow, I could be happy with things for now. “Yes.
Anything you want.”

“Hmmmph,” Ryan breathed. “Don’t be saying
that, babe.” His hands slid down to cup my butt cheeks and he
grinned as he gave them a gently squeeze. “What should we do today?
I don’t have to work until three.”

He let me go and went into the bathroom. I
could hear the water running in the shower and then he reappeared
in the doorway. “Aaron will pester you to make breakfast, but I
don’t want you to bother with it. Let’s go out.”

I felt my lower lip extend in protest. “I’ve
really missed you.”

His eyes softened and
darkened. I took in his body, lounging easily in the doorway, his
arms raised up against the frame. The edge of his t-shirt was
hitched up and I could see the fine trail of hair leading south and
disappearing into his black sweats. I looked away, a flush in my
cheeks.
I can’t believe I’m feeling embarrassed looking
at him after what he did to me last night
.

“Me, too.” His eyes narrowed at the lust
that he surely must have seen in my eyes. My girly parts were
experiencing all sorts of throbs and tingles, leaving me shaken.
Ryan had to know how he affected me; the look of lust on his face
told me so. “I still have to work, but I’ll try to spend less time
at the library. Now that things are more…out in the open, maybe
being with you won’t be such torture.” He smiled, teasing. He was
so disarming I didn’t stand a chance of resisting.

I ran a hand through my hair and moved
toward the window to look outside. “I never wanted to torture you,”
I said softly.

“Didn’t you?” he asked knowingly. “I don’t
buy it, Julia.” His tone was amused so he wasn’t angry. “You knew
what you were doing when you went out with him.”

I glanced at him and smiled. “Well, maybe I
did hope that you wouldn’t like it.” I shrugged. “Just a little,
though.”

“Riiiggghhhht. Go get dressed, love. It’s a
gorgeous day, so let’s get coffee.”

Something about coffee and Sunday and cell
phones passed through my head at his words. “Yeah. It’s Sunday,
right?”

“Yes, exactly.” Ryan grinned and disappeared
into the bathroom. I resisted the urge to follow, despite the open
door. “And, what a beautiful Sunday, it is!” he called as I heard
the shower door close behind him.

*****

Ryan was in the kitchen with Jenna and Aaron
when I finished dressing. There were only two bathrooms, one in
each of the bedrooms, which made it necessary to take turns. I’d
dressed in jeans and a periwinkle cashmere sweater, and although
I’d dried my hair, it was still slightly damp. I was anxious to
spend as much time as possible alone with Ryan. He was leaning
against the counter, talking to the others seated at the table,
looking amazing in jeans and a blue plaid button-down left open
over a white t-shirt. He was laughing with Aaron when his eyes
caught my approach down the hall.

“Hey, Jules, you’re looking fresh today,”
Aaron teased. Something in his eyes told me that Ryan shared some
of our evening. I flushed.

“Um, thanks,” I muttered uncertainly. “Did
you guys have a nice time last night?” Ryan pushed away from the
counter to take both of my hands in his.

“Yeah, you should have seen how Moore
high-tailed it…” Aaron began, but Ryan cut him off.

“Aaron!”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “What, dude? You’re
kidding, right? After you stole her right out from under his nose,
you should have seen his face.” Aaron’s deep laughter rolled from
within his chest.

“Yeah! Damn, it was priceless!” Jenna added.
“I thought his head was going to explode!”

Ryan was trying not to laugh until finally
he couldn’t help himself and joined in with Aaron and Jen. I smiled
and nudged him in the arm. “You made your point. The poor guy
probably won’t talk to me ever again.”

“If only I could be so lucky,” Ryan said,
sobering. My heart swelled as he squeezed my hands. The look on his
face was possessive and I was thrilled and satisfied at the same
time.

“You will be,” I said seriously.

Aaron didn’t miss the
undercurrent and whistled. “I guess it’s safe to say
something
major
happened last
night. Ryan doesn’t have that pinched, miserable look on his face.
Whatever you did, Julia, keep doing it.”

