Least Likely to Fall in Love (18 page)

“What does it mean that we’re waiting for this to fall apart? Why are we so ready to step back?” Lindy asked.

Ryan shook his head as he stood up. “Love is scary. But we can do this.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his mouth to hers. Before she could gasp for air, he was kissing her like she’d planned to demand before the evening was over. His tongue played with hers, his hands tangled with the curls at her nape, and the hard wall of his chest sent a shock through her system with each shift. Before she knew it, her hands were in his back pockets again.

Finally Ryan broke off the kiss with a sigh and rested his forehead against hers. “Just don’t give up. We’ll figure this out.”

“Let’s go inside. I don’t want the next picture of our PDA to hit the newspaper’s front page.” Lindy tangled her fingers with his and headed for the door.

Until she noticed he wasn’t following.

Then she replayed her words in her head.

Idiot.

“Next picture? What does that mean?” Ryan kept a hold on her hand even when she started to backpedal.

“Nothing. Never mind.” Lindy glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t forget you have unsupervised teens inside.” That should take care of the problem.

Ryan shifted forward, as if the urge to run inside was hard to control. Then he shook his head. “Smart. Use my paranoia against me. Spill. What picture?”

A quick calculation of her odds showed her no possible way out, so Lindy heaved a disgusted sigh. “It’s nothing. No problem you have to solve. I took care of it.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“Signs. Someone posted signs with a photo of us...” Lindy cleared her throat. “The morning after.”

“At school?” Ryan snapped.

“I talked to Blake. It’s handled.” Lindy crossed her arms and watched Ryan process. He was rubbing his forehead so hard, she was afraid he’d reach brain matter.

“Teenagers. Game night. Brownies.” She ran a hand from his shoulder to his wrist. “A hot kiss good night. You and me.”

She thought it was working. Ryan straightened his shoulders. He reached around her to open the front door. “Maddie. Eric. Get in the truck.”

Lindy’s mouth dropped open and she had no idea what to think.

He motioned her forward. “After you. Game night starts in half an hour. We’ve got a trip to make first.”

She was doing it again. Sweeping shit under the rug that had to be dealt with.

But this time,
together
they were going to do the right thing.

“Stewart and the rest of his kind will keep this up until you call them on it, Lindy.” He made herding motions. “So, we will. Instead of hoping the whole thing will go away, we’re going to tell him to cut the shit.”

She rolled her eyes so hard he thought for a minute she must be Maddie’s age. “It’s not necessary. His opinion doesn’t matter. At all.”

“What about the next person he tries to push around? What if it’s one of your teachers? Or his own son at a game?” Ryan held open the door. “If you won’t, I will. I’ve learned a lot. He might be able to learn, too.”

Lindy glanced at the kids in the backseat who were in no way pretending to be doing anything but hanging on to their every word. “Fine. I’ll do it myself. Next week. Without an audience.”

She was strong. She
could
handle this all on her own. Should he listen?

Her brave smile, the fake one that he remembered so damn well from long, sleepless, guilty nights, convinced him. He pointed. “In.”

“I won’t tell you where he lives. How’s that?” She sniffed, climbed serenely in, and buckled her seat belt. “But I
will
tell you how to get to the yogurt shop.”

Ryan pressed a hard kiss on her lips. “I admire you. Your guts. Your smarts.” Then he said, “Eric, you know where Blake Stewart lives?”

“Yes, sir.” The crack in the kid’s voice was satisfying, but now he needed cooperation, not intimidation.

Lindy was still squawking when he started the truck.

“Do not tell him, Eric.” She shook a finger at him.

Ryan turned his head to study Eric carefully, his best father-of-the-cute-girl frown on his face.

Eric cleared his throat. “Uh, turn left on Jefferson.”

Ryan ignored Lindy’s fuming until he lurched to a stop three houses down from Lindy’s.

He stared in the rearview mirror. “Stay here.” Then he marched around, opened the door, and urged Lindy out of the seat.

“This is so stupid.” She marched up the driveway. “But we’re here now, so follow my lead, bossy.”

Ryan held up both hands and stopped at the bottom of the steps to admire the way her straight shoulders and insistent knocking did nice things for her rear view.

When the door opened, Matt Stewart filled the doorway. “What?”

Before Ryan could charge up the steps to convince Stewart to use a friendlier tone, Lindy snapped, “Nice attitude. The signs were low, Mr. Stewart. No more pictures. No graffiti. If I find you’ve harassed any school staff, you and Blake will be talking to the police.”

Ryan was trying to decide if that was strong enough when she jabbed a single finger in the middle of Stewart’s chest. Ryan rubbed his own chest as he remembered the phantom ache of her poke. “And if Blake comes to school with a paper cut, I’m calling it in. Do not test me.”

Matt Stewart tilted his head to the side. “You think I’d
hit
my kid?”

“You’ve done your best to embarrass me.” Lindy propped both hands on her hips. “But that’s all you can get away with. I’m an adult, a woman who can stand on her own two feet. That kid, he doesn’t have the same freedom. So, I’ll protect him, too.”

She was so damn hot in that second, a warrior armed with only her confidence, her sense of right and wrong, and some impressive boxing jabs.

Stewart glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t know anything about pictures. Or embarrassing you.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I…wouldn’t hit Blake.”

“I told you that, Principal Mason,” Blake said. “And the signs were my idea. I was out jogging, saw a chance to…” Blake shrugged. “I don’t even know now.”

None of them said anything for a long, tense second.

Then Lindy held up both hands. “Fine. This is it. No more chances. As long as that’s clear, I’ve got brownies to eat.”

Matt Stewart nodded. “Clear.”

