Going All the Way Read Online Free

with those enormous eyes.
    He sucked in a deep breath and then blew it out. “Dad is pressuring me to wrap up this account so I can take over the company. I have to admit, this one is a bitch. I’m having troubles and trust me, it’s a lot to handle.”
    “You’ll be fine. I believe in you, and so does Dad or he wouldn’t be pushing so hard for you to take over the reins.” She picked up a slice of pizza, picked off the sausage, and threw it to Riley.
    But that was just it; he wasn’t sure he wanted the reins. Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but didn’t. It was no use.
    “Besides, Riley’s easy. Aren’t you, sweetie?” She ruffled the dog’s big head and bent so he could lick her face. He looked up at her with adoration, and she turned back to Ryan. “You can handle him just like you handle everything else. With ease. Not only that, but you have a great yard. This place is perfect for him, and the dog park is practically across the street.” She looked around the room. “And considering you’re still living out of boxes, it’s not like he can mess up anything.”
    Ryan stepped behind her and picked up a beer, twisting off the cap. “No reason to unpack and settle in when I’ll just be moving out again soon anyway.”
    “I don’t know how you can live like this. Riley will be good for you.”
    He guzzled down half the beer. He needed a moment to take a breath. To think. He’d never owned a dog before, and now it looked like he had one. Indefinitely . No, it couldn’t last that long. And he’d do anything for his sister, just as she would for him.
    “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she said to the dog. “I love you, big guy. You’re the best dog in the world. I’ll be back before you know it.”
    “How long do you think you’ll be gone? Really?” Ryan asked. This couldn’t be happening. He didn’t do pets. Hell, he didn’t do anything that required a long-term commitment. He was a short-term kind of guy, in work, in play, and definitely in his home life.
    “Only as long as it takes Renaldo to heal.”
    Suddenly a few days was beginning to look like a few months. But she had always been there for him, done so much for him that he couldn’t say no. Could he? “I work long hours,” he said, grasping at straws. “It’s not fair to leave Riley here all alone.”
    “That’s just it. Work is your entire life. Don’t you think it’s time you settled down? Stopped moving around so much? Maybe found some friends, or even a girlfriend?”
    The woman from the wedding flashed into his mind. Now there was a woman he wouldn’t mind spending more time with. Desire curled inside him as he remembered the way she’d kissed and touched him. But she’d left, running out on him before he even got her name. And he couldn’t call the groom because she hadn’t been on the guest list. Chances were, he’d never see her again. Which he supposed was for the best considering how deeply she’d gotten under his skin. He didn’t have the time for, nor did he need, a complication right now. He took another swig of his beer.
    “Ryan?”
    “What?”
    She stared at him directly, her gaze holding his. “It’s been three years since Marissa left.”
    He stiffened, the old ache of her abandonment still smarting. “Point?”
    “It’s time you moved on.”
    “I have moved on, trust me. I haven’t given Marissa a thought in years. I’ve been busy, and the truth is Marissa left me because I was never home. It wasn’t fair to her.” He shouldn’t have been surprised, because hadn’t his mother left them for the very same reason? “And it won’t be good for Riley.”
    “Posh. You can’t always put work first. Work won’t keep you warm at night. You need to relax, get out once in a while.”
    “I do get out. In fact, I went to a wedding the other night.”
    “A coworker’s wedding,” she said dryly.
    “What’s your point? I had fun.” A lot of fun. Long, lush curls, big beautiful brown