I laughed softly.
It isn’t what I did, it’s what Ryan did
. I
couldn’t say it aloud so just nodded. “Planning on it.”

“Aaron, leave them alone. You’re
embarrassing Julia,” Jenna admonished. She and Aaron were dressed
for the gym, no doubt taking advantage of a rare morning off
together.

Ryan’s arms slid around me and he brushed a
soft kiss across my mouth. Suddenly, he was all that existed in my
world. I kissed him back and he increased the pressure as our
mouths played with each other.

“Julia,” he breathed
against my lips and then the side of my temple. “You taste so good.
Are you ready to go? If we don’t leave, we
won
’
t
,” he groaned, followed by loud
grumbling coming from his stomach.

“That’s what you get for not eating last
night.” I kissed his jaw, allowing one hand to slide across his
abdomen. The skin on his face was smooth and smelled of musk and
soap. His arms tightened in a gentle hug and I found myself wishing
he wasn’t so damn gentle. I wanted him to crush me to him, to feel
his muscled frame pressing into my softer one.

“I had other things on my mind.” His breath
rushed hotly over my ear as he whispered the words then reluctantly
released me, taking my hand in his. “Okay, we’re out of here.
Aaron, I’ll see you at the hospital. Enjoy your day off, Jen.”

“Yeah, it would be nice to have a whole damn
day off with Aaron, but I’ll take what I can get. You two have
fun.” I offered her a sympathetic look. I empathized because Ryan
had been almost non-existent for the past two weeks. She winked at
me quickly as we left.

I soaked in the beauty of the day. Ryan had
opened the passenger door and I hopped in. The air smelled fresh
and crisp, the scent of the lilacs that lined the street hung
heavily in the air. The sky was a vibrant blue and the fluffy
clouds floated all around.

I was grateful that Ryan’s graduation was
near. He worked so damned hard and that wouldn’t change once he
started residency. I wasn’t sure what our arrangement was before
the accident except that I lived in New York and he lived in
Boston. I only hoped he would come to New York because I really
wanted to find out about my job and start having a productive life
again. My heart fell slightly and he noticed the look on my
face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he
navigated through the quaint streets of the neighborhood.

“Nothing. Just…wondering about stuff.”

“Baby, stop worrying, please?” He cocked an
eyebrow; his cheeks had a rosy flush and his blue eyes, vibrant.
The smile on his gorgeous mouth was relaxed, making my heart pound
and my pulse increase erratically. I couldn’t help but smile back.
He was right, I shouldn’t worry. Not today.

“Okay. But, that doesn’t mean I won’t pester
you for information, Matthews.”

“God forbid, that
could
ever
happen!”

“Well, since you’re so damn sure of me, I’d
hate like hell to disappoint you,” I returned dryly.

His grin widened and he shook his head.
“Never.”

The little coffee shop near the Harvard
Campus was filled with aromas that assaulted us as we walked
through the door and my stomach rumbled. Ryan had to be
famished.

I listened to the sureness in his voice as
he ordered me a large iced coffee, with sugar free vanilla syrup
and a splash of cream. Inherently, I knew that was right. I loved
the way he took charge and made sure I had everything I wanted.

He pulled out a chair for me and then set
two bagel and egg sandwiches on the table along with his cappuccino
before he took the seat to my left. Taking my hand, he kissed it,
his lips grazing over the large diamond that was now in residence
there, before picking up his food and taking a huge bite.

“So…coffee Sundays?” I questioned. Ryan
nodded. “I remember cell phones in reference to coffee Sundays, so
I guess we weren’t always together.”

“Nope, but we almost never missed this time
together. Sometimes it had to be on the phone, but it was still our
time to catch up and talk about our week. When I started working
more hours it was harder. The last year has been rough.”

“Ryan,” I began. I took a
sip of my coffee and then continued in a lowered tone. “Last night,
I felt
so
close to you. Was this
last year different than that?”

“No. We just didn’t see each other as much
as we wanted, sweetheart. My obligations here and your job were so
demanding; we just couldn’t get together as much as we wanted, but
it didn’t change things between us.”

