Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

VIOLET

O n Saturday night, I was on my way to Ryder's house when my mom called.

"Hey."

"I want to make sure you're coming home for Christmas. I can't plan unless I have a head count."

I sighed. "I'm only one person. Surely, it won't make that much of a difference."

"I have to know how many people to feed."

I sighed, a little irritated that I'd been reduced to a mouth to feed. "I told you I wasn't sure I could get away. I don't want to leave my shop in the hands of my employees for too long."

"You can close it," she said like it was no big deal.

"You know I can't do that." The one thing I'd learned in business was that consistency was key. If the shop was suddenly closed when it was supposed to be open, customers would think something was wrong. I'd seen owners go on vacation for a week and post it on the door, but those were more established than mine.

"Family should come first."

In our family, Danielle came first. "You'll be fine without me."

"Danielle's going through something important in her life. I think you should be here to support her."

"I opened a business, and no one has even been to Maryland to visit, much less support me," I said before I could censor myself. Pointing the unfairness out never helped me.

"Violet. We live in Florida," she said as if that explained everything.

Mom would never travel to Maryland to visit me here. I suspected it, but it was another thing to hear her say it. "I'm not sure it's a good idea yet."

"Why do you make things so difficult. Danielle told me right away she was coming."

Why wouldn't she? She was the golden child. My parents gushed over her whenever she came by. But I was largely ignored when I wasn't being criticized for my silly dreams.

"You just run an ice cream shop."

Her implication was that it wasn't important. "Which is my livelihood." I wasn't willing to give it up or throw away my dreams. I pulled up to Ryder's house. "Listen, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."

Before Mom could ask if I was coming to Christmas again, I hung up. By the time my foot touched the bottom step to the porch, Ryder opened the front door with a smile. "Hey."

"Hey," I said as I walked into his open arms. It felt good to come home to him. He wore a soft long-sleeve shirt that felt nice against my cheek.

"Is Violet here?" Faith asked from somewhere deep in the house.

Ryder turned to say, "Sure is," but kept an arm around my back.

"Stop hogging her," Faith called back, and we both chuckled. It was nice to see each other, but we wouldn't have time alone until she went to sleep.

Ryder let me go, and I followed the sound of her voice to the living room. "What did you do today?"

"We went to the farm. Charlotte's getting everything ready for the festival next week," Faith said excitedly.

"I'll have my ice-cream cart there."

"It's going to be so much fun. There's going to be all these vendors selling art, jewelry, candles, and even food. The theme is holiday."

"I have my ice-cream flavors all planned."

"Can I help you at the stand? I'm good at scooping ice cream," Faith asked.

"That's up to Violet. It's her work," Ryder said.

"I have an employee but I don't mind showing you what we do."

Faith's eyes widened. "That would be so fun."

I laughed at her enthusiasm. "It's just ice cream."

Faith gave me a look. "You own a store, and you create your own flavors. I think it's cool."

"That's high praise." Especially after the letdown from the conversation with my mother. "What did you want to do tonight?" I looked from Faith to Ryder, who stood with his hands in his pockets.

Ryder's gaze met mine. "I thought we'd go ice skating. There's an outdoor rink nearby."

"That sounds fun," I said as I caught Faith's grin.

"Let's get going then. The lights should be on since it will be dark by the time we get there." I rode with Ryder, pleased to be part of his time with Faith. I was lucky she wanted to spend time with me. Especially since she wasn't a fan of Phil.

I wondered if things got more serious between me and Ryder, if she'd have issues with it then. Would she not want her dad to have more kids? I definitely wanted them, and I wasn't sure where Ryder stood on that issue.

When we got there, lights were strung over the rink and trees were placed around it, decorated with more lights and ornaments. We stood in line to get skates, then put them on.

As soon as Faith tied her laces, she went to the opening for the rink and pushed off.

"She can skate," I said, a little worried about how I was going to fare.

"I've been taking her since she was little. It's always been our thing. It gave Stacy time to Christmas shop or go to the spa, whatever she needed to do."

"That's sweet."

"I didn't spend as much time with Faith as I wanted to. I wish I'd had more traditions like this throughout the year, not just at the holidays."

"I'm glad you included me in them."

We stood, and I rocked a bit on the blades.

"Have you ice skated before?" Ryder steadied me with a hand on my elbow.

I huffed out a laugh. "I grew up in Florida. We went to the beach."

Ryder chuckled softly, and somehow it made him more attractive. "This is going to be fun."

He said it without any derision. He was excited to show me something new.

Anticipation unfurled in my stomach. "Okay. Let's do this."

Faith had already done several laps of the ice by the time I slowly made my way to the outer edge of the rink. Ryder hovered nearby, his hand a steadying presence on my elbow.

"Just push off with your skates. Short motions to start." He gestured at the kids flying by us, making it look effortless.

