The Librarian Principle (41 page)

“Oh, Ryder, I’m so sorry.” Liese opened her arms, and he embraced her.

“It’s fine. I can deal with their ridiculous expectations, but Tiff shouldn’t have to.” She could feel his nose skim her neck and then his lips. Ryder released her as Tiffany emerged from the bathroom. He held out a hand to his sister and pulled her into his side, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “Feel better?” he asked.

She threw her arms around him, nodding into his chest. She looked more at ease than she had when she’d first arrived.

“Ready to meet my family?” Liese asked.

Tiffany’s eyes lit up. “Ryder says they’re nice. Is Marissa here? I really like her.”

“She sure is. Come on.” Liese threaded her arm through Tiffany’s and led her in the direction of the noise. “Hey, everyone,” Liese said brightly as they entered the cramped dining room. “Look who made it.”

Blake choked on his wine, and Marissa patted him on the back. Liese’s mother let out an excited shriek as she jumped up from her seat, and her father, who’d been on the verge of a smile, froze as his gaze settled on Tiffany.

“And he brought his sister,” Marissa chimed in, with a look toward Liese’s dad. She waved the hand that wasn’t busy patting Blake’s back. “Hey, Tiff, glad you and Ryder could make it.”

Marshall relaxed back into his chair. Evidently brother and sister hadn’t been the first blood tie that occurred to him.

“Oh, his
sister
,” Sandy exclaimed. “Aren’t you just the loveliest little thing? Come sit next to me. Liese, be a dear and grab two more place settings.” Her mom guided Tiffany to the table and pulled up an extra chair. “Ryder, why don’t we just slide a chair in right next to Blake? He was telling me he works at FAHL, too. Isn’t that funny? The acronym for the school you teach at sounds like
fail
.”

Blake coughed. “Teach? Whitehall isn’t a teacher; he’s the principal.”

And so began the most awkward Christmas dinner in the history of the world.

No one moved. It was as though the entire table had become a still life painting, faces immobilized by shock. Then between one blink and the next, the scene came to life.

“Pardon me?” Marshall swiped at his mouth with his napkin, crushing it as he set it beside his plate, his eyes on Ryder. He looked calm, but Liese knew better.

“Ah, shit,” Blake said sheepishly.

Ryder cleared his throat. His eyes darted around the table and paused at his sister before locking on Liese’s dad. “Blake is correct. I’m the principal at FAHL, not a teacher.”

“So you’re saying my daughter works under you?”

Liese could see her dad fighting to remain composed. His eye did that weird twitching thing she’d grown accustomed to in her late teens, back when she spent her days stepping over the proverbial line. The buffer of company forced her dad to remain on his side of the table. Ryder, however, had a prime seat beside his would-be Christmas destroyer. Liese didn’t want a full-on boxing match at Christmas dinner, but she was pissed enough at Blake to hope Ryder might dump the gravy in his lap. When the opportunity arose, she would be first in line to tear a strip off him for being so thoughtless.

“It’s not what you—” Liese stopped short, unable to finish because it was exactly what her father thought.

A muffled giggle came from Liese’s right. Every head turned to Tiffany, who had her hand clamped over her mouth, shoulders shaking.

“I don’t see the humor here,” Marshall said.

Tiffany didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. “You said work under. Like, work
under
.”

“Tiffany!” Ryder exclaimed.

“What? It’s true, and it’s funny.” She giggled, unapologetic.

Marissa snickered, and Liese’s mom covered a grin with her napkin. “It is funny,” she said. “And rather ironic considering the circumstances under which we met Ryder.”

“What circumstances?” Tiffany and Blake asked at the same time.

“Never mind. Marshall, can you please pass the gravy? Dinner’s getting cold.” Sandy busied herself with scooping stuffing onto her plate.

“It’s a good thing I like you, son. Otherwise I’d put a bullet in your ass.”

“You know the rules, Marshall. No threats at the dinner table,” Liese’s mother said sweetly.

“It was simply a statement of fact, dear,” Marshall replied as he passed the gravy boat.

Liese and her mom shared a look. Crisis averted, at least for the time being.

