RYDER

Rejection?

Did I hear that right?

I look into her eyes and try once again to figure out what the hell is going on inside that brilliant head of hers. Deep down, I know she doesn't mean anything she's saying. She's forcing herself to utter these words.

I even know why.

I'm the one who drove her to make this decision. I've been fighting this attraction I have to her from the very beginning, pushing her away with callousness as a way to protect myself from something that could very ...