Page 29 of Just Another Meet Cute

“Oh, that .” Amused, he leaned to the side and peered behind me. Worried that Mom and Linh were lurking again, I almost turned around to check. “Apparently, he saw the picture that Linh posted of us at the movies yesterday and had an instant crush.”

“Not on me, right? I mean, he’s a sweet kid, but I don’t—”

“On Linh.”

“Oh.” Well, that made more sense. Thank God. I had enough problems with Ryan and Ian on my plate. I couldn’t handle another family member. “Again, he’s a sweet kid, but I don’t know if Linh is right for him.”

With a chuckle, Ryan pushed himself off the banister. “You know the sweet kid is only a year younger than us.”

“That’s it?” I blinked at him in surprise. Maybe it was because of the way everyone affectionately pushed him around, but he seemed so much younger. That meant that he was the same age as Linh. But I knew Linh’s usual type, and Ollie wasn’t it. “Still—”

“She’d walk all over him,” Ryan finished with a huge grin. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him though. This is the first time he’s come to me for advice. So I promised to invite him along the next time we hang out with Linh, and he can figure it out for himself.”

“Good idea. A couple hours with my cousin should make that crush disappear,” I joked with raised crossed fingers. “If you’re not here to be a wingman for Ollie, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to drop something off for you.” Ryan twisted around a bit and grabbed a brown paper bag that was balancing on top of the rails. He came over to stand in front of me and gently placed it in my hands like it was something delicate.

“What is this?” I reached in and pulled out … allergy medicine. Specifically the nondrowsy kind. “How did you—”

He grinned. “Kathy is allergic to practically everything. From pollen to eggs to certain soaps. So I know what being passed out on allergy medicine looks like.”

My cheeks grew warm, and I dropped my gaze to his feet. His sneakers were super shiny, like he recently cleaned them. “You knew this whole time?”

“It was kind of obvious.” His feet tapped on the ground a couple of times.

“I mean, Austin’s pollen count has been crazy lately.

Kathy’s been popping the medicine like candy.

I figured you were too nice to cancel on our first date.

” He reached out and tapped the box in my hand.

“This is a good brand though. I did my research. You won’t need to worry the next time you walk Chrissy. ”

And just like that, last night and Ian melted from my mind.

All I could think was how sweet Ryan was and how lucky I was to have him in my life.

And how I could probably tell him everything now and he would totally understand.

I know he would, and it probably wouldn’t even matter to him.

Even though Ian had already promised not to say anything.

But that was another reason I wanted to tell Ryan the truth. I didn’t want another secret, another connection to Ian.

Darn it, now I was thinking about Ian again.

Swallowing at the lump in my throat, I glanced up at him. “I have a confession to make.”

“You do?”

Here goes nothing. I let out a deep breath …

and chickened out. “I probably won’t ever walk Chrissy again.

I don’t even like dogs.” Oh God, that sounded horrible.

I shook my head and tried to backtrack. “I mean, I like them. Who doesn’t like dogs?

I’m not a horrible person like Cruella de Vil or something.

But I like them at a distance. Preferably a long distance and away from me. ”

Ryan froze when I started talking. In fact, he barely even blinked when I was done. It was like he blanked out as soon as I started talking.

Tempted to snap my fingers in front of his face, I almost reached out to poke him when he let out a booming laugh. The kind that goes deep from the pit of your stomach and makes you cry. And you feel like you’re almost choking because air isn’t coming in fast enough.

Now it was my turn to stare. Damn, I broke him somehow.

There wasn’t anything to do but wait for him to finish laughing. Which took a few minutes. Every time I thought he was almost done, he would look up at me and start laughing again.

Finally, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Sorry, but if you hate dogs—I mean, only like them from a far distance—why did you bring Chrissy to the park for our date?”

“Because you li—” I stopped myself before I blurted out that I had seen his dog key chain, which would open the whole Pandora’s box of secrets. “Because everyone loves dogs, and I wanted you to like me.”

His face softened, and Ryan took a step forward. Slowly he reached out and tipped my chin up with one finger until I was looking straight up at his face. “I do like you, Nina. Dog or no dog.”

That was pretty much the perfect thing to say.

And Ryan was the perfect guy to say it. Who else would think to bring me allergy medicine?

Plus, it was so easy to be around him. Easy to like him.

Sure, I wasn’t overwhelmed with emotions, but I wasn’t confused, and I didn’t doubt myself either. And I liked who I was with him.

The tip of his finger slid down my neck and made a trail to curl around my shoulder as I took a step closer to him.

Our faces were barely a foot apart now. It wouldn’t have been difficult at all for him to lean down or for me to tiptoe up.

I could reach out to hold on to his arms to balance myself.

Our lips would have been touching within seconds.

But neither of us moved to take the first step. We stayed in that position for ages. Seconds. Minutes. It all felt the same at this point. Slowly, Ryan let go of my shoulder and stepped back. My skin instantly felt a shock of cool air instead of his warm fingers.

With a shy grin, he held out his hand in my direction like a peace offering. “Well, now that we don’t have to worry about the medicine anymore, do you mind if I take you to my favorite place in Austin?”

Ian’s face flashed in my head, and I mentally pushed him away as I reached for Ryan’s hand. “Sure.”