“Something wrong with your food?” She glared at the table of completely full plates.

It was the perfect opportunity to change the subject, especially because he hadn’t missed the way Vicki had tensed up at the word romantic.

“Everything’s great, thanks.” Ryan picked up his fork and shoved a bite of egg into his mouth before saying to Smith, “So, how’s preproduction going on the film?” It was his cue to all of them that they were done talking about the fake engagement.

And he was definitely done with everyone in his family feeling sorry for him because he was in love with a woman who had only ever looked at him as a friend.

* * *

After Ryan and Vicki had left the diner to head down to Palo Alto to meet with Mary Sullivan, Sophie said, “Ryan’s never been like that before. So frustrated...almost angry. I’m worried about him.”

“Vicki sure looked like she’s crazy about him to me.” Lori made a face. “Maybe he’s wrong about her not returning his feelings.”

“She was terrified when they put her picture up on the big screen,” Smith reminded her. “Even if she does feel something for him beyond friendship, she might not want to deal with everything that comes with being with Ryan. Marcus has had to make a lot of sacrifices for Nicola’s music career over the past year.”

“And if he were here, he would tell you every one of them has been worth it,” Lori shot back stubbornly.

“Maybe,” Chase said, “but since Ryan is probably going to be a pro coach one day, the pressures on whomever he’s with are only going to get bigger. And even more public. I’m guessing Vicki’s happiest when it’s just her and her art.”

“She’s also happy when she’s with Ryan,” Lori argued. “I remember how much fun they used to have together. I haven’t ever forgotten the look on her face the day she came over to say goodbye when we were kids, and she’d found out she was moving away again. She looked like her heart had just broken into a million pieces. So did his.”

Gabe nodded. “If you ask me, he’s just using the friend thing as an excuse. He should stop making excuses and make his move. I wanted Megan and I went after her.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Sure you did, Gabe, after Summer and I totally schemed to throw you guys together.”

Everyone grinned at Gabe and he had to laugh. “Okay, so maybe I needed a little help getting my head straight. Thanks, Soph.”

As they all threw cash down on the table, Smith said, “We did our part by convincing her to keep the fake engagement on. Now it’s up to Ryan to make the most of that extra time with her.”

Smith scooted out of the booth and held out his hands to Sophie to help her up as she said, “Mom always did like Vicki.” She grinned at her siblings. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she has some ideas about how to make sure everything works out the way we all know it should.”

Chapter Thirteen

“I really do love your mother,” Vicki said to Ryan a couple of hours later as they headed back into San Francisco from the suburbs where Mary Sullivan had raised her family.

Ryan’s mother had made them coffee and listened patiently as they explained the strange situation. Stranger still, she’d almost seemed pleased by their fake engagement, laughing with honest humor when Vicki had recounted her horror at the big public congratulations on the huge screen at the baseball game.

Although all of Ryan’s siblings had been in support of keeping up the ruse, it wasn’t until Mary Sullivan laughed over it with such easy humor that Vicki finally decided maybe they were right...and she should stop feeling so guilty about it all.

“She was so happy to see you,” Ryan informed her, “that she didn’t care what the reason was.”

After they’d dispensed with the fake engagement news, Mary had coaxed Vicki into telling her all about her travels through Europe over the past decade. Vicki had loved hearing Mary share her own stories about when she’d travelled the world as a young, in-demand model before she married Jack Sullivan and had eight kids keeping her busy at home. Chatting with Mary and Ryan in the comfortable living room with the big oak tree out in the backyard, Vicki had felt just as at home with her as she had when she was a teenager.

She planned to hold onto that deep, comforting warmth—that beautiful feeling of unconditional love and support from Mary Sullivan and her children—no matter what else happened.

Ryan hit the brakes at a red light and glanced over at her. “Feel better now?”

Finally, she was able to give him a real smile. “So much you wouldn’t believe. You?”

He covered her hand with his. “As long as you’re smiling, I’m good.”

From any other man’s lips, those words would have been nothing more than just that: empty words. But when Ryan said it, she knew he meant it.

A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the studio building and Ryan said, “Call me if you need anything today. Anything at all.”

According to Anne’s texts, reporters and bloggers had been calling the studio all morning to try to find Vicki. It didn’t sound like any had come by yet, but she suspected it might not exactly be a safe haven for her in the aftermath of her engagement news to the hottest bachelor in the city. She and Ryan had called her parents from his car to explain, but when no one was home she left a quick message just saying hi. She wasn’t crazy about them believing she and Ryan were actually engaged, but then, they hadn’t ever much followed sports or the tabloids, so maybe they didn’t know.

“Thanks. I’ll keep my phone in my pocket just in case you need to get ahold of me again today.” She’d already programmed a special ring for him so that she could tell when his came in and ignore all the rest from any strangers who managed to hunt down her cell number to try and get a sound bite out of her.

The day had already been so full that it was only at the last second that she remembered. “What time do we need to leave for the team party tonight?”

“The limo will come for us at eight.”

She worked to push away the new flutter of nerves at having to publicly pull off the ruse that she was the woman Ryan Sullivan had decided to spend the rest of his life with.

He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “See you tonight.”

Rather than heading straight for her work space, Vicki detoured to Anne’s sewing room and walked in without knocking.