Ryan's Love (Sawyer Brothers #1) by C. A. Harms

swung her foot in a circular motion, causing the water to slosh around our feet. “I could stay right here and be perfectly happy. It’s peaceful, like nothing out there beyond our view matters.” She closed her eyes, tilting her head toward the sky, and took in a deep breath. “It even smells pure. Nothing smells this great in the city,” she whispered.
    I swallowed hard, acknowledging in that moment just what Amber was doing to me. I never in my life imagined another woman being capable of making me feel this way.
    “You’re so beautiful.” The statement fell from my lips without a second thought.
    She opened her eyes and looked over at me. The gentleness in them warmed my heart and made me feel so comfortable. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re not so bad yourself, Cowboy.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Chapter Fourteen
     
     
    Amber
     
    Our night together was perfect.
    Ryan was perfect.
    I hadn’t wanted to ruin our date by bringing up Olivia’s visit, but it still sat heavy on my mind. I was more than positive he understood how much his actions affected her, and I knew I couldn’t hide my meeting with her. I wouldn’t want him to feel as if I was unable to be honest with him
    We were sitting in his truck outside the entrance to my apartment. After a long day at the ranch, where we road Storm over the entire property, we called it a night. As he skimmed his thumb over the side of my neck, I closed my eyes and focused solely on the way my body reacted to his touch. He was gentle, and with each passing moment I felt more and more comfortable being near him.
    With his arm rested across the back of his truck seat, he turned toward me. My eyes fluttered open, and I found his gaze focused on me, the last thing I wanted to do was ruin this perfect moment. But I had to bring up what happened earlier. We needed to talk about Olivia.
    “I need to tell you something,” I said. He stilled his thumb from stroking my skin as our eyes connected. I hesitated briefly before continuing. “Olivia came to see me yesterday.” His face fell, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “She’s upset and said she wanted to see me for herself,” I continued. His jaw ticked, and the last thing I wanted was to anger him, but I felt he needed to know. “I don’t want to be the person causing her sadness, Ryan. It was evident she was upset.”
    “I’ll talk to her,” he assured me and turned around to open his driver’s-side door. I watched as he crawled out and walked around the front of the truck before opening the passenger door. He held out his hand and helped me down.
    He was silent as he walked me to my door, and just when I thought he was going to kiss me, he pulled me in for a quick hug. His lips brushed over my temple, and then the warmth of his body was gone as he stepped away and forced a smile. “I’ll talk to ya later.”
    I stood frozen in the doorway of my apartment as he spun on his heel and charged off toward his truck. He climbed in, and the taillights quickly became the only indication he had been within reach just moments ago.
    It had been an amazing, almost perfect day, until now.
     
    ***
     
    The next day started out crazy. We were overwhelmed with customers, and to top it off, our oven was going out. I didn’t have time to deal with even more issues than Olivia and her obvious dislike of Ryan and me dating today. My mind was boggled at Ryan’s reaction last night. By the time four o’clock rolled around, Bailey and I were beat. We both collapsed in the stools at the bar, resting our arms against the countertop and heaved out a relieved breath now that the day was finally over.
    “So what are we gonna do about tomorrow? We can’t cook goodies without an oven.”
    Her statement only reminded me that my day wasn’t over yet. I wanted to curl up in bed and forget about the last twenty-four hours—well, except my time with Ryan at the ranch.
    I leaned forward and let my forehead rest against