Twenty-One Roses: A Romance by Brooke St. James

Author:Brooke St. James [St. James, Brooke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Parkside Press
Published: 2023-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Ryan Fairchild

Bailey looked different when she came out of the restaurant. Ryan could see that something was wrong the instant she opened the door. He smiled at her just in case he was mistaken. She smiled back, but it wasn't the same as it was a minute ago.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, fine. I'm just full… and still so amazed by that steak."

Bailey took off walking down the sidewalk and toward the parking lot. He walked with her to the car, and she went to her side and opened the door. If she would've hesitated, Ryan would have opened the door for her, but she didn't. He went to the driver's seat, and they took off.

"That was so amazing," she said. "I loved that meal. I feel like it's one of those that will stick in my mind. My dad always talks about this one time when he and my mom ate at a nice steak house. He talks about how that steak would melt in your mouth. I don't think that could compare to Zack's, though."

Ryan had only known Bailey Collins for a short time, but she was an expressive person, and he could read her well enough to know that she was acting different than she had been while they were eating. It seemed like she was preoccupied with something, and she had never been like that with him before.

That was one of the things he liked most about Bailey. She was genuine, raw, and focused. She was real in a world that seemed increasingly fake. Ryan knew something was the matter, but he didn't press the subject. He wondered if the meal had given her a stomach ache.

"Your car is at my place, so I assumed I was headed back there. Is there anywhere you want to go first?"

"No, I, I have church in the morning, and so I probably won't stay too long," she felt embarrassed and started backpedaling before she even finished the sentence. "I mean, not that you even…"

"Not that I even what?" Ryan asked patiently. He glanced at her from across the console.

"You didn't even ask me to come inside, and I was already assuming you were going to… I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said.

He could tell she was flustered, and his first reaction was to hold her hand. He wanted to touch her, but he wasn't sure how she would feel about it. He turned over his hand and extended it toward her.

Timidly she put her hand in his. It was small and her fingers were cold, and Ryan felt tightness in his chest when she touched him. Bailey's touch caused a visceral reaction to happen within him.

"I want you to come over and stay as late as you want," Ryan clarified. "Is church important to you?"

"It is. If I don't stay plugged in on the weekend, I tend to fall away more during the week."

"Fall away from what?"

"You know, my studies."

"No, I don't know. What studies?"

"The Bible."

"The Bible? You study the Bible?"

"Yes.

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