Let Me Be the One (The Sullivans #6)(37)

He went to flip open the box and couldn’t believe his hand was shaking. Jesus, he needed to get a grip before he completely freaked her out.

“I hope you like it.” His voice was gruffer than usual.

“Oh Ryan.” Her eyes widened as she stared at the ring. “It’s beautiful.”

But instead of reaching for the platinum band set with a scattering of dark red rubies and brilliant diamonds across a large, flat base, she simply continued to stare at it.

“Can I put it on you?” His voice was raw, his words rough.

She licked her lips, never taking her eyes from the ring. “Okay.”

He took the ring from its velvet case and dropped the box onto the entry table before reaching for her hand. Vicki’s fingers were shaking slightly as he slowly slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

“I—” She finally looked up at him and the emotion in her eyes had him wishing he could pull her into him and never let go. “I haven’t had a ring on my hand since I left—”

Silently cursing himself for not realizing how conflicted she would feel about wearing a wedding band again, he said, “I know you won’t be able to wear it when you’re working, so I got you this necklace to put it on during the day.”

She took the necklace from him. “You thought of everything. Even the fact that a sculptor can’t wear a big ring to work. No one else would have thought of that.” She paused, shook her head. “Even Anthony forgot about that when we got engaged.”

“You should probably wear it tonight to solidify our story, but if it brings up too many bad memories after that, you don’t have t—”

“The ring is beautiful, Ryan,” she said, giving him a small smile. The metal cage that had closed in around his chest loosened as she looked down at it again. “It’s just perfect. How did you know?”

Because I know you, sweetheart. Everything you are, inside and out. And I don’t ever want you to give the ring back to me.

“Lucky guess.”

She went up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for giving me the most beautiful ring in the world. Even if it’s just on loan for a little while, I still love it. I won’t be long.”

The next thirty minutes were hell for Ryan. He couldn’t stop thinking about Vicki in the shower with water sluicing over her curves, soap bubbles sliding over her beautiful skin.

His hard-on throbbed beneath his dark slacks and he worked to will it down before Vicki came out of the guest bedroom. By the time he heard the click of her heels coming down the hall toward him, he felt fairly confident that he wasn’t going to embarrass himself.

Until he saw what she was wearing.

Holy hell.

Vicki was wearing a dark red dress that made the most of her lush curves and sweet softness. All those zippers made him want to yank them open with his hands and teeth. It didn’t matter how he did it, just as long as she ended up naked...and he was allowed to touch her.

“You’re gorgeous, Vicki.”

A friend could say that to another friend, so he wasn’t worried that she’d take it the wrong way.

It was his ripping the dress off her and taking her against the wall that would screw everything up.

Her cheeks were beautifully flushed as she said, “Thank you.”

The limo had pulled up outside his house a few minutes earlier and he held out his hand to her. Her skin was extra soft from the shower and she smelled incredible, like soap and beautiful, perfect woman.

“Thank God everyone thinks we’re engaged, or I’d be fighting the guys off you tonight.”

Her smile was wide and oh so pretty. “No wonder the girls always went crazy for you in school. You always know what to say.”

He hated that she was acting like he was only saying it to keep her nerves in check. Frustrated enough by the whole damn situation, he didn’t control the urge to run his knuckles down the side of her cheek.

When she shivered beneath the stroke of his hand, Ryan knew if he didn’t pull away from her soon, they wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight...and then she’d hate him in the morning. But he couldn’t stop touching her entirely, so he picked up her hand and slipped his fingers through hers. Just like the close friend he was.

“Ready for tonight?”

“No.” She followed up her totally honest answer with a crooked little smile. “But I’m bound and determined to pull this off, so I’ve decided it doesn’t matter if I’m ready or not.”

Chapter Fourteen

God, she was such a fraud. Full of big claims she didn’t even come close to feeling.

Vicki tried not to grip the stem of her glass of champagne too hard, even though she was tense enough to snap it in two. She and Ryan had just stepped inside the Bently Reserve building in the heart of downtown San Francisco and all eyes had immediately turned to them as glasses of bubbly were thrust into their hands. Ryan’s arm was warm and steady around her as they moved deeper into the large group of players and their wives and girlfriends. The toasts and congratulations came from one and all. She hadn’t been able to eat much all day, and now her head was spinning from the seemingly unending supply of sweet liquid.

“So,” one of the women asked, “how did you two meet? Wasn’t it in high school?”

Ryan gave her waist a little squeeze as he said, “Vicki moved into town when I was fifteen. I noticed her right away, even though she never seemed to look my way.”