He let go of my arm, stepping onto the ice. He glided away, then executed a simple turn and grinned at me. I could tell he was excited to be here with me.

I let out the breath I'd been holding. I could do this.

He skated toward me, holding his hand out to me. "Violet who makes amazing ice cream. Surely, you're the queen of the ice."

I laughed. "I don't think that's how it works."

He came closer, his arm around my back and my hand in his. "Take one step. You've got this."

Every muscle in my body was tense, but with Ryder surrounding me, I knew he'd catch me if I fell. I took one wobbly step. Then two. I was standing on the ice.

It felt like an accomplishment until Faith flew past us and, with a flash of ice, stopped in front of us. "Come on, Violet. You can do it."

She was smiling at me, and it made me feel like I could do anything. I bit my lip and tried to mimic the gliding motion Ryder showed me. I took small, short strides. I wasn't skating, but I wasn't falling either.

"Just like that." Ryder's voice rumbled through my body, reassuring me that I was doing it right.

Gaining more confidence, I took longer glides.

Ryder stepped a bit farther away but kept my hand in his. I hovered closer to the wall in case I'd need to grab on.

Faith spun around and took off again.

I admired the easy way she glided away. Then my blade slipped out from under me. I flailed, squeezing Ryder's hand hard.

He wrapped his free arm around my back before I could hit the ice. "Keep your eyes on your feet for a while. Until you gain more confidence."

I blew my hair out of my face. "Good idea. Thanks for catching me."

Ryder grinned. "That's what I'm here for."

When we were together, he was all-in with me. Faith might come first in some ways, but I still felt cherished in Ryder's presence. I was important to him. I wasn't an afterthought. He wanted me to learn to ice skate, to enjoy this outing with them.

I took one long lap around the rink, then a second, before I let go of Ryder's hand.

"You okay for a minute? I want to go around with Faith."

"I've got it," I said with more confidence than I felt.

This was his thing he did with Faith. It made sense that he'd want to spend time with her. I could do this. He took off after Faith, and I made a third lap, feeling more confident to lift my gaze from my feet for longer periods of time.

On the fourth lap, I was feeling even better, making longer strides, and even wobbled but caught myself.

Faith and Ryder came up beside me. "Ready for hot chocolate?"

"Yes." My legs were tired from being so tense the entire time.

We headed toward the exit, and Ryder volunteered to get in line for the hot chocolates. I was happy to sit on the bench next to Faith.

"This was fun. Thanks for including me."

"I'm glad you could come," Faith said sincerely.

"I don't want to take away your time with your dad. If you ever want it to be just you and him, you can say so."

She grinned. "I know."

It made me feel good that she enjoyed my presence. It would be so much harder if she resented me.

"You're good for my dad."

"Yeah?"

"Mom wouldn't do things like this with him. She went out with her girlfriends. Dad wanted to do a weekly date night, but she never did."

A weekly date night when they were married? That was sweet. The perfect way to stay connected to your wife while you had children.

Everything about Ryder was attractive. He was sweet, attentive, an amazing dad. And he had a huge heart. He had so much love to give, but it had been stifled when he was with Stacy. I was the lucky girl who got to experience it.

Ryder returned with three cups of hot chocolate. He handed them off before sitting next to us on the bench to watch the skaters fly by.

Holiday music played from the speakers, and the lights gave it a magical feel. It was the best night I could remember having in a long time. Being with them like this made me think about the future. What would it be like to be in their lives long-term?

I wanted to come home to both of them. This is what I'd been missing. It wasn't just the business or living my dream. It was sharing it with someone I loved and who supported me.

My skin flashed hot. Was I falling in love with Ryder? I was supposed to be cautious, not get my heart involved like I had so many times in the past. But it had snuck up on me. I never stood a chance.

Faith stood and handed the cup to Ryder. "I'm going back out."

"We'll watch from here for a bit," Ryder said as she waved at us.

Another girl around her age skated up to her and started talking. Within seconds, they were laughing and skating next to each other.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryder asked me.

"How nice this is." I sipped the hot chocolate, and a bit of froth stuck to my upper lip.

"You have something—" Ryder pulled off his glove to rub a thumb over the whipped cream.

He sucked his thumb, and it was like he'd touched my clit.

I squeezed my legs together. "You can't do that in public."

"What? Eat whipped cream off your face?"

I nodded my head. "Yes."

Ryder leaned in close. "You can't resist me."

"You know I can't."

He grinned at me, but his eyes filled with heat, a promise of what was to come later tonight. His hand landed on my thigh, and he squeezed. "I can't wait to get you alone."

My lips twitched. "You're teasing me."

"It's so easy, though," he said with a wink.

I shook my head again, my lips curling into a smile.

