Page 49 of Just Another Meet Cute

Even though there was no chance of Ian and me getting together—because he ran away from me like a total jerk—I still needed to talk to Ryan and tell him the truth. I owed him that much at least.

Gah, this was going to totally suck.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were stopping by. Do you want to come in?” Ryan asked, his hand was already pushing the door wider for me.

Awkwardly tucking my hair behind my ears, I shook my head. “Uh, no, thanks. I was wondering … could we talk? Out here?”

He let out a low whistle. “Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good. Should I be sitting down for this?”

I let out a weak laugh at his joke even though my stomach was churning like a blender with nerves. “It’s not a bad thing. I mean, I guess it kind of is, but when you really think about it and give it some time, it’s not.”

“Yeah, that definitely doesn’t sound good.”

Ryan pulled the door shut and came out onto the porch.

I moved back as he swung himself to sit on the balcony railing in one fluid swoop like he had done it a thousand times.

Which he probably had. I knew better than to attempt it though.

Knowing me, I’d hobble up and down awkwardly a couple of times or flop backward into the bushes.

Instead, I leaned against the column next to him and let out a deep breath. “So, I was thinking—”

Before I could finish though, the front door swung open and Kathy came bouncing out.

“Nina! I thought I heard your voice. Linh told me that you’re moving here!

Is that true?” I barely had time to nod before she barreled forward with more questions.

“That’s so awesome! And you’re going to renovate a house? When are you starting? Can I help you?”

As I decided which question to answer first, Ryan crossed his arms. “How are you supposed to help with renovating a house?”

She put both hands on her hips and glared at her brother. “I know how to smash things. It doesn’t look that hard. Plus, it looks like so much fun on TV.”

“Watching something on TV doesn’t mean you can do it.”

Spotting the looks on their faces, I knew that an argument was about to break out.

Funny how I’d only known the Nguyens for a few short weeks, but I could recognize their looks and personalities.

They were such a vital part of my life now.

My heart ached when I thought about how much I would miss each of them.

Especially Kathy, with her overflowing energy.

Sure, we could probably still keep in touch, but it wouldn’t be the same.

Not to mention it would be super awkward, depending on how hurt Ryan would be.

Plus, I knew I would be dying to ask her about Ian all the time.

Yeah, it would probably be better to stay away for good, no matter how sad it made me.

“I don’t know if and when we’ll start renovating, but I promise to call you when that happens,” I lied.

Kathy let out a triumphant cheer and gave me two thumbs up as she backed through the front doorway. “I knew I always liked you. Come over and play Pictionary again. I promise I won’t get mad this time. At least not that mad.”

“Is that what you wanted to tell me?” Ryan asked, interrupting my thoughts. “That your family is moving to Austin?”

“Actually, no. I mean, we are moving here, but that isn’t what I wanted to tell you. I—”

The front door popped open again, and this time it was a pretty lady who looked like she was in her mid to late thirties.

Her short black hair was cut in a cute bob that framed her round face.

I knew she was Ryan’s aunt from ph? a few weeks ago, but I had no idea which one.

She held a small covered plate in one hand, and I could smell oil and meat.

“Hey, Ryan, I heard you were out here with Nina.” She motioned me closer to her. “Can you help me with something?”

Even though I knew she was talking to me, I couldn’t help pointing at myself as I glanced over at Ryan. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Come here a second.”

Shuffling forward a few feet, I stopped as she whipped the napkin off and shoved a plate of eggrolls at me. “Try one.”

This was super weird. I shot Ryan another look, but he shrugged. Since there was nothing else to do, I picked up an eggroll. It was still piping hot, so I carefully bit into it and sucked in a deep breath as I held the piece between my teeth before chewing it.

His aunt kept watching me expectantly so I quickly took another few bites until the eggroll was gone, burning my tongue a bit in the process. “It’s really good. Thanks.”

“That’s it?”

Ryan took one and popped the whole thing into his mouth despite the fact that it was steaming hot. “It’s okay, Aunt Lily. Doesn’t taste like B á ’s eggrolls though.”

Her face fell. “It’s not. I have to make eggrolls for the twins’ book club party, but B á ’s not home and I can’t get the filling right no matter how hard I try.

I tried to call her, but she doesn’t know the exact recipe.

