Ryder's Redemption (Badboy Rockers #2) (2 page)

TWO

Angela

It’s been seven months since I’ve seen my best friend.

A part of me is scared to see Kenzie because she has changed. I could tell from all our conversations since she’d left San Diego that the Kenzie I knew and loved had been hardened by the turn her life had taken since her father had left her mother for a younger woman. Life hadn’t been easy for either one of us after she’d left. I’d lost not just my best friend but my constant companion since she walked into Saint Catherine’s School for Young Ladies over ten years ago.

We’d immediately clicked and quickly became inseparable. Sometimes I felt she knew me better than I knew myself. I wonder if I would still feel the same way after my trip.

I had expected our friendship to continue as it has been for a while…but I had been stunned when her phone calls started to decline within days of her arrival in Vancouver.

Of course I’d been happy she’d found a friend in her cousin Brooke, and yet I’d been hurt that I’d been replaced so quickly.

Although her phone calls had been fewer than I had hoped for, I had loved those conversations because, in my own way, I had lived vicariously through Kenzie and her rocker clique. She’d explained each person in such detail that I felt I knew them intimately.

And of course I’d searched the band on the Internet. Although not one of the band members had a personal profile online, the band
The Frozen
had a faithful following, and the pictures had validated that Kenzie hadn’t lied about how good-looking Deklan and Ryder were.

I could hardly wait to meet Deklan, the man who had swept my best friend off her feet.

But I am more excited to see my girl.

I am both nervous and excited when I finally make my way off the plane. I slide a hand over the skirt of my lace and tulle sundress. Kenzie had been with me when I’d bought it for my seventeenth year birthday celebration, and she’d always said it was one of her favorites.

“Can I get that for you?”

I look over at the middle-aged businessman who has been eyeing me throughout the flight. He’s carrying a roll-away suitcase, and he glances at my carry-on.

“No, thank you,” I say with a smile.

The man is old enough to be my father, and I freakin’ hate the way he’s staring at my thighs.

Pig.

“I don’t mind”, he says, actually reaching for the bag strap. His hand brushes the side of my breast in the process.

I grip the carry-on closer to me and stop short. “No, thank you.”

He obviously sees the irritation in my eyes and hears it in my voice because he steps back and walks toward the security posts.

The Portland airport is surprisingly huge, and there is a sea of people waiting for the arriving flights. I smooth a hand over my reddish brown curls and wonder what Kenzie will think of the new highlights.

My heart pounds in time with my steps as I approach the arrival area.

I see him first.

The infamous Deklan.

Tall, dark faux hawk, full sleeve tattoos, piercings—and an athlete’s body. He’s gorgeous. My stomach actually does a little flip as my gaze slides to my best friend. I suddenly feel overdressed for the occasion. She’s wearing faded blue jean shorts, a white tank, and flip-flops. Her long blonde hair is up in a high pony.

Kenzie is stunning. Her blue eyes are full of excitement and she’s glowing.

I don’t think I’d ever seen her so happy. And I’ve known her forever. We’ve shared everything. Every milestone, every hope, every highlight, every sadness, every fear, every celebration.

And lately there has been a lot to celebrate.

She waves at me and actually jumps up and down with excitement.

All my fears that she’s replaced me evaporate as I walk past the security barrier and straight into her wide-open arms.

“God, I’ve missed you,” she says, her arms tightening around my neck. It’s a hug I feel all the way to my bones and I love it.

“I miss you, too,” I manage to squeak out.

She smells the same. Like salon shampoo and that vanilla body spray she’s been using since eighth grade.

I notice she’s lost weight. Not a lot, but enough for me to tell there is a difference. I can see it in her face, too, but she looks great. She’s glowing and I know why.

A lump forms in my throat. I glance up and her boyfriend is watching us, a wide smile on that gorgeous mouth of his. I have to admit the lip piercing is hot and I wonder, for a split second, what it feels like to kiss a guy with a lip ring…or a tongue ring.

The stories she has told me about this smoking hot tattoo artist/rocker makes me blush. She didn’t spare a single detail, even the heartache of choosing between best friends and local rock gods who wanted the same girl.

And the best man won.

I’m introduced to Deklan, who surprises me by giving me a breath-stealing hug.

His body is as hard as it looks.

Kenzie grins. “I’m so glad you’re here. Mom can hardly wait to see you.”

