The Right Move (Windy City, #2)

by Liz Tomforde

I’m not easily distracted, but if I could manifest my perfect distraction, it’d look a lot like her.

When did I say that? I’m a romance reader. I have a thing for assholes.

“We aren’t into bras?” “We? I personally don’t love wearing one with my pajamas, but you do you.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “Judgment free zone.”

“Ever hear the phrase ‘she’s not like other girls’?” He gives a small nod of his head. “Yeah, that’s not me. I’m just like every other chick. As basic as they come. I had an Uggs phase. I had a skinny jeans phase. I like my books with romance, my coffee with more creamer than caffeine, and I even take aesthetic pictures of my food anytime I’m at a restaurant.”

“You’re pretty…bold for someone who just got here yesterday and still hasn’t signed a lease. And you ask a lot of questions.” “You think I’m pretty?” “You heard the first two words and tuned out the rest, huh?”

“You should never have to beg someone to be ready for a future,”

It’s decided. I’m going to bring some color into Ryan Shay’s life if it’s the last thing I do.

“Stop looking at her,” I warn. “Go hit the showers or get to the airport or just about anything other than look at her. She’s not available.” “So, you are hitting that.” Dom nods in approval. “No, I’m not hitting that. And neither are any of you. Stop looking at her or she’ll be the last thing you ever fucking see.” “Ooooh. Protective Shay is here, and his sister is nowhere to be found. Someone write this date down. History is being made, people. Ryan Shay gives a fuck about someone other than Stevie and something other than basketball.”

“Oh, it’s all him. Sweetest man I’ve ever met. And emotional! Did you know he was so emotional?” “I had no idea. Shay is always so composed around here.” “Oh, he’s emotional all right! Huge crier too. He sobbed the first time we made lo—” I slap a palm over her mouth. “We’ve got to go. See you on the plane, Mr. Morgan.”

“Do you want me to get on my knees and beg or something?” “Now that you say it.” She cocks her head to the side, eyes roaming my length. “I wouldn’t mind knowing what you look like on your knees, Shay.” “Indy, please.” “This is ridiculous. We can talk about it when you get home.” “Perfect. Great. All I’m asking for is one night.” “Go get me your key so I can go crash in my new expensive bed.” “What an amazing guy to buy you a bed. Probably makes you want to return a favor. He seems like a wonderful person.” Indy rolls her eyes. “He’s on my shit list at the moment.”

“Hug me back, Ryan,” she mumbles into my shoulder. Cautiously, I press my hands to her back and their size overtakes her. But apparently that’s not enough reciprocation because she stays holding me, not letting this end just yet. My cheek falls against hers, sliding against the column of her neck until blonde hair surrounds me like a curtain. A soft tropical scent, maybe coconut, invades me and as I inhale, my hands slide around her waist, pulling her body closer to mine.

“Heads-up, Shay, I’m an expensive girlfriend. Fake or not. I can’t help it.” “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got money.” She playfully smacks the counter. “That’s what I like to hear!”

Keep an eye on Indy for me. She has no clue that these guys are eye-fucking the hell out of her in that goddamn dress.

“Yeah, that’s another thing. How fucking small was Alex’s dick that he let you do this? Or should I say, asked you to do this. That shit is manipulative and controlling because, let me guess, he didn’t like that you were smarter than him, possibly more successful. Did he ask you to tone it down in front of his friends? Did he want you to stay quiet and look pretty so his colleagues wouldn’t think less of him?”

“I don’t give a fuck where we are. You could cry all you want at this fundraiser. You could scream, laugh, throw a temper tantrum in front of these people for all I care. I don’t give a fuck, but you’re

I want her here. I want her to want to be here. Fuck, when did that happen?

“And keep your teammates in check. If I hear that one of them tries anything with her again, I’m coming to you.” Zanders folds over his steering wheel in laughter. “Ryan, my guy, you’re so completely fucked, and you can’t even see it.”

“You’re chaotic as fuck, Blue, but you bring me more peace than anyone else.”

“Yes, I worry about you and that stresses me out. And you’ve practically shit a rainbow all over my apartment which almost gave me an ulcer, but when you’re home I don’t feel like I have to put on a show. I have a hard time with new people. I’m sure you know that by now. But with you, I can be myself, and that might seem like nothing to anyone else, but to me, it’s everything.”

and I’m over here trying my fucking hardest to be a gentleman while sharing a bed with my biggest weakness.

“Hey, Blue, I kind of missed talking to you for three days. Let’s not do that again.” “Deal.” “Add it to the fridge. With all the other deals we’ve made.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little possessive, Shay?” His chest rumbles against my back in a silent laugh. “Never. But then again, no one else has ever made me feel quite as greedy as you do.”

“Indy,” he whispers from behind me. “What you offer in a relationship, as a friend, a woman, a partner, by simply being who you are is more than enough. And if someone can’t see that you’re everything, then it’s them who's missing out. I know you’re faithful. It’s one of my favorite things about you, but there has to be a limit. Some people don’t deserve your unwavering loyalty.”

“You’re a fucking gift, Ind, and I cannot believe I made you feel anything less than that. I’m so sorry. I truly am.”

And I think I’d like to give the real me to Ryan if he wants it. I think he’d treat my heart with kindness.

“You know, Indy. Ryan doesn’t strike me as the type of man to be loud. He might not say it, might not scream it from the rooftops, but I could bet good money that he says it without words every single day.”

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest,”

“You know that jersey you’ve got with my last name on it? When you see it hanging there in your closet, let it serve as a reminder to you, that soon enough, it’ll be her last name too.”

“Your girl is kind of scary sometimes, Shay,” Dom notes from one side. Ethan laughs from the other. “I know,” I admit proudly. “And I fucking love it.”

“Why do you like reading fiction so much?” he asks without a hint of judgment. “How else would you get to live a thousand lives in the span of only one? The beauty of fiction is that it makes you feel things on a visceral level. You can cry with those characters, laugh with them. It teaches you to look at another’s perspective, to have empathy. In nonfiction, you simply learn about something instead of feeling it.”