Lori jumped up to give the two of them a simultaneous hug, and her energy was so infectious that Vicki smiled despite her dark mood.
Sophie pushed out of the faded brown booth before Vicki could tell her to stay where she was.
“Oh my, you’re gorgeous, Sophie! Congratulations.”
Ryan’s other twin sister hugged her, or tried to anyway, with her belly big and round between them. “It’s so great to see you again, Vicki. It’s been way too long.”
“When are you due?”
Sophie laughed. “Not soon enough.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I think they’re starting to get a little too happy in there.”
Gabe was the next one to pull her in for a hug. He looked every inch the rugged fireman. “Look at you,” she teased, “all grown up.”
“Same goes for you,” he said, pulling back just far enough to give her an appreciative enough glance to make her blush.
Chase had been at the high school at the same time she and Ryan had attended, and even though she’d never gotten to know him very well, she’d been following his photography for a long time.
He held out his hand and shook hers. “It’s great to see you again, Vicki.”
“You, too. And I have to tell you what a fan I am of your photography.”
“Right back at you,” Chase said with a grin. “Your sculptures are fantastic.”
Ryan slid into the large booth and pulled her in beside him, holding her hand in his on top of the table as everyone else settled back into their places.
“You met Smith at the game yesterday,” Ryan said, “so I think we’re all good here. We’re heading to Palo Alto to talk to Mom about everything after breakfast.”
The gray-haired waitress came by to take their orders and Vicki didn’t see even the barest flicker of excitement or recognition in her eyes when she looked at Smith or Ryan. It was clear she couldn’t care less who was eating at the diner that morning.
Even though Vicki doubted she could swallow a thing, she ordered a fruit salad.
“She’ll also have a side of bacon and a short stack,” Ryan told the waitress before he launched into his own order.
A part of her wanted to rebel, to tell the waitress she didn’t want those things, but she knew Ryan was only trying to look out for her. He was the kind of man who couldn’t stand to see her want for anything. And hadn’t that been why she’d texted him? Because she knew he’d drop everything and come to help her?
And yet, she continued to wonder how much of what he’d done for her this past week had been because he still felt that he owed her a debt for saving his life when they were kids. After all, hadn’t that been one of the first things out of his mouth that night when she’d apologized for dragging him into her mess?
As soon as the waitress went into the back, Ryan shot her a smile and she knew he was about to tell his siblings the truth. But Vicki had already decided she needed to be the one to explain it.
“We’re not really engaged,” she said in a voice that couldn’t possibly be overheard by anyone but Ryan’s family in their corner booth.
Everyone’s eyes automatically moved to her and Ryan’s linked hands on the table, but even though her fingers immediately stiffened, he only held on tighter.
“I hated lying to you yesterday,” she said to Lori and Smith. “In all the places I moved to as a kid, your family was the only one that ever took me in and made me feel like I belonged.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
Ryan pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Lori spoke up first. “I’m totally bummed to hear you’re not actually going to be marrying my brother, because you’d be such a great addition to our family, but I have to admit I thought you seemed a little too surprised by the public congratulations at the game yesterday. Something seemed off. So what is going on with you guys? And what’s with the whole engagement story?”
“Well, we’re not dating either,” she clarified for them, even though Ryan was still holding onto her and she was praying he wouldn’t let go any time soon. She made herself meet his siblings’ eyes. “The long and short of it is that I ended up in a situation with one of the board members who will be voting on my fellowship. Ryan stepped in when it seemed to make sense to pretend that I was taken.”
Sophie’s eyes were wide with shock and concern. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, “thanks to Ryan, who came when I panicked.”
“So you told the guy you were getting married to Ryan—” Gabe began.
“No, that’s all me.” All eyes turned to Ryan. “When I found out what a sadistic bastard the guy was, I couldn’t stand the thought of him even coming near Vicki again. It seemed like an engagement might do an even better job of keeping him away than just letting him think we were dating, at least until she wins the fellowship in a few weeks. I’m the one who told the reporter about us yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach Vicki to let her in on the new twist before the team decided public congratulations were in order.”
“How much power does this guy have over the fellowship choice?” Chase asked.
She unclenched her teeth enough to say, “A lot.”
“And her ex-husband has just been pulled onto the board,” Ryan added through his own clenched teeth.
Smith gave Ryan a hard look before turning to her. “Bullshit like this happens all the time in my business. But never on my movies if I can help it. Who is he? I’d like to make a few calls.”
Oh God, the last thing she needed was for Smith Sullivan to get involved. Talk about juicy drama. Not to mention the fact that people would be afraid to have anything to do with her and her sculptures, just in case they looked at her wrong and she sicced the Sullivans on them.
“I appreciate that, Smith,” she said, “but it’s bad enough that I roped Ryan into this mess. I don’t want you to get involved, too.”
The waitress came over with a huge tray laden down with their breakfasts and they stopped discussing the situation. While the woman refilled coffee cups, Vicki thought again how great they all were.
What, she suddenly wondered, would it be like to actually marry into the Sullivan family?
But she already knew. It would be fantastic.
Apart from Ryan, they were what she’d missed most when they’d left California at the end of her sophomore year. Spending time with Ryan’s mother and siblings in their kitchen, hanging around in the backyard, feeling like she was part of a family. She’d been in love with Ryan from the start, but it hadn’t taken her long to fall for his family, too.