Ryan Hunter

point, but it was the next passage that I read more carefully again, because my name stood out.
     
    But that’s not the only thing I’m confused about. There was a party at Ryan Hunter’s house. And this time, I was there. The evening went from crazy to confusing to blurred to hot. I think Ryan flirted with me. And holy cow, batman, that guy smells amazing. I woke up in his bed. Somehow wrapped around him. He touched my leg, and I forgot how to breathe.
     
    A fuzzy warm feeling streamed through my body at that information. How very nice. Reading faster, I had to find out what else she said about that moment with me.
     
    This is totally weird, because I know I’m in love with Tony, but when Ryan Hunter smiles, something happens to me. Something that makes me go stupid and dreamy over him. I never thought I’d go for demonic black instead of angelic blond, but that’s just what’s happening. This afternoon, I threw Tony out of my room because I couldn’t stop thinking about Hunter. He has those beautiful eyes that remind me of—
     
    The door opened. Shit! In a panic-reflex I snapped the diary shut, jumped out of the seat, and hid it behind my back. I held my breath, totally ready to find an excuse for snooping in her personal stuff. But it wasn’t Liza coming in. In the doorway, looking as shocked as I was, stood a much older version of Liza with her hair cut to her shoulders.
    “Hello—” With all the surprise, there was no room for accusation in Mrs. Matthews’ voice.
    “Hi,” I said back, with my heart waiting in line for the next beat, and after a second I remembered I could smile, too.
    She slowly walked in, carrying a pile of laundered clothes, and scanned around her. “Where is my daughter?” There was a baffled smile on her face, which made her look a lot friendlier than one would expect from a mother coming into her grounded daughter’s room, finding a total stranger inside.
    “She’s having a shower.” I dropped the book into the drawer again and closed it with a small step backward then leaned against the desk.
    Only a little taller than Liza, she didn’t match my six foot two, so when she put the clothes on a chair next to the wardrobe and turned back to me, she tilted her head a little to look at my face. “And you are?” she drawled.
    Totally screwed . I crossed the room to her and reached out one hand, which she immediately took. “My name is Ryan Hunter, Ma’am. I’m a friend of Liza’s. We play soccer together.”
    She didn’t let go of my hand. Frowning, she searched my face. “You’re doctor James Hunter’s son, right?”
    I nodded.
    It was cute to watch how a woman in her mid-forties was stunned speechless in her own house. She looked back at the door, stroking her lips with one finger. Then she faced me again. “Just how did you get in here? I know you didn’t come through the front door.”
    I coughed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Um, no. I actually came in through the window.”
    Suddenly she laughed, and I liked it because she sounded exactly like Liza. “You guys really make that a habit,” she said, reminding me that I wasn’t the only one coming in that way.
    “Yeah…for what I’ve planned, this was the only option.” I grimaced, but it was too late to find excuses. The truth was probably the best way to deal with this awkward situation.
    “And what have you planned?”
    Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders. “I’m going to kidnap your daughter.”
    “Oh, really?” Mrs. Matthews made a small step back and folded her arms over her chest. “And may I ask why?”
    “Because I think she needs a little distraction. She’s having a really bad day.”
    Abandoning her recently adopted defense, she suddenly made a compassionate face. “I noticed that something was wrong with her today, but she didn’t tell me what happened.” Coming forward, she placed a hand on my forearm. “Do you know what it is?”
    “Yes, Ma’am, I do. But I can’t tell you. That’s her choice, not mine.” Automatically, I put a little distance between us. “But if you want Liza to feel better as much as I do, then it would help if you could bend the rules tonight and let me steal her.”
    To my absolute astonishment, she didn’t throw me out for that. Instead she seemed to actually deliberate my words. “You look like a nice boy. And I know Liza is hurting a lot today. If I let her go with you, will you promise to take care of her?”
    The thing with