Let Me Be the One (The Sullivans #6)(33)

“I hated lying to you yesterday,” she said to Lori and Smith. “In all the places I moved to as a kid, your family was the only one that ever took me in and made me feel like I belonged.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

Ryan pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Lori spoke up first. “I’m totally bummed to hear you’re not actually going to be marrying my brother, because you’d be such a great addition to our family, but I have to admit I thought you seemed a little too surprised by the public congratulations at the game yesterday. Something seemed off. So what is going on with you guys? And what’s with the whole engagement story?”

“Well, we’re not dating either,” she clarified for them, even though Ryan was still holding onto her and she was praying he wouldn’t let go any time soon. She made herself meet his siblings’ eyes. “The long and short of it is that I ended up in a situation with one of the board members who will be voting on my fellowship. Ryan stepped in when it seemed to make sense to pretend that I was taken.”

Sophie’s eyes were wide with shock and concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, “thanks to Ryan, who came when I panicked.”

“So you told the guy you were getting married to Ryan—” Gabe began.

“No, that’s all me.” All eyes turned to Ryan. “When I found out what a sadistic bastard the guy was, I couldn’t stand the thought of him even coming near Vicki again. It seemed like an engagement might do an even better job of keeping him away than just letting him think we were dating, at least until she wins the fellowship in a few weeks. I’m the one who told the reporter about us yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach Vicki to let her in on the new twist before the team decided public congratulations were in order.”

“How much power does this guy have over the fellowship choice?” Chase asked.

She unclenched her teeth enough to say, “A lot.”

“And her ex-husband has just been pulled onto the board,” Ryan added through his own clenched teeth.

Smith gave Ryan a hard look before turning to her. “Bullshit like this happens all the time in my business. But never on my movies if I can help it. Who is he? I’d like to make a few calls.”

Oh God, the last thing she needed was for Smith Sullivan to get involved. Talk about juicy drama. Not to mention the fact that people would be afraid to have anything to do with her and her sculptures, just in case they looked at her wrong and she sicced the Sullivans on them.

“I appreciate that, Smith,” she said, “but it’s bad enough that I roped Ryan into this mess. I don’t want you to get involved, too.”

The waitress came over with a huge tray laden down with their breakfasts and they stopped discussing the situation. While the woman refilled coffee cups, Vicki thought again how great they all were.

What, she suddenly wondered, would it be like to actually marry into the Sullivan family?

But she already knew. It would be fantastic.

Apart from Ryan, they were what she’d missed most when they’d left California at the end of her sophomore year. Spending time with Ryan’s mother and siblings in their kitchen, hanging around in the backyard, feeling like she was part of a family. She’d been in love with Ryan from the start, but it hadn’t taken her long to fall for his family, too.

Now, as she looked around at all of them, it struck her again just how much they were there for each other. And even though she knew they had their arguments and irritations like any family, it was clear just how much they all loved each other, too, and that there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for one another. No matter what.

Hence this morning’s meeting.

Yet, somehow, she’d managed to work her usual un-magic on them by coming here today to ask each of them to lie for her.

“I can’t do this,” she said suddenly, and everyone stopped with forks halfway to their mouths. “I can’t ask all of you to lie for me.” She looked at Ryan. “We need to tell the rest of the world that our engagement isn’t real.”

“No.”

Ryan’s voice was hard. Unyielding. Even his siblings looked surprised by it. But she’d seen him like this several times in the past week, each time when he was angry or worried on her behalf.

She knew he thought he owed her a debt, but she would have saved him a hundred times over and never once asked for anything back other than the chance to be his friend.

“I don’t want the fellowship this badly, not if it comes at the expense of my friends. And not if it means even more lies are spiraling out one after the other.”

Ryan’s hand cupped her cheek, stilling her from saying anything else. His touch was gentle, but enough to make her look into his eyes.

“The two of us pretending to be engaged isn’t hurting anyone, Vicki. All that matters to me is your safety, and that you and your art aren’t unfairly penalized because you’re a beautiful woman.”

She felt herself flush, both at the intimate way he was touching her in front of everyone, and the fact that he’d just called her beautiful in front of his family.

“I think Ryan’s right, Vicki,” Sophie said softly. “Beauty can, unfortunately, be a liability around men sometimes. Especially powerful ones who think they have a right to everything they see.”