“Interrupt what?” Laughing, Ryan reaches for my arm. His fingers clasp around my wrist before I’ve made it off the steps. “I just ate, Andi. I ordered the pizza so I could talk to you. You’re not interrupting anything.”
This is the closest thing I’ve heard to a pickup line in almost a year, and it sends shivers down my spine, quite literally.
Ryan’s looking concerned since I’m shivering in the middle of summer in Los Angeles, but he must be used to my strangeness by now because he lets it go and turns his attention back to the pizza.
It’s now that I realize those damn eagles never swooped in to steal the note I’d been writing. He reaches over to grasp it. I see it happening, but I’m too late to stop anything. I make an attempt to lunge for it, miss wildly, and pretend to tuck hair behind my ear as he straightens, paper in hand.
“What’s this?” he asks.
I make a weak grab for it. “Please don’t read that.”
“But you’ve written my name on it. You were leaving this for me, right?” Ryan’s eyes twinkle as he pulls the note closer to his face.
I make a second feeble lunge for the note, but Ryan dodges, his athleticism obvious even in the simplest of movements. While Ryan dodges, however, my hand continues its trajectory toward his stomach where, instead of retrieving the piece of paper, I cop a feel of his abs—and what a damn good feel it is.
“Sorry,” I say, retracting my hand like I’ve been burned. “I was going for the—”
“Is this a breakup note?” Ryan’s eyebrows shoot up, a grin blossoming across his face. “Andi Peretti, are you breaking up with me?”
“No.” I give up reaching for the note and stare at my toes. “I didn’t mean it.”
“But Andi…” That sexy smile peeks across Ryan’s lips as he steps forward, his breath hot in my hair. “How can we break up if we’ve never consummated our relationship?”
“Well, uh…” I step back. “It’s sort of a breakup note. I’m breaking up with you…as your delivery girl.”
Ryan reads the note once more, this time aloud.
“Dear Ryan, These last few weeks have been really, really fun, but I don’t think I can see you any longer. I’ve interrupted your sex life, crashed your car, and now I’ve ding-dong ditched you. I’m the world’s worst delivery girl. Please consider ordering from another pizza place. Sincerely, Andi.”
“I hate to point fingers,” I say once he’s finished, “but if you hadn’t answered the door in your towel, none of this would have happened.”
“How is that related to anything?”
“Forget about it.”
Ryan steps forward. “And what is this about my sex life?”
“The other night! Well, a few weeks ago now. The first time I delivered your pizza…”
He blinks. “That’s impossible.”
I cough. “Um, I’m pretty sure the sounds I heard weren’t in my imagination. Unless—” I clap a hand over my mouth. “Was it a movie?”
Ryan looks more confused than ever. “What are you talking about?”
“Wait a second, it couldn’t have been a movie.” I gesture toward his front window. “I saw shapes and…parts.”
He thinks for a long minute and then finally, he smiles. It’s more of a smirk than a smile really, and he laughs. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“That wasn’t me. It was my brother and his fiancée.”
“Lilia,” I fill in. “We’ve met.”
“Ah,” he says. “Well, yes. What can I say? They’re in love, and it is their place. I’m just crashing here on business. I am sorry you had to see that, however.”
“There’s one question I still need answered.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“If they were the ones having sex, why were you naked too?”
He runs a hand through his shaggy mess of hair. “I was hardly naked!”
“You had a towel around my waist.”
“My waist,” he says, calling me out on my Freudian slip. “I had a towel around my waist.”
“Yeah, well…” My face is heating. “You didn’t have anything on underneath.”
“You looked?”
“No, but—”
“It’s okay, I looked too.” He winks at me, and I forget my train of thought. Then he speaks again, and I snap back to attention. “And I liked what I saw.”
I swallow. “What did you see?”
“You, Andi. You are goddamn sexy.”
I’m flustered. Hot and bothered doesn’t even begin to describe it, so I do my favorite thing and change the subject. “You never answered my question, Mr. Pierce!”
“What question?” His eyes are dark and hooded, as if he’s thinking dirty thoughts in that beautiful head of his. “I’m distracted.”
“Why you opened the door next to naked!”
“I was in the shower and didn’t realize you’d get here so quickly. I hopped out expecting some pimply-faced kid.”
I grin at his honesty then change the subject again. “I’m sorry about your car.”
“Don’t apologize.” Ryan shifts in the doorway, leans closer to me. “It’s already fixed. I have a buddy who gave me a great rate.”
“I want to pay for it,” I say. “Maybe I can just pay out of pocket. Or, if you need something—you know, a housekeeper or whatever—I can work off the payment. I’m in school now, so cash is tight.”
“Nope, we’re all good.” Ryan takes a glance at the note in his hands. “So long as you agree that this breaking up business is bullshit.”
“Bullshit,” I offer with a nod.
“I don’t want to see other delivery girls,” Ryan says. “I’d like to be exclusive with you, Andi Peretti.”
I clear my throat and bob my head again. It’s safer to remain silent, seeing how my mouth has been doing nothing but getting me into trouble.
“Come inside for a slice,” Ryan says easily. “It’s just pizza, I promise.”
“No, I…can’t. I have other deliveries.”
“I’ll take care of that.”
“You’re going to deliver my other pizzas?”
“I have a different idea.” Ryan raises an eyebrow. “I’ll pay your dad for all the deliveries you need to make tonight. Will that keep him happy?”
I tilt my head to the side, trying to decide if he’s drunk. He doesn’t look it, smell it, or act like it, so I conclude he’s sober. “I can’t let you do that.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ryan reaches out and grabs my hand. “Will you come inside for a coffee? My brother’s housekeeper is home, so we won’t be alone. I promise I won’t try anything on you. I’m just new out here, and I like your company.”
I bite my lip. It’s tempting—very tempting—but I can’t decide yet, so I let my mouth babble away. “Hey, how did you know I was outside the house? I didn’t even knock when I showed up today.”
“I was waiting for you.”
“Me?” I squeaked.
“I mean it, Andi! Your visits are the most eventful parts of my day.”
Well, that does it. I’m a puddle. I don’t even know what he means by eventful, but the fact that he was waiting for me to arrive with those puppy dog brown eyes of his makes me weak. So, I agree, somewhat overenthusiastically.
“I think I’m in love with you—” The words slip out, and before I can rein them in, they’re out there, sitting right there in the open.
Ryan’s eyebrows shoot up so high they almost disappear into his hairline.