Redeeming The Mountain Man : A Curvy Girl, Age Gap, Instalove Romance (The O'Connors of Blossom Ford Book 2) by Iris West

Author:Iris West [West, Iris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Isabella

MY TINY LIVING room feels smaller with Riordan in it. Even when it’s girls’ night and my sisters of the heart are here, it doesn’t feel as small as it does now.

Something is off. Riordan seems nervous. I’m not sure how I know that, but I’m suddenly sure of it.

He’s studying the pictures on my wall, hands fisted in his pockets. Maybe it’s those fisted hands that make me think he’s nervous. Or it’s me. The only time I’ve felt this nervous around a man was when I was a virgin.

I grab two beers, close the short distance between us and hand him his.

“Thanks,” he says. “Is that you?” He points to the largest frame on the wall.

“With my parents and brother.”

“You were cute.”

“Not anymore?” I can’t resist teasing him.

His lips twitch.

I drink the icy cold yellow liquid, a smile hovering around my lips.

“Still cute,” he says distinctly.

“So are you.” The words slip out.

His eyes narrow. “I’ve been called many things, this the first time I’m hearing that.”

It was the way he was standing before, in front of my family. The nervousness about him. But I can’t tell him that, not yet.

“I suppose you’re used to hearing words like sexy and God’s gift to women.”

His cheeks turn pink. Is he blushing? He walks away from me.

“I’ve been around men too much for that kind of talk. Who are the women in this picture?”

“Part of my found family. Aiyana, the woman with the huge sombrero, grew up in the orphanage with me. I met Carmen and Briana at school.” I tell Riordan how the four of us became friends as we sip our drinks.

When his lips twitch again at the part where Aiyana gave Mary Beth a snail as a sign of friendship-causing mayhem, I decide I want to see him smile and laugh often.

He moves around my sitting room, examining the paintings on the walls.

“You have an eclectic collection of paintings. You must get a lot of these. Who does this belong to?”

“A little boy that was born with three kidneys. Isn’t he a genius with a pencil?”

Riordan squints at the picture as if trying to find a meaning behind the array of colors. “It helps brighten up your place. It may also have a deep meaning I can’t fathom.”

I laugh. This time, I’m sure he’s joking.

His lips lift only a fraction, but it feels like we’ve crossed a bridge.

“This is Clem’s work,” he says.

“How did you guess?”

“Does she ever draw anything other than para-rescue jumpers?”

“Now that you mention it, no. I never noticed it.” I play with the condensation on the beer bottle. “What do you do to unwind?”

Riordan finishes the last of his beer. His Adam’s apple bobs up and down.

I’m so in lust with this man.

It’s surprising I’m drawn to someone so opposite to me. Everyone I’ve dated has been just as gregarious as I am.

“Mountain climbing, fishing and nature watching.”

They are so like him. “I used to nature watch a lot when I was younger. I still do it every now and then.

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