“I look forward to seeing her, too.” I felt bad that I had never known what to say to Melissa after Kenzie’s dad had left her for another woman. I had seen the complete devastation that had come over her, and aside from bringing over casseroles my mom had ordered the cook to make, I had offered little in the way of comfort to both my best friend and her mom.

At least I could make up for my lack of knowing what to do now.

Kenzie glances past me to Deklan and they share a smile. I wonder what that smile is about, or if she’s just happy to see me.

Linking her arm in mine, we start walking and fall into step. It’s like the months we were apart are melting away by the second. I’ve never hung out with a guy like Deklan before, and it’s pretty evident from people’s expressions that they’re interested in him, or more noticeably, the tattoos. Men, women, girls, boys, everyone is staring at him. I wonder if it ever drives Kenzie crazy. If it were me, I think I might get a little jealous or maybe a little insecure about all the attention he gets.

I have to give the boy credit though—he is all about his woman. Ever attentive, he is always the gentleman.

Kenzie and I chat while Deklan effortlessly lifts my sixty-pound designer cheetah-print suitcase from the carousel.

“You weren’t kidding, were you?” I murmur, noting the women, both young and old, who are staring at Deklan with open curiosity as he lifts the handle of the suitcase and walks toward us. “Doesn’t it drive you bat-shit crazy how people stare at him?”

Kenzie grins. “A little, but I’m growing used to it.”

My friend handles herself beautifully though. She smiles as he takes her hand and in turn she takes my hand with the other. We walk out of the airport and across the six lanes of traffic to the parking garage.

Deklan listens to us as we chatter and enter the elevator in the parking garage. When we arrive on the third level, we walk out. Sitting on the concrete barrier is a stunningly handsome young man.

His long legs are in front of him, and his arms are braced at his sides.

Seeing us, he stands, and my heart drops to my toes.

Oh my God.

This is Joshua Ryder.

The infamous, womanizing, asshole Ryder.

No wonder Kenzie was so torn between these two men.

Ryder is nearly as tall as Deklan, has a nice body, but again, he’s not as broad shouldered as Deklan…but the boy has a face that would make angels weep.

His gaze travels over me slowly, and when his eyes meet mine I see a gleam in them. An expectation. He’s one of those guys who waits for a woman’s reaction.

Like he expects me to drop my panties on the spot.

Fat chance, homeboy…

I force my gaze away from him.

“Ryder, this is Ange,” Deklan says.

Kenzie’s fingers tighten around mine, and she squeezes it.

Apparently she’s expecting me to be nice.

I force a smile I don’t feel. “Nice to meet you, Ryder,” I say, when what I really want to do is kick him in the nuts for the hell he’s put my friend through.

This man had hurt my best friend. Granted, Kenzie was now with his best friend, and I’m sure that didn’t feel great, but still…the damage he had done in the short time they had been together had been so destructive.

Such a selfish prick.

The phone call I’d received from Kenzie the night she’d caught him sleeping with Sadie had been devastating. I had known how much she had liked Ryder, and how close she had come to giving up her virginity for him.

Thank God she had shown up at his house that night.

“Hey Ange,” he says, extending a hand.

I so badly want to tell him that only friends call me Ange, but I bite back the remark. I have no reason to hate this man. He’s one of Kenzie’s friends and Deklan’s best friend, so it’s not like he’s going anywhere. I had to get used to being in his company.

I take his hand, shake it quickly, and give little more than a quick squeeze before releasing it.

I think he rolls his eyes a split second before he pulls me in for a hug that is entirely too intimate.

Christ, where were his manners, and is that his junk I feel pressed against my stomach?

Ewww…

I think I hear Kenzie laugh behind me, and my cheeks turn pink.

I never blush!

Wedging a hand between us, I manage to push away from him.

His laughter at once is taunting and knowing.

When I turn around, I’m relieved to see that Deklan has my suitcase in the trunk and is opening the back door for us with a wide smile.

Such a gentleman. Crazy how two best friends can be so different.

Ryder

Ange is not at all what I expected. I had imagined a carbon copy of Kenzie. Girl next door, easy-going, jean-wearing, tank top kind of girl who can mix in with the crowd.

Instead, girlfriend here seems a bit uptight. She practically clings to the grab handle above the door window in her effort not to touch me as we take a sharp left turn. I shift a little and move my leg closer. A heavy sigh follows and then she makes busy going through her purse with her free hand.

