11
PHOENIX
It would have been impossible for me to be oblivious to Ryan's growing attraction and confusion. As much as he tried to build a wall between us, it wasn't that strong. I slipped away to explore the house while everyone was occupied with lunch. It was a nice house. Big, with five bedrooms. It was certainly nicer than any house I'd lived in before in this lifetime.
I settled into the living room after my short, self-guided tour. Ryan had only a small collection of books, but it had been so long since I'd read for pleasure, anything sounded good to me. I would have liked to take it back up to Ryan's bedroom, but that seemed... invasive.
After the kids streamed back outside or went down for afternoon naps, Ryan found me. "I just wanted to let you know we're having a bonfire toni
