The Hookup Handbook(48)

It’s fast. I know that. But we’ve spent every day working together, and every night learning each other’s bodies. I know her dreams, her favorite movies, the foods she likes, the goals she has for her future, and she knows mine.

The waiter arrives with a bottle of champagne, pouring us each a glass while explaining the specials for the evening. We order, and I raise my glass for a toast, my heart threatening to pound right out of my chest.

You can do this, Case. Just tell her how you feel, plain and simple. When you know, you know—and you definitely know.

I’ve just opened my mouth to begin my speech when I catch sight of movement from the corner of my eye. Sienna notices it too, and she turns to see what’s going on, her face quickly shifting from calm and content to sheer horror.

I follow her gaze across the room to find a tall, well-dressed figure marching toward us, his hands balled into tight fists, a beautiful, confused-looking woman trailing behind him. My stomach drops, and my heart practically stops dead in my chest.

It’s Ryder. And he looks fucking pissed.





Chapter Twenty


Case



Pain. Searing, blinding pain. The kind of pain that knocks all the sense out of you, that leaves you stumbling like an idiot, wondering what the fuck just happened.

One minute I’m drinking champagne and looking into Sienna’s eyes, and the next, I’m in the parking lot, Ryder’s fist making swift and forceful contact with my face.

The first blow lands on my cheek, right over the bone, the shock of the impact shooting through my skull. I’ve barely registered what’s happening when the second blow hits, this time landing higher, right where my nose and eye socket meet, making my eyes water as blood begins to drip from my nose.

Holy shit.

“I fucking trusted you, asshole!” Ryder yells, shaking out the hand he just used to hit me.

The woman he came here with, the one I recognize as a new client, watches in horror from a distance. Her cell phone is pressed to her ear as she makes a call, and then she quickly goes back inside the restaurant. She pushes past Sienna, who appears just a few feet away from us. Clearly, she wasn’t fast enough in following us out of the restaurant. All the color drains from her face as she lays eyes on me and realizes what’s going on.

Her scream hits my ears like a punch in the gut, and I can make out her silhouette reaching for her brother. He shrugs her off, charging at me again. This time I see it coming and sidestep out of the way, taking the opportunity to try to talk some sense into him.

“Ryder, let’s talk about—” I pinch the bridge of my nose to try to stop the bleeding.

He comes at me again, and since I refuse to hit him, he tackles me to the ground, the sound of his voice roaring in my ears.

“Are you fucking my sister?”

I land hard on my side on the pavement, and he pushes me onto my back, pulling back to hit my face again. He seems to move almost in slow motion as the world slows around me, and I take everything in one piece at a time.

He knows about us. And I deserve every fucking hit.

“You goddamned piece of shit!”

By the third punch, my face goes numb. I’m not fighting back, because why would I? Through blurry eyes, I see Sienna behind her brother, her face crumpled and terrified and her hand clapped over her mouth, muffled sobs squeaking out between her fingers.

It kills me to see her like this, almost as much as it kills me to see Ryder this unbelievably pissed off. And he’s right. I am a piece of shit, not just for lying to him but for doing this to his sister, for jeopardizing their relationship in such a serious way.

All for what? A little bit of pleasure? But it was more than that . . . I care for her. I love her.

“Ryder, stop it, you’re hurting him!” Sienna yells, looking helplessly around her.

A few restaurant-goers seem to have been watching us from the door, but when Sienna looks at them, they hurry inside, clearly not interested in getting involved.

Rolling out of the way, I grab hold of Ryder’s arm. I’m not going to fight back, or hit him, but I am going to defend myself. As much as I deserve what’s coming to me, I don’t want to make Sienna keep watching this. Wrestling him to the ground, I pin him on his back, his eyes wild with rage as he struggles beneath me.

“Look, I know you’re pissed, but it’s not what you think,” I say, blood dripping from my nose onto his shirt.

He spits in my face, and I’m so shocked by it that, he easily overtakes me, shoving me off him until we’re both back on our feet, facing off once again. Adrenaline pumps hot and fast through my veins, and my only focus is ending this before one of us does something we’ll really regret.

“Ryder, please.” Sienna sobs, stumbling over to him with her arms outstretched.

He turns to her, his chest heaving, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you let him do this to you,” he says, his voice dripping with disgust.

Sienna whimpers, wrapping her arms around herself and backing away, and I step between them.

“Come on, man, don’t take this out on her.”

“Don’t you fucking tell me what to do, you lying, spineless son of a bitch.” He shoves me with both hands, and I react without thinking, my fist colliding with his jaw.

Sienna yelps and rushes to his side, and Ryder laughs while cradling his jaw.