She tosses stuff in and smells it to make sure it’s right.

I was hoping that Nina could help me figure out how to fix it with her golden tongue. ”

How did she know about my golden tongue? Linh. It could only have been from her. Yet when and how did she talk to Aunt Lily? And who else did she talk to in this family?

Maybe distancing myself from them wouldn’t be as easy as I’d hoped.

Grabbing another eggroll, my fingers tested out the outer shell and I took tiny bites, making sure to chew it thoroughly.

“Okay, I think that it’s a little bit dry.

Maybe you can add more veggies like carrots or napa cabbage.

But then you don’t want it to be a veggie eggroll.

” I bit into it again and again until it was gone.

There was only an oily film left on my fingers.

Ryan handed me a napkin. “Maybe you can add some shrimp. My cousin did that with her wontons before to keep the filling moist. And it could use a bit more salt.”

With a thoughtful expression on her face, Aunt Lily chewed on her thumbnail. “That’s not the way B á makes it. ’Course if she were here then I wouldn’t be in this mess. It does sound good. How did your cousin’s wontons turn out?”

“Oh, they were horrible.” I laughed. “Turns out she doesn’t know how to make wonton wrappers, so they were really tough yet somehow still fell apart. But the filling was delicious.”

With a laugh, she nodded. “I’ll make a small batch to see how it turns out. Thanks, Nina!”

“No problem.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who people depend on around here. I think I’m starting to feel a bit left out,” said Ryan shaking his head. He half turned toward the steps. “Maybe we should go before someone else needs your help with something.”

I knew he was teasing, but I nodded. Some privacy would be nice. “Good idea—”

The front door opened—again—and this time Ollie came strolling out. “Hey, I was looking for—”

Ryan let out a groan and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Let me guess. You were looking for Nina.”

I automatically took a step toward Ollie.

He looked confused and shoved at his glasses perched on his nose. “Uh, no. I was looking for you. I mean, it’s nice to see you again, Nina. But I need Ryan to help me move some of the cars around. I have to go to the store, but I’m blocked in.”

Oh. That’s embarrassing.

We both flushed. Ryan took his hands out and reached for the keys Ollie was holding. “Oh. Yeah, I’ll help. Which one do you need?”

His eyes sparkled. “The one all the way on the inside.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ryan nodded. “I knew I spoke too soon. Come on. Sorry, Nina, this might take a while.”

“It’s okay.”

As they walked down to the end of the driveway, Ryan shoved at Ollie who punched his shoulder in return. They were both laughing though, like beating each other up was the funniest thing in the world.

Boys.

There was a knock on the window behind me and I turned my head.

Two identical twin girls in matching jumpsuits waved at me from the window.

Their faces were plastered against the glass.

One had long, waist-length, deep-black hair that was clipped to one side, while the other one had a short bob exactly like Aunt Lily’s.

These must be the twins that she was talking about.

Between them was a tiny little girl who was half their size and twirling in dizzy circles. She looked like she was around four, while the other two were probably about eight.

I gave them an awkward wave, wondering how many people were in the house.

It wasn’t the weekend yet, and there were at least six cars crammed into the driveway.

I remembered how cars were parked all the way down the street on Sunday for ph?.

I had assumed some house was having a party or brunch or something.

At the time, I didn’t know that the house was Ryan’s and this was normal for them.

Ollie and Ryan systematically moved all the cars up and down the street until the blue Accord that was tucked on the inside was on the outside. All the other cars moved up a space.

Finally, Ryan came back up to the house, but he stopped short when he saw the twins still waving from the window. “Do you want to go somewhere so we won’t be interrupted anymore?”

Torn between wanting privacy but not wanting to be in the car that would remind me of Ian—his voice, the way he kissed, how he held on to me—I shook my head. “It’s a nice day. Maybe we could just sit on the trunk or something instead?”

“Okay.”

After a lot of finger-pointing to make the girls leave the window, Ryan reached out to take my hand, but I pretended to be busy tying my hair up.

If he noticed that I was acting weird, he didn’t say anything.

He hopped onto the back trunk and sat down.

The car sunk down a bit with his weight and I climbed up beside him.

My hands gripped at the smooth surface of the car.

Ryan leaned back, balancing his weight on his palms. “So, what’s up?”