Impacted (Conflicted Encounters #2) (19 page)

Despite the late hour, he responded right away that he was on it and would get back to me as soon as he found something. I had the sinking feeling in my stomach that Scarlett would be furious if she knew I was doing this. I was going behind her back and sneaking around. I knew it was only because I cared for her and didn't want to see her hurt, but she would see it as an insult.
 

I slept restlessly that night in the strange bed. I was spoiled the last few nights being in Ryder's bed with his arms wrapped around me. I felt safe and secure there, but only lonely here. I felt like I was home in my apartment. My mind raced with possibilities of Adam's secrets, lists of stuff to do for the wedding, and questions about my relationship with Ryder.

By sunrise, my brain still refused to shut down. I made coffee and checked my email. I needed to print and send out the wedding announcements and invites today, but I didn't want to show up at the apartment at the crack of dawn. Since this was a destination wedding and happening with little prep time, we were inviting a very small group of guests and sending announcements to family only. Scarlett had a small family, and Adam claimed he didn't have much family around after his parents passed.

I took my time getting ready by straightening my hair and doing my makeup. I dressed in a camouflaged tank top and skinny jeans. I threw on a pair of boots I borrowed from Scarlett, so that I was sure I would remember to get them back to her.
 

It was still early when I pulled up to the apartment. I knocked quietly and prayed Scarlett was up like she promised. The door swung open and Ryder took up the doorway wearing only a pair of boxers. My mouth went dry as I took him in. His hair was tousled and his eyes were heavy from sleep. His bare chest and abs were at my eye level, begging to be touched. Intricate black lines covered his shoulder and ran down his muscular arms as he used them to brace himself in the doorway.

"Stop staring and come in," he grunted. He turned and padded over to the coffee maker and, not so gracefully, started to make coffee. "You have a good reason for waking me up on my day off? Other than to see you looking hot today?"

I blushed even though it was a tame compliment. "I'm supposed to help send invites and do the flowers today. I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep and couldn't wait around any longer."

"You don't have to stay there, you know?" His eyes were now awake and trained on me. I searched his face and tried to pick out what he wanted me to say.

"Shit, shit, shit." I heard from the other room. Scarlett came bouncing out of her room on one foot while trying to get a shoe on the other. "I was supposed to cover a shift today."

"What? But what about the invites and announcements. What about the flowers? If I don't ship the flowers this week, they won't be there in time for the wedding," I scolded.
 

"Shit, I'm sorry," she winced as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

I sighed. "They really need out today. I'll do them, just go."

"You sure?"

"Yes," I nodded as I shoved a travel cup of coffee in her hand that Ryder had just handed me.
 

"I love you," she called out as she ran down the steps.

"Bitch," I muttered out of frustration. How does she get out of all the hard work?

I sighed and grabbed the boxes of stationary and dragged it over to the coffee table. Opening my laptop, I pulled up the document to begin typing up the necessary information for the wedding. There wouldn't be many sent out, seeing as the wedding was in Hawaii, but we still had to send something to the people she felt would actually make the trip.
 

I looked over the fonts and designs I would want. Scarlett wasn't here, so she would just have to deal with whatever I chose. The paper was a textured teal color to match the color scheme for her wedding. I picked an elegant font, added some lace patterns to the corners, and started to fill in the information.
 

"Need help?" Ryder asked.

"Can you set up the printer for me? I'm terrible with technology," I asked him, giving him my most convincing smile.
 

He nodded and started to unbox the wireless printer we had to buy just to print the invites and announcements. Between the paper, postage, and the printer, we still saved a decent amount of money compared to if we were to have paid a printer to do it all for us. I dug out the paper that Scarlett wrote both their full names on and typed them in. I made a little card with the time and information for the hotel for those that were invited.
 

While I waited for Ryder to finish setting up the printer, my phone buzzed on the table. I sighed when I saw it was home and debated for a few seconds before answering.
 

"Hello, Mom," I said into the phone.

"Hey, Kallie. How are you, honey?" she asked with a soft voice. I pulled the phone away from my face to check the caller ID. Yep, it was actually my mother.

"I'm good. You?" I answered, suspicion laced in my voice.
 

"Good. Now, do you really think you could plan a trip to Hawaii with Helen and I think that I wouldn't hear about it?"

"What?" I stuttered, stunned. "How did you know?"
 

"We used Helen for years. She gave me a call after you contacted her, wanting to know if you were my daughter," she explained.
 

"Oh." I sighed. I really thought she would never hear about this. I should have known better than to use one of the best travel agents in the city.
 

"I got you an additional thirty percent off. It will be refunded to your account this week," she stated.
 

"What? You didn't need to do that," I said, confused and shocked.

I heard her sigh into the phone. "Kallie, I love you and I know you need this time away," she said, sounding tired. Guilt settled in my stomach. "But we were always so close. I felt like I always knew what you were thinking and going through. Now, I feel like I have no idea anymore."

"I know, I'm sorry," I offered. I didn't want to say that I felt like they always knew what was going on in my life because they were controlling it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I just want to help you, and I don't want you to feel that just because you want independence that you need to cut us out of your life."

I was silent as I watched Ryder finish up the printer and turn to look at me. He raised his eyebrows in question and gauged my reaction.
 

"Now, can I ask what is the reason for a secret impromptu vacation for ten?" she asked, sounding lighter than before.

I smiled to myself. "It's for Scarlett's wedding. I'm going to be the maid of honor," I told her. "Scarlett is someone I met when I came down in the summer. I stayed with her and her twin brother."