“I’ve been trying so hard to remember my job
at the magazine and all I can get are a few names and faces.”

“Yeah? Who?” He sat back in his chair and
his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Andrea, Meredith and this guy named Mike
Turner. Do you know them?”

He looked at me and tossed
the last bite of his sandwich back on his plate. “Andrea is your
red-headed assistant; perky personality and very bright. I like her
a lot. Meredith’s your boss; a little too viper for my tastes.
She’s ruthless, but she adores you.” He stopped and picked up his
coffee, not continuing on to Mike and I smiled. He was so jealous.
I adored that about him. It made my inner vixen
squeal
in delight.

“And
Mike
?” I prodded gently before picking a
piece of my sandwich off and popping it in my mouth.

“He’s a photographer you worked with
sometimes. He’s a smarmy bastard, at best. Hmmph!”

I couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that
burst out of my chest, almost causing me to choke on my food and
sending a shot of pain through my ribs. It was still enough to make
me cringe. “Smarmy,” I repeated matter-of-factly, sending a
smart-ass smirk in his direction.

“You forgot
bastard
.” He joined in my
laughter.

“Oh, sorry. How remiss of me.” I bit my lip
to stop the smirk. “So, I guess my job is pretty big if I have an
assistant? I wish I could remember. Is there anything you can show
me? The pictures of you helped so maybe there’s something about my
job?”

“I do have one thing I can show you. But,
later. Let’s go for a walk or something now. I’ll give you a
piggyback ride.” His white teeth flashed and his eyes crinkled in a
beautiful smile. “I’m feeling very fine today.”

“And that offer is one I can’t refuse,
although I can walk, Ryan.”

“Don’t argue, Abbott.” He pulled me up and
out the door, both of us laughing happily.

*****

When we returned, Ryan showed me the photo
that I’d given him the same Christmas he gave me the bracelet. I
was stunned and it did help make connections to my job. The picture
taken by Mike Turner while I worked at Vogue was sexy, but demure.
I was mostly covered, but the expression on my face was…intense.
Ryan lovingly ran his hand over the image and then hung it on the
abandoned nail above his desk. I’d wondered what went there.

The day had been magical
and now I missed him. Every second with him filled my heart to
bursting. I almost felt silly, the giddiness reminiscent of a first
high school crush.
My face hurt
, I
couldn’t stop smiling and it didn’t go unnoticed by Jenna. She kept
staring at me and laughing.

I was working in the kitchen cleaning up and
getting ready to make dinner for Jenna and myself and a treat for
the guys for later that night when they got back. “What?” I asked
her, already knowing the answer.

“What happened last night? I see the jewelry
is back.”

“Yes. They’re so beautiful. Exactly what I
would have chosen. Did Ryan pick these out himself?”

Jen grunted as she planted
herself on one of the stools. I grabbed two Cokes from the
refrigerator and sat one down in front of her. “I’d love to
say
no
…I mean,
how perfect can that fucker be, anyway?” she giggled and popped the
tab on her soda.

“Yes. He’s amazing. Jen, he leaves me…just
breathless.”

“Well, I see nothing’s changed,” she scoffed
and pursed her lips. “You’re both so into each other it’s
ridiculous.”

I smiled even wider and poured my Coke over
ice. “That’s my wish. That nothing will change. I can’t remember
everything yet, but I want us to be just like we were. For Ryan’s
sake.”

“You will. He was so happy today. You guys
must have done the nasty last night, hmmm?” She lifted her eyebrow
at me and her lips twitched with a teasing smile.

“Not exactly.” I blushed despite myself.

“Well something sure as shit happened. Spill
already.”

“He played piano for me. I sang to him…you
know.” I shrugged a little.

“He made love to you, Julia. Admit it. It’s
written all over you. Aaron and I have been hoping it would happen.
Ryan’s been so worried. He was wound tighter than a drum on the way
to the hotel. I thought he was going to beat the living shit out of
Dr. Moore.”