The heat of his palm warmed my entire body. I couldn't believe Stacy walked away from him. Ryder Calloway was the full package. It was like she'd never unwrapped him to see what was inside.

It was a sensitive, protective man who enjoyed taking care the people in his life, and I hoped I'd be in his life for a long time.

He flipped his hand so it was palm up, and his gaze lifted to mine.

It reminded me of the moves the high-school boys did at the theater to hold a girl's hand. But my heart flip-flopped like it was the first time it had ever happened to me. I rested my hand in his, and when his fingers interlaced with mine, a tingle ran down my spine.

Ryder was the one for me. I just hoped he felt the same way. Because if I lost him and Faith, I wouldn't know what I'd do.

I'd return to my solitary existence, working and visiting Grandpa. But now that I'd seen there was so much more to life, it would be hard to go back.

When we'd finished our hot chocolates, we went out on to the rink hand in hand. This time, it was because he was claiming me as his, not to stop me from wobbling. I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.

We skated until it was late, well after Faith's bedtime. When the rink closed, we returned our skates, then drove home. I was content to listen to music and watch the streetlights go by.

Ryder veered off to a neighborhood here and there to see the lights. We stopped at one that had music coordinated with the flashing of the lights. Faith was delighted.

When we got home, we were exhausted. Ryder got Faith into bed, and then he pulled me against him. "Stay the night."

"You don't want me to leave before Faith wakes up?" I asked him, needing to know what he wanted.

"Stay. Please. I want to wake up next to you."

I turned in his arms. "If you think Faith will be okay with it."

"I'll talk to her."

"Okay." I trusted him. If he thought Faith would be okay, then I'd do whatever he wanted.

I fell asleep with my head on his bicep, and his scent surrounding me. I didn't think I'd ever sleep this good without him next to me. His warmth seeped into my soul, warming me from the inside out. I felt content.

There wasn't anything I needed to prove or anything I needed to do. I was enough.

At some point, I dreamed that Ryder was between my legs, drawing my panties down, and parting my folds. I arched into him, needing him to touch me.

He blew over my clit, and my eyes opened. I was staring at the ceiling, but my legs were spread, and Ryder's shoulders pressed against the inside of my thighs.

I looked down to see his head, his mouth on my core, where I needed him the most.

I stifled a moan as he licked me from my entrance to my clit.

He looked up at me. "You have to be quiet."

I nodded as I bit my lip harder.

"I'll stop if you make any noise."

"Don't stop," I whispered.

"It's up to you." Then with a naughty glint in his eyes, he held my folds open as he devoured me. It was like there was a contest to see how fast he could get me off, and maybe that was because his daughter could wake up at any moment.

The orgasm was quickly building, and I closed my eyes to savor the sensation. Then he slipped a finger inside, and I rippled around him, losing control.

He licked me through my orgasm. Then he moved up my body, kissing me as he went. When his mouth finally met mine, he entered me in one thrust. It was a perfect coming together. At the same time, it felt like I was asleep, giving it a dreamlike quality.

Here, it was just him and me. Nothing else intruded. Not my worries about the future. His marriage. His ex. Nothing else mattered. Only the here and now, and how it felt for him to be inside me.

He braced his hands on the bed on either side of my head as he used slow, measured thrusts to drive me up again. This time, it was harder to stifle the moans that threatened to erupt from my throat. He kept his mouth on mine as if he could swallow my sounds.

I squeezed my legs around his hips, drawing him deeper.

This time the orgasm washed over me at the same time that Ryder let go. It moved through me in slow waves. I felt like I was suspended on air.

Ryder ripped his mouth from mine, dropping his head to my shoulder. He braced his upper body on his hands but allowed his lower body to sag against mine. I loved the feel of him pressing me into the mattress.

"That was a nice way to wake up," I said lightly as he lifted his head, and chuckled.

"I'll say."

"Is that why you wanted me to stay?" I asked as he moved off me.

"No. But it was a bonus."

I smiled, seemingly unable to do anything else when I was around him. That's when I realized there was come leaking over the sheets, and we hadn't used a condom. "We didn't use protection."

Ryder grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't thinking. I should have been."

"It's okay. I'm on birth control." I wouldn't have been upset to have a baby with him. But even I knew it was too soon with his divorce not final. He wasn't ready, and I had a business to run.

"I won't do that again."

I carefully moved out of the bed, then went to the bathroom to clean up. I jumped in the shower, using the time to recover from what had just happened. I shouldn't have been upset. He wanted to use protection. He didn't want a baby now. It didn't mean he never wanted another child.

He was just being careful. Taking things slow like I should have been. I was falling into old patterns, rushing ahead without considering all the factors. Even if I was ready, Ryder wasn't. Faith was still adjusting to her parents being divorced. She didn't need a little sister or brother right now.

I let the warm water wash over my body and tried not to think too hard about his reaction and what it meant for our future.