"That sounds like fun," she said. I could hear the relief in her voice. For once, I was being honest and letting her in to my life. "Will you still be coming to the Pandora launch party?"

"Yes. I said I would be."

"Do you have an escort, or would you like to come with Ivan?" she asked. She was fishing for information.

"No, I'm bringing a date." Ryder grew more curious, clearly catching on that it was my mom on the phone. He sat down on the couch next to him, leaning in close to try to listen.

"The twin brother?" she asked knowingly.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Okay. Well, I will let you go. I just wanted to check in on you. Call me later, honey. I love you."

I said my goodbye and hung up. I stared at the dark phone for a moment, trying to catch up. I didn't get any lectures or yelling. She listened and she understood. I briefly wondered if it was a trick and if any second now, a bomb would drop on me.
 

"Your mom?" Ryder asked, seeming as skeptical as I was.

"Yeah," I nodded. "She knows the travel agent I used to book the trip."

"You in trouble?"

"No," I said. "She got me a discount, actually."

Ryder just nodded and took the laptop from the table. I watched as he added the printer and sent a test page over. I smiled when I heard the printer spool up and spit out a sheet of paper. I loaded a test invite and printed one off. I examined the paper, looking for any signs that it was homemade.
 

"Looks good," I announced, happy it was going to work.
 

"You want help? How many are there?" Ryder asked.
 

"There's only about fifty, but I could use the help. I also have to do the bouquets and boutonnieres so I can ship them out in the morning."

"I'm going to pretend I know what all that is," he laughed. I smiled, knowing I threw out a bunch of girly lingo. "Give me a second."

Ryder left the living room with his phone in hand. He closed his bedroom doors, and I heard his shower turn on. I occupied myself by printing off the envelopes with the addresses. I was tempted to join in under the water. We used to shower together all the time, but it's probably not the best idea considering our non-relationship.
 

After I printed about half the announcements, a knock sounded at the door. I froze momentarily, wondering if I should get it. The door swung open anyway. Logan and Caleb walked in like they owned the place.
 

"We are your service," Caleb announced, doing a bow.
 

"Really? Oh, great!" I squealed and jumped up from the couch.
 

I dragged over the reels of ribbons and showed the guys how to cut pieces to make bows on the stationary. Logan's fingers were too big, so I gave him the task of punching holes. Caleb could take them and tie the bow through them. Ryder came out of his bedroom, and I had to stop and stare at him. His hair was still wet as he rubbed a towel through it. He wore a short-sleeved shirt, showing off the tattoos that ran up his arms.
 

"What you need form me, darling?" he asked me, giving me a smirk.
 

"I could think of a few things," I bit on my lip, looking him up and down, quite obviously. The guys laughed and Ryder smiled. "Can you stuff envelopes?"

"Is that all he should stuff?" Logan joked. I tossed a ball of paper at him, and he caught it with a grin.
 

We worked in a little assembly line. I printed the announcements a few at a time. Logan poked holes in the top and Caleb weaved the ribbon through and tied it in a bow. Ryder stuffed them in the envelopes and put them aside. I stuffed the few cards with the wedding info in the few envelopes, stuck stamps on, and in no time, we were done.
 

"Thank you guys. That would have taken me all day."

"No problem. You're paying our way to Hawaii. It's the least we could do," Caleb told me.
 

"Shouldn't the bride be here for this?" Logan grunted.
 

"She had to work," I answered, knowing his issue was with her marriage, not the preparation for the wedding.
 

"How do we do these flowers?" Ryder asked, taking out an artificial orchid and examining it like it was a foreign object.
 

"I have no idea, really," I admitted. "I will need to look it up."

"You know, Crystal works for a florist. She could help," Caleb offered. I felt Ryder stiffen next to me. I remembered her from the river and the bonfires.
 

"You fooled around with her?" I asked Ryder.

His eyes went wide. "She's fooled around with everyone. I'm not interested." His eyes bored into mine.
 

I swallowed a lump in my throat. I was jealous; I wasn't going to hide that. I just didn't know if I had a right to be. Never having a "casual" relationship, I didn't know what the rules were. In my heart, I knew it hurt to think about another girl flirting with him or being with him.
 

Ryder may not be ready to say he loves me, but he has to know he means something more to me. He should know that I will get jealous wouldn’t really want to ask one of his exes for help. He was looking at me like I shouldn't worry, like I should know he only wanted me. I wanted to believe him, but I wanted a good enough reason to.
 

During my internal debate, Caleb had already started texting. "She'll be here in a few," he told us, smiling proudly. I didn't want to seem unappreciative, so I smiled. I could do this.
 

I gathered all the fake flowers and supplies needed. Scarlett and I googled how to make your own floral arrangements, so we had a list of supplies to go off of. I dug out the ribbon, tape, and the photos we used as inspiration. A knock sounded at the door when I was done, and Ryder walked over to let her in.
 

"Hey, guys," she sang out, plopping a bag of stuff on the floor. "Hi, I'm Crystal. I think we met," she said, sticking her hand out to me.
 

I stood and shook her hand. "We have. Kallie." I smiled as nicely as I could.
 

I summed her up as she did the same with me. It was like some animalistic dance, fighting over the meal. I took in her fake tan, blonde hair, and skimpy shorts. We had a tanning salon at my apartment in the city, but I never used it. My skin was pale compared to hers, and I had much less showing than she did. She was obviously asking for attention, and I didn't like her doing it here.