Three days later, Liese lay on the couch, her feet in Ryder’s lap. The Christmas Dinner Crisis—as Ryder had aptly named it—was over. Blake had called her the next day to apologize, then followed with a call to Ryder. They’d talked about more than just Christmas dinner, it seemed, and Liese thought the tension between them might have eased some. Her parents had left for California two days ago, and she’d been at Ryder’s place ever since. Despite the shock of the impromptu revelation, Liese’s parents eventually took the news in stride. They made it clear that their reaction had come from a place of concern, not judgment, and they trusted her to make informed decisions.

Ryder commandeered the remote control from its perch on her knee and flipped stations. “Has Sandy called yet?”

“No, but she’s texted me three times to let me know which state they’re in. An hour ago they were passing through Oklahoma. How’s Tiffany?”

“She’s a teenager: angsty, moody, and generally irritable.”

“Ha ha.” Liese nudged his thigh with her foot. “You know what I mean.”

Ryder sighed. “She’s as okay as she can be, considering. She has one more semester before she’s off to college and out of that house.”

“They’re really that bad, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have to meet them one day.” The idea both intrigued and terrified her. If Ryder’s job wasn’t good enough, she couldn’t imagine how they would respond to hers.

Ryder sighed. “I know. I’m trying to hold off as long as possible. I need you to be so blinded by your love for me that you can look past their myriad of flaws.”

“You met my parents. They’re hardly conventional, and you still want to be with me,” she pointed out.

“True, but Sandy and Marshall are personable and pleasant. My parents have the warmth of an iceberg.”

“I’m just saying it’s inevitable.”

“Not if they die in a freak accident.”

“Ryder!”

He grabbed her ankles, uncrossed them and slid smoothly between her legs. “I don’t want to talk about my family. I’ve had enough of them over the past week and not enough of you.” He braced his weight on his forearms as his lips met hers, ceasing conversation.

Ryder made good on his promise to keep her naked and in his bed for the remainder of the holidays. Liese spent little time in anything other than the vast array of lingerie she’d packed. When she bothered to put on real clothes, she found herself laid out on the closest surface available and promptly undressed. Ryder was insatiable, and Liese was happy to be the antidote for his appetite.

Marissa called a few times, mostly to complain about work. But Liese didn’t feel too badly for her. Blake had driven to the city yesterday for a visit and stayed the night. So when Marissa invited Liese and Ryder to bring in the new year with them, she jumped to persuade Ryder to go. No one knew them in New York, and they could be together without running into colleagues or friends.

“You really want to go, don’t you?” Ryder seemed less than thrilled about the idea.

“Not if you’re not there.” Liese followed the seam of his jeans with her fingernail.

“You want me to spend New Year’s with Stone?”

“No, I want you to spend New Year’s with me.”

“But he’ll be there.” Ryder picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed his way along her wrist and up her forearm into the crook of her elbow. “Wouldn’t you rather stay here, where we can celebrate in private?”

“As much as I enjoy an evening of bodily worship, I want to do something normal with you. We can’t go anywhere together here, but we can in the city.” When he looked like he was going to argue, she straddled his lap. “Please? He apologized for Christmas dinner, and didn’t you talk things through? Marissa is my closest friend, and they’re dating. It may be uncomfortable at first, but please, can’t we just try?”

Liese looked at him imploringly.

“Besides—” Liese traced the shell of his ear with her fingertip. “If all goes well, maybe you two can reconcile your differences.” Hopefully without duking it out, she added silently.

Ryder looked doubtful. But if she could catch him at a moment of weakness, he might relent. Liese shifted, nestling his erection snugly at the apex of her thighs. “You were teenagers, Ryder. Teenagers do stupid things, like fight over girls. What if you’d ended up with her? Then you wouldn’t have me, would you?”

“There is that.” Ryder’s grip tightened on her hips.

Liese ran her fingers through his hair. “Please? I can get dressed up, wear sexy lingerie underneath. You could peel it off later with your teeth. We could get a hotel room,” she added, running her hands down his chest. “We could have sex in the Jacuzzi.”

“We’re getting a hotel room with a Jacuzzi?”

“So we’re going? Her palms slid under his shirt, connecting with bare skin.

“Don’t think I don’t see what you’re trying to do.” Ryder’s hand slipped under her shirt as well.

“Is it working?”

“Yes.”

They didn’t make it from the living room couch to the bedroom.