Almond-shaped green eyes, tiny nose, and wide, full lips, Ange is attractive, though admittedly not exactly the type I go for. My girls aren’t so…frigid.

Deklan would argue that any girl walking is my type, and I can’t argue with him.

One of those full lips lifts the slightest bit, and I shake away a nasty vision of what she could do with that mouth. Then again, hadn’t I heard her name and virgin used in the same sentence?

I always liked a challenge.

She’s of average height, slender, and has an amazing ass that even a sundress can’t hide. Her tits are small…maybe a handful, and they fit her body perfectly.

Her brows lift as I pull my gaze back to her face. Her gaze shifts abruptly to my package and lingers for a full ten seconds. I won’t lie. I’m surprised by the obvious gesture and am more than a little turned on as I fight back a smile.

“How does that feel?” she says, and when her gaze meets mine, she is not happy.

“Look all you want,” I say, arms wide open. “I have nothing to hide.”

She rolls her eyes.

I like her spunk.

Too bad she fucking hates me.

But she’ll warm to me. Everybody does.

Her firm thighs are so tightly pressed together, I probably couldn’t pry them open with a crowbar.

Ange had a serious attitude and screamed high-maintenance.

I’d seen the size of her gargantuan suitcase with the HEAVY tag.

My family was upper middle class, so I didn’t want for anything really, but I’d heard the stories of where Kenzie and Ange came from.

They had the kind of money that bought you some level of relief and happiness. And their upper-middle class was in an entirely different hemisphere from Vancouver’s upper-middle class. “So, is this your first trip to the Portland area?”

Ange barely turns her head. “Yes, it is.”

“I understand you were offered a trip to Hawaii?” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice.

She looks surprised that I knew.

Clearing her throat, she says, “My best friend is here, so yes, I chose to see my best friend, who I haven’t seen in seven months, over going to Hawaii for a month with my family.”

I frown. “Why would you pass up paradise over Washington? Don’t get me wrong, I love where I live…but palm trees and long lazy walks on the beach sound pretty amazing.”

“You forget that we have beaches and palm trees in San Diego. You get used to it after a while.”

Her tone alone makes me feel like an idiot. “We have a time share there,” she says, managing to sound bored. “It’s not as great as it sounds, really. Actually, it’s a bit too remote for my tastes.”

And I bet her tastes were expensive as hell.

“Yeah, I’m sure it really sucks having a second home in Hawaii.”

“A time share,” she repeats, like she’s embarrassed to have more than one home.

“Ange’s family has homes in Colorado Springs, New York, Miami, and Paris,” Kenzie adds.

I whistle between my teeth, and I’m surprised to see Ange looking embarrassed. I half expected her to be smug.

“They’re all time shares…except for Colorado Springs. It used to be my grandparents’ house and my dad inherited it just last year.”

I pat her hand. “You don’t need to explain. I get that your family is filthy rich.”

“I’m not trying to explain anything to you,” she snaps, ripping her hand from under mine and folding it in her lap.

Whoa. Without meaning to, I had hit a nerve.

She stares out the window the rest of the way home, only turning to look at Kenzie. The two reminisce and I slide down in the seat and watch Ange from the corner of my eye. Every once in a while she’ll glance over at me, and I slowly look away.

Deklan plays tour guide as we drive past the old fort and barracks, and Ange seems intrigued, soaking it all in and even taking a picture on her phone.

Her smile slides a little as we pull into the driveway of Deklan’s house. She looks…confused.

Kenzie looks back at her. “This is where Deklan and Ryder live.”

Is that relief I see in her eyes? “Oh right—with two other band mates.”

Ange clears her throat. “What a beautiful older home…and such a quaint neighborhood.”

Was this bitch for real?

Deklan is out of the car instantly and opening the back door for Ange.

“We’re not heading to your place?” Ange asks when Kenzie follows Deklan inside.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Kenzie says. “I’d like you to meet Curtis.”

Ange manages a smile. It’s obvious she would prefer to leave. “I don’t mind at all.”

She looked like she might leave her things in the car, then thought better of it. She actually brought the carry-on in. I was surprised she didn’t ask to pop the trunk and bring her suitcase as well.

She catches my gaze and frowns.

Once inside, I meet up with Deklan in the kitchen.

“So…what do you think?” he asks, grabbing a few sodas.

“I think she hates me.”

Giving me a sympathetic smile, Deklan puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. In time she’ll come to love you.”