I first glanced at Ryan—he was scowling at Officer Gunner, who was still smiling at me—before I took in the throng of my neighbors, who were all whispering to each other. I needed nothing more than a few shots of Patrón.
6
If you’re nervous about bein’ alone tonight, Peyton…” Ryan started, and actually seemed somewhat tense himself as he led me back into my house. He dropped his eyes to the floor before bringing them back to mine again. This was after he cracked his knuckles on both hands twice. “I meant what I said—you can stay at my place.” He cleared his throat and quickly added, “I have quite a few guest rooms.”
I would’ve been nervous about everything that had just unfolded if I were living in my house. But, really, what was there to be scared about when I was headed back to the Omni hotel shortly? It was now maybe ten minutes since the police had left and it was also nearly midnight. The officers had spent another twenty minutes or so ensuring that Ryan’s gun was registered and he possessed the proper permits to carry it. Once they were content that he was completely legal, they went on their merry way. Well, all except for Officer Gunner. The handsome man (who, I imagined, was also quite the Don Juan) asked me twice if I felt comfortable being left with Ryan, to which I, of course, responded affirmatively. Then, as if sensing his window was closing, Officer Gunner immediately announced he would be getting off work soon and would happily return to keep me company. After seeing Ryan’s expression of disbelief mixed with extreme irritation, I politely declined.
And as to Ryan? Although the idea of spending the night at his house was akin to eating Toblerone when you’re PMSing, I knew I had to decline. Why? Because I wasn’t sure Ryan truly meant to invite me. Instead, it seemed more likely that he simply asked in order to keep Officer Gunner from getting any ideas about seeing more of me.
Despite Ryan’s reiteration that I was free to stay the night at his place, I still wasn’t sure he wanted me to. And worse, I didn’t want him to feel like I’d backed him into a corner. The more I considered it, the more it occurred to me that Ryan seemed hesitant about the whole thing, like he was uncomfortable with the idea. That was enough for me to begrudgingly decline. Truthfully, however, I could think of nothing more wonderful than driving away my fears and concerns in Ryan’s arms. With an inward sigh, I promised myself that if and when Ryan ever invited me over to spend the night again, it would be for the right reasons—not because he felt roped into it.
“I’m fine, Ryan, but thanks, I really appreciate it,” I said with a quick smile that I hoped seemed genuine. The smile deepened as I realized how grateful I was to have him in my life. I couldn’t imagine going through everything I just had without him. “I mean it, I really do appreciate everything,” I repeated for emphasis.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he continued, eyeing me skeptically. “I can give you a lift to the hotel if you’re too frazzled to drive?”
I shook my head. “Really, I’m fine. I can drive.” I laughed as if to prove I was just as okay as I pretended to be. Although I was still a bit shaken up, I didn’t see how staying at Ryan’s or asking him to drive me to my hotel would help. Besides, he’d already gone above and beyond for me. I winced as I recalled everything he’d had to endure in the last hour, and all on my account. “I’m so sorry you had to go through…all that.”
“It was to be expected,” he answered noncommittally with a shrug before glancing out the front window again, checking to see if all the neighbors had gone back to bed. Looking back at me, he smiled, holding up three fingers. “Three left.” Then his gaze returned to the street and he shook his head, seemingly annoyed. “Nosy bastards!”
A laugh died on my lips as I eyed the foyer of my house again, trying to figure out just what the hell had happened over the last two hours. Despite my repeated attempts to make sense over the police not finding anything or anyone, none of it added up.
“What’s on your mind?” Ryan asked, reacting to my silence.
I shook my head as I faced him, the worry gnawing at my lips and eyebrows. “If no one was in my house, I just don’t understand what those sounds could have been. I mean…I heard footsteps. I know I heard them!”
Sighing, Ryan cocked his head to the side before staring out the window again, this time holding up two fingers. He faced me with a boyish grin. “You heard Officer Dreamy…”
I laughed, recalling Officer Gunner’s handsome face and pretty green eyes. Officer Dreamy was a good nickname for him, I had to admit. But of course, I wasn’t going to admit that to Ryan, who was clearly not one of the policeman’s fans. “Officer Dreamy? Really?”
Nodding, he chuckled a deep, hearty, and infectious sound. “I saw the way he was lookin’ at you, an’ my Lord, how many times was he goin’ to ask if you were okay stayin’ with me?” He shook his head as he threw his hands up in the air in mock frustration. There was something that made me incredibly happy at Ryan’s response—it appeared that Officer Gunner really ruffled Ryan’s tail feathers. And I could only wonder if that meant Ryan was—dare I say it?—jealous?
“You have a point,” I conceded with a small smile. I figured there was no reason to try and figure out if Ryan was jealous, because ultimately, what did it really matter? Yep, that was a good line of thinking, I firmly decided. Whatever was meant to happen with Ryan or wasn’t meant to happen would reveal itself. I intended to remain an innocent bystander.
“At any rate,” Ryan continued, apparently returning to our previous conversation and eyeing the window again. “Still two,” he said softly, as if to himself. He turned from the window and faced me fully. “Officer Gunner was right—your intruder could have hightailed it out the back door and none of us would have noticed.”
“The back door was still locked from the inside, Ryan,” I argued, trying to ignore the rock taking shape in my stomach. Pondering the facts over the last two hours was making me nauseous.
“Or maybe he opened a window an’ crawled out?”
I shook my head. “The police said they checked every window on the first floor, and they were all either painted shut or still locked from the inside.”
Ryan nodded but didn’t look convinced. “The upstairs windows?”
I frowned. “If he chose that route, he’d either be dead or, at the very least, wounded somewhere in the bushes around the house.” I took a deep breath. “That’s a long fall.” I took another breath. “Besides, the police checked the perimeter of the house, remember?”
Ryan nodded and became quiet for a few seconds as he ran his hand through his wavy hair and expelled a breath, looking like a frustrated god. Good Lord, did the man have no idea how incredibly attractive he was? He finally faced me with an expression that suggested I probably wouldn’t like what was going to come out of his mouth next. “Well, honey, maybe you’ve got yourself a genuine—how should I say this?—ghost?”
I immediately scoffed at him, my eyebrows rising on their own accord. “A ghost? Really, Ryan? Next, are you going to tell me Scooby and Shaggy are coming to solve the mystery?” I crossed my arms against my chest and frowned. “And wouldn’t you know it? I’m fresh out of Scooby Snacks.”
He held his hands up in mock surrender, a smile forming on his mouth. “Hey, back down, Ms. Uptighty-Whities.” I laughed as he shook his head, the smile vanishing from his lips. His expression conveyed more gravity, or more than before. “This isn’t Los Angeles, Peyton. N’awlins is much more open-minded when it comes to that sort of stuff.”