How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Eighteen: Begging You

~Chapter Eighteen: Begging You~

"You're what?" I all but shout into the phone, the surprise evident in my voice.

"I already bought the plane ticket, so don't think you can talk me out of it," Heather replies almost instantly, putting a stop to any argument I might have. What am I supposed to say to that? 'I don't want you here' seems a little harsh, especially since I miss her.

But Ryland is here...

"Anyway, I'm late to a meeting. Bye, little brother," she says.

"Wait, I-" the sound of the call ending cuts me off and I groan, holding the phone away from my ear to make sure the call was actually disconnected and it was not my mind messing with me. Sadly, my mind was not.

I sit on my bed with my chin resting in my hands, wondering what to do about all this. "Are you okay up there?" Ryland asks from downstairs and I can hear the couch shift as he stands up.

"No," I reply softly when my mind blanks on ideas. A moment later, there are footsteps on the stairs and Ryland appears at the top of them. He remains there for a few seconds before taking a few steps closer.

"Is there anything I can do, amore mio?" He asks, looking like he wants to sit down next to me. Thankfully, he settles for crouching down in front of me. Ryland's hands reach out to touch my knees, but stop just before they make contact and return to rest on his own legs.

I take a minute to consider my options. I could always just let Heather come to whatever conclusions she wants. The pros would be that she would stop bothering me about dating people; the cons would be that she would tell our parents and they might get worried about something that is completely unrequited. I could tell Heather the truth before she gets here, which could lead to her playing matchmaker and still telling our parents. And the third option...I guess trying wouldn't hurt anything.

"If I ask you to leave town next weekend, would you do it?" I wonder out loud.

Ryland seems to consider my question for a moment before asking one of his own, "Why?"

"My sister is visiting and she comes up with really random conclusions to things and I do not want my parents to know about all of this. They would get worried and drop everything to visit. Plus, my oldest sister is pregnant and I really don't want her driving all the way here just to check on me," I explain, hoping it will be enough to convince him.

Again, he pauses to consider. "Is that such a bad thing?" He inquires. "I understand why you are adverse to them coming to their own conclusions, but I am sure that, if you explain properly, they would not be worried."

"Yeah, but I...I don't know. Please, I am begging you to leave. Just for a few days," I plead, feeling silly for being so worried, yet unable to help it. My family means a lot to me and for some whatever reason, I am strongly against them thinking that someone – a male someone – might be my mate. I do not think so, but my family is very open-minded and they might think that since Ryland believes we are destined to be mates, it might be true.

It takes a few minutes of consideration, but he comes to a decision. "Okay, I will leave town for the weekend. I should probably visit la mia famiglia anyway, but you will owe me for taking a weekend away. Deal?"

"Yes, anything. What do you want?" I ask, wanting to get this settled as quickly as possible.

However, Ryland shakes his head. "I will think it over and tell you once I know I can ask for something I will not regret later," he says.