But she did regret it when it bothered someone she cared about. In this case, Ryder.

She was going to suggest that they talk after dinner, but judging by the look that he gave her over the table he already knew that. And he would demand it even if she hadn’t.

Just as she put her last bite of pasta into her mouth, he pushed himself away from the table. “Outside,” he said.

He was often a commanding bastard, but this was a little bit ridiculous even for him. He wore his irritation like a second skin. And when he rolled his shoulders back, the muscles there shifting, she gave thanks that she knew down to her bones exactly what manner of man Ryder Daniels was. Because when her father was at this level of intensity then a fist to the face couldn’t be too far behind.

Ryder would never.

She didn’t doubt that, even for a moment.

She had a feeling he might want to punch a wall right now, though.

He ushered her outdoors, onto the porch, and she turned to face him. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest, and she took a moment to admire the strength there.

Men like him normally made her uncomfortable, because of her past experiences. Men with intensity. Men with muscles.

The men that she dated tended to have slimmer builds, rather narrow of shoulder. Quick with a smile, slow to anger.

Ryder was none of those things. Broad and big and brooding as anything. But it was different. She wasn’t dating Ryder. He was her... Hers.

“You’re mad at me,” she said. “Even if I don’t fully understand why.”

“Because you telling everyone makes it a hell of a lot more official,” he said.

She touched his arm. “It is official. For me anyway.”

“Why are you sorry, then?”

“Because you’re upset. I’m not sorry I told them. I’m sorry that it bothered you because I care about you, idiot.”

He sighed heavily. “Why do you always do that? Why do you... Why do you have to take everything public?”

She shrugged. “I don’t see the point in keeping things to myself. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“You don’t have a plan. You don’t have anything in place. And... Honest to God, Sammy, I think you’re a little bit too selfish to have a baby.”

His words felt like a sword straight through her heart. They deflated her completely. “You... What?”

“You want to have a baby because you want something to love you. And that is the saddest damn thing that I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard some sad things.”

“I... I...”

He ran over her stammered half attempt at a protest. “But it’s also about you. It’s about you and what you want and how you feel, and not at all about the kid. Trust me when I say...you know kids don’t belong to you. They’re their own people. And if you’re not there, they have to make their way without you. They don’t exist for you.”