Lindy’s eyes were still narrowed when she swung around and marched down the steps. “Happy now?”

Ryan was still laughing when he slid into the driver’s seat. Her arms made a tight knot in front of her. Maddie and Eric kept their mouths shut. All he could see in the rearview mirror were bright, wide eyes.

The tense silence in the cab of his truck lasted until he was parked in the garage. Both back doors slammed shut at the teenagers made quick escapes. Ryan gripped his keys, afraid for the first time he’d pushed her too far.

“I just wondered, if you’d pushed back when I was a kid, if I might have been less of a prick.” He studied her face. “Blake could still be a decent human as long as other decent humans take a hand. And you’re the most decent human I know.”

Her tight lips worried him.

“Sorry if I took it too far.” And torpedoed whatever new beginning they were currently on. Was it the third? Fourth?

“I’m used to making my own decisions. Handling things for myself.” Lindy’s voice was hard. “But this time, maybe you were right.
Maybe
.”

Ryan glanced out the window, his grin hard to hide. “I won’t let it happen again.”

Her reluctant chuckle eased the tight constriction in his chest.

“You don’t have to do it all alone. Just don’t forget that.” Ryan tangled his fingers with hers. He had to convince her this time. He was afraid there would be no more new starts.

***

For Lindy, the overwhelming urges to laugh and cry were almost too much to handle. The adrenaline rush from staring down Matt Stewart bubbled in her veins and the admiration on Ryan’s face was impossible to miss.

She squeezed his hand. “With you, I’m invincible, Ryan Myers.”

“Good.” He tugged her closer to press a slow kiss to her lips, his hand tangling in her hair. Here, in the private world of his front seat, Lindy could imagine him kissing her like this for…forever. “I wouldn’t bet against you. Ever. Besides, that’s what family should do. Make you stronger.”

He was irresistible. Said all the right things. If they never left this truck, it would be too soon. “Let’s just stay here. We could practice making out in close confines.”

He closed his eyes and groaned. “You have the worst timing. Teenagers on hand and all I want to do is strip you down and make you—”

The door opened and Maddie leaned out. Her opinion of the clench was clear in her wrinkled nose and the gleam of happiness in her eyes. “Gross. Grown-ups kissing.”

Afraid that Maddie hadn’t quite come to terms with everything, Lindy eased back and slid out of the truck, determined to act like everything was normal.

But everything was so much
better
than normal.

Ryan wrapped a hand over her shoulder. “What should we play first?” He was already pretty good at changing gears, acting like nothing interesting was happening. That would come in handy, she had no doubt.

Maddie snorted. “That smile makes you look like the biggest nerd, Dad.” But she shook her head like she couldn’t get over how cute he was.

He pretended to shove imaginary glasses up his nose. “The better to trounce you at trivia, my dear.” Ryan clapped his hands. “To the popcorn!”

Maddie hung back as he charged through the door and rolled her eyes in the universal “my dad’s so embarrassing but I love him anyway” teenage way. “I’m glad you’re here, Principal Mason. We should totally make this men against women, an unfair battle of the sexes where we flex our muscle.” She raised an eyebrow. “You in?”

Lindy pretended to weigh her options while she secretly did a happy dance on the inside. She loved Ryan. Maddie was awesome. Maybe there was a spot for her in the photo frame, a new Myers family photo. Someday soon. “Call me Lindy. World domination should always be done on a first-name basis.”

Maddie blushed. When she held out a hand, Lindy felt the hard thump in her chest at how much the beautiful girl resembled her father.

Maddie winked at her and then skated off on sock feet. “Girls against boys. Girls rule, boys drool!” The shouts that came from the nearly empty living room made Lindy smile as she closed the front door. This game night was just the first of many on the path to world domination.

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read
Least Likely to Fall in Love
. After I heard a news story about a girl who was treated like a queen by her hometown after she was nominated for homecoming as a prank, I started thinking about what happens between high school and becoming who you’re meant to be. It takes some fearlessness, and I hope that Lindy was able to pass that along to every student she leads.

Next up in this series is
Least Likely to Marry a Millionaire
. Look for that one in July 2015 with more in the series to follow. For now, please take a look at my first paranormal title,
Greek Gods Bearing Gifts
. In my head, it’s a mashup of the television shows
Leverage
and
Warehouse 13
.

And as always, I’d appreciate an honest review of any of my books. Your reviews matter. If you’d like to connect with me, you can find out more about what’s coming up at
CherylHarperBooks.com
(and sign up for the newsletter). I’m also spending too much time on Twitter
(@CherylHarperBks)
and Facebook
(www.facebook.com/CherylHarperRomance)
. I hope to see you there!

Cheryl

Greek Gods Bearing Gifts

Available May 2015

A thief. A cop.

A Greek god’s pawn shop.

Liberty Smith is certain putting two thieves in charge of a pawn shop is a terrible idea, even in Olympic View, tourist attraction and home to some people with unusual skills. Fresh out of prison, Liberty’s ready to go straight, all the way to Omaha if necessary, and take her baby brother Frank with her. Organizing the junk passing for inventory at Titan Pawn and the employees who aren’t all what they seem was never part of the plan.

Justin Barrett is a fine cop, just like his father before him. His only weak spot? The girl he put in prison who now has blood on her hands. Literally. To save pain-in-the-neck Frank and free Liberty to leave Olympic View, Justin joins a very strange mission. To 1983. With an odd watch and Liberty in the shortest red dress it’s been his pleasure to see.

Greek Gods Bearing Gifts
is reunion-story, sexy paranormal romance (75,000 words) featuring the charming god of thieves, two people who never stopped loving, and the underworld’s all-you-can-eat rib buffet.