Chased by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders): Trish Ryder by Melissa Foster Page B

under my skin with your pushiness and smirky attitude.”
    “I’m pretty sure we’ve just figured out why you don’t have a girlfriend.” She grinned and shoved another piece of chicken in her mouth, which he was glad to see.
    “The last thing I need is a woman telling me I’m doing everything in my life wrong.”
    She waved her fork like she was leading an orchestra. “Deflect, deflect, deflect.”
    He couldn’t help but laugh.
    She patted the seat beside her. “You’re making me nervous moving like you’re going to either blow up or take off.”
    He sat beside her. “Pushy.”
    “Arrogant,” she retorted. Her eyes rolled over his face. “You look like you’re ready to burst.”
    “A certain waifish actress has that effect on me.”
    She leaned closer and whispered, “I had a very different effect on you earlier.”
    He flashed back to their dance, and their kiss, stoking the fire that had been simmering ever since. She sat up straighter, her cheeks flushed with heat.
    Guess you feel it, too .
    She shifted her eyes over his shoulder and breathed deeply. “Why did you miss the preproduction meeting?”
    “Look at me and maybe I’ll tell you.”
    She met his gaze, and an electric current hummed between them.
    “My mother was admitted into the hospital an hour before the meeting. I thought I’d have time to call, but I got caught up in making sure she was okay and that my sister and brothers weren’t going to fall apart.” He shrugged.
    Her lips parted and her eyes filled with empathy. “I’m sorry. Is she okay?”
    He nodded, swallowing hard with the memory. “They thought it was a heart attack, but it was just stress.”
    “So, she’s out of danger?”
    “She worries about my youngest brother, which stresses her out. I’m working on him. It’s been hard on her since we lost—” He turned away, his chest tight with the shock of his near confession. “For a long time.”
    “Oh, Boone. I’m so sorry. Not that I disbelieve you, but why did the press have pictures of you at the party?”
    “They used old pictures. If you look hard enough, you’ll see this was missing.” He held out his left arm and pointed to the tattoo around his wrist. “My agent’s got connections that owe him favors for years to come, and he has Tripp, my PR guy, feed them stories to keep them off my trail. You’re an actress. You should know there isn’t anything money can’t buy.”
    “I feel like an idiot.” She dropped her eyes.
    He lifted her chin and smiled. “You’re not an idiot. Everyone believed the press. That was the whole point.”
    “Yeah, but I should know about everything in the press not being true. My sister-in-law, Siena, is a model, and she was forced to date a football player when she first met my brother. She needed to scuff up her reputation and he needed to fix his. So I could have at least asked. But why didn’t you tell me when I first mentioned it?”
    He shrugged. “Because I don’t talk about my family.”
    “But I pissed you off enough to tell me.” She turned away. “See? Not exactly delicate.”
    “Or you could look at it like I care what you think and take that as a compliment. And I was wrong a moment ago. There’s one thing money can’t buy.”
    She gave him a curious look.
    “You.”
    She laughed and shook her head like he was joking, though he wasn’t. She stabbed a piece of chicken and held it up for him to eat. He narrowed his eyes, and she arched a brow, poking his lips with the fork.
    “Pushy,” he teased.
    She shoved the food into his mouth, and he grabbed her hand. He wanted to tug her in and devour her whole. He swallowed the meat and set the fork down on the plate with his other hand.
    “What is it about you, Trish Ryder?” Their faces were so close he could hear her breathing. “You said I scare you, but I think you’re scared of who you think I am. And honestly, you scare the hell out of me, because you make me feel things I’ve never