Free More Than Words: Kissed By A Muse #3 by S.K Munt

a few minutes, kay?’ Ryan replied, not tearing his eyes off Leigh.
    ‘Take as long as you need beautiful… we’ll be waiting.’ Over Ryan’s shoulder, Isabelle winked at Leigh and then shut the door, and Leigh wanted to burst into tears.
    Argh! He’s going home with them! Oh my god! And it’s all my fault!
    ‘You’re looking a little green there, honeybee,’ Ryan taunted her, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip. ‘But I wonder, are you jealous because they get me, or because I get more time with your precious boyfriend-creator?’
    Leigh hoisted her bag on her shoulder. ‘Well, you may as well get something out of this little adventure, right? You can bet your ass that you’re not going to get laid with me, so you may as well go have a threesome amongst a bunch of vintage guitars!’
    Ryan shot Bruce a hateful look through the windscreen and then slid it to her. ‘If she’d said that I was her muse and not a coincidence, would you care enough to stop me?’
    It was like being punched in the stomach. ‘If I’d slept with you last night, would you give a flying fuck who I spent time with today?’
    Ryan’s face clouded over. ‘Go, Leigh- before I say something we’ll both regret.’
    Leigh tore her face from hers, hearing him beg for his ‘baby’ to wait for him again and whispered: ‘Too late.’ But the traffic absorbed her words without even slightly alleviating the pain.
     
    Ryan
     
    Ryan didn’t have a shot in trying to cover up his heartbreak when he walked back into the café, but Kathryn was on her computer when he made it back to their table, and didn’t look up before saying:
    ‘I was just remembering the few reviews I’ve gotten over the past six months about the book, that mention knowing a guy just like Ryan and thought… what if one of them actually knows you?’ She leaned closer to her computer. ‘I mean, it’s a small world, isn’t it? I’m checking the Aussie amazon site first…. Figured it would increase the odds of finding an old neighbor of yours or whatever…’
    ‘Oh,’ Ryan wiped at his wet eyes and prayed that his voice wouldn’t break and make him look like a big pussy. ‘Thanks…but you really don’t have to do that.’
    ‘I want to. I feel awful, knowing that you’ve been hoping for days that I’d be able to breech the whole amnesia shield and then going away empty-handed.’
    Ryan wanted to admit that the only loss he was feeling was the loss of Leigh’s smile, but he swallowed the words down and lifted his coffee cup to drain it instead. ‘Mmm…’
    She’s not into me- she was pretending all along. You can’t lose what you never have and she’s right- you can’t blame her for putting up a shield when you’ve got some bullshit true love shield between your heart and the rest of the world… but if she doesn’t like me for me, then why do my dreams even bug her?
    Isabelle had been putting her phone and keys away in her bag, but now she looked up at Ryan with a knowing smile. ‘You hanging in there, buddy?’
    He grimaced at her. ‘The honeybee stings a lot harder than you’d think…’ he swallowed the last of his coffee and put the cup down. ‘And no, I’m not all right, so if it’s okay with you guys, I’ll take a pass on the guitar collection today. I sort of want to go home and drink a bottle of Jack and pray there’s an antidote to her venom at the bottom of it.’
    And then track down Leigh and Bruce, kill him and duct-tape her to my bed until she loves THIS slightly kinky Ryan! Fuck? Have I ruined every shot I had? Did I ever have one?
    Isabelle smiled knowingly. ‘I figured as much.’
    ‘You did?’
    Isabelle nodded, tapping lip-gloss onto her already perfect mouth. ‘I didn’t think you’d come back with us, but I can guarantee you that she won’t be able to breathe past her jealousy until you’re in her sights again…’
    Ryan’s mouth fell open. ‘You yelled that out to make her jealous?’
    ‘Of course. I’m a