the hell just happened.
One minute she was dutifully picking up some beer and the next thing she knows she’s being erotically kissed by one of her patients – a very sexy and virile patient – in the middle of a parking lot in broad daylight. How did she let this happen? Rylie had never allowed a man to rattle her like this, but something about Mitch Camden had her throwing caution and her restraint to the wind.
Rylie’s track record with men was not as illustrious as Sasha’s or Beth’s love lives. For them, it was a revolving door of regular lovers and adoring boyfriends and even an occasional stalker or two, at least for Sasha. They normally fought men off in droves. For her, being “one of the guys” was more of the norm; a much less complex ritual due to her frequent outings with her brother, Dylan, and his buddies. But to actually take time to flirt with any particular male, or act girly, was not a fond interest of hers. If a guy liked her, it was because of who she was, not because she tried to impress with make-up, clothes or accessories. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it just wasn’t her style. She figured her lack of boyfriends and dates was in large part because she didn’t do what most guys expected. And honestly, she was never willing to give the time or energy to try and fake it.
Rylie, of course, had a few boyfriends along the way. Two to be exact. Boys, rather than men. She found that turning friendship into a physical relationship could happen, but it never brought out the fireworks for her. Intimacy was difficult for Rylie. The armor that protected her heart after her mother broke it had walled off any real prospects of a loving and trusting relationship.
Rylie started dating Tim Small, her chemistry lab partner, in her senior year of high school. They dated a few months, gotten to second base and even went to the Senior Prom together. But by graduation, it was apparent their chemistry really didn’t extend past the lab. Parting friends and with no hard feelings, Rylie went off to Boston College and focused on her studies. She was the first one in her family to attend college, on a full- ride volleyball scholarship, making it nearly impossible for her to find time for anything other than her academics and sports. Extra-curricular relationships were off the table. Until she met and began dating Erik Merrill, a fellow collegiate athlete and star swimmer for the school.
Tall, extremely fit, good-looking and similarly focused on the prize, Rylie and Erik found an easy companionship during the year and a half they dated. He was a year ahead of Rylie in school and his plans to go into the finance business in New York after graduation were discussed regularly. She was aware of his future prospects and the offers he’d already received after he’d completed his internship and had been excited for him. She thought the world of him and knew he’d accomplish his goals, but had never pictured herself with him in that future, even though she lost her virginity to him. So it took Rylie utterly unawares, when upon his graduation, Erik felt compelled to immediately propose. And she immediately shot him down.
She remembered the day out in the quad, looking down into Erik’s face, who was kneeling in front of her with a black velvet box in his hand. She could see the genuine confusion in his features and the wet tears building in his sweet, brown eyes. She took his hand in hers, turning his palm up to return the box.
It had been like a ball out of left field. Love? Did she love him? She tried to remember if she’d ever said it back to him when he professed his love for her. She liked him. Enjoyed his company. Found him attractive and interesting. But love? That seemed out of her grasp. An elusive state, creating a vulnerability she wasn’t willing to commit herself to. She couldn’t love. Her heart didn’t have the capacity to return that level of emotion.
Rylie was wracked
One minute she was dutifully picking up some beer and the next thing she knows she’s being erotically kissed by one of her patients – a very sexy and virile patient – in the middle of a parking lot in broad daylight. How did she let this happen? Rylie had never allowed a man to rattle her like this, but something about Mitch Camden had her throwing caution and her restraint to the wind.
Rylie’s track record with men was not as illustrious as Sasha’s or Beth’s love lives. For them, it was a revolving door of regular lovers and adoring boyfriends and even an occasional stalker or two, at least for Sasha. They normally fought men off in droves. For her, being “one of the guys” was more of the norm; a much less complex ritual due to her frequent outings with her brother, Dylan, and his buddies. But to actually take time to flirt with any particular male, or act girly, was not a fond interest of hers. If a guy liked her, it was because of who she was, not because she tried to impress with make-up, clothes or accessories. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it just wasn’t her style. She figured her lack of boyfriends and dates was in large part because she didn’t do what most guys expected. And honestly, she was never willing to give the time or energy to try and fake it.
Rylie, of course, had a few boyfriends along the way. Two to be exact. Boys, rather than men. She found that turning friendship into a physical relationship could happen, but it never brought out the fireworks for her. Intimacy was difficult for Rylie. The armor that protected her heart after her mother broke it had walled off any real prospects of a loving and trusting relationship.
Rylie started dating Tim Small, her chemistry lab partner, in her senior year of high school. They dated a few months, gotten to second base and even went to the Senior Prom together. But by graduation, it was apparent their chemistry really didn’t extend past the lab. Parting friends and with no hard feelings, Rylie went off to Boston College and focused on her studies. She was the first one in her family to attend college, on a full- ride volleyball scholarship, making it nearly impossible for her to find time for anything other than her academics and sports. Extra-curricular relationships were off the table. Until she met and began dating Erik Merrill, a fellow collegiate athlete and star swimmer for the school.
Tall, extremely fit, good-looking and similarly focused on the prize, Rylie and Erik found an easy companionship during the year and a half they dated. He was a year ahead of Rylie in school and his plans to go into the finance business in New York after graduation were discussed regularly. She was aware of his future prospects and the offers he’d already received after he’d completed his internship and had been excited for him. She thought the world of him and knew he’d accomplish his goals, but had never pictured herself with him in that future, even though she lost her virginity to him. So it took Rylie utterly unawares, when upon his graduation, Erik felt compelled to immediately propose. And she immediately shot him down.
She remembered the day out in the quad, looking down into Erik’s face, who was kneeling in front of her with a black velvet box in his hand. She could see the genuine confusion in his features and the wet tears building in his sweet, brown eyes. She took his hand in hers, turning his palm up to return the box.
It had been like a ball out of left field. Love? Did she love him? She tried to remember if she’d ever said it back to him when he professed his love for her. She liked him. Enjoyed his company. Found him attractive and interesting. But love? That seemed out of her grasp. An elusive state, creating a vulnerability she wasn’t willing to commit herself to. She couldn’t love. Her heart didn’t have the capacity to return that level of emotion.
Rylie was wracked
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