Chapter 17

• The kitchen was bathed in golden morning light as Ryder plated up a massive spread—thick-cut bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and golden buttered toast. I perched on the tall bar stool, my knees hooked around the metal frame, eagerly digging in like a woman starved.
• Ryder leaned back against the edge of the granite counter directly across from me, his bare chest glistening faintly in the sunlight, his dark eyes tracking every movement of my lips as I ate.
• "You're watching me like I'm going to run away," I said between bites, setting down my fork to take a sip of the rich, steaming coffee.