Rivals In Love (Love In Montana Book 4)

Ryan couldn't stop thinking about Georgia after she left. Were they discussing him? Did Macy tell her everything that he had told her? Would Georgia now avoid him? He wanted to find out so badly but he didn't have her phone number.

"What's wrong with you Ryan? You're lying half dead for the last one hour. Who'll complete your assignments for tomorrow? I've already finished mine," said Ryder, closing his book. Ryan looked at his twin with disinterest. 

"I'll do it at night," he shrugged. Ryder got up.

"I'm going to Annie's house. see ya later," he said with a wave, jumping onto his feet. Annie was Anastasia, Renée's best friend who lived in Fordsville with her grandparents. Since the day Ryder saw her, his interest was piqued. He felt the intense need to get to know her better. So he had made it his mission in life to pursue her and spend more time with her. Ryan waved at him disinterestedly. 

Rihanna came to sit down with him, grumbling about her meeting with the principal at her school. She was a primary school teacher at the nearby Bloomingdale Elementary School and she was very serious about her career. Ryan listened half-heartedly, his mind being far away. 

"Are you daydreaming or what?" Asked Rihanna, clicking her fingers right in front of his eyes. 

"No, I'm good. What were you saying?" Asked Ryan. Rihanna rolled her eyes.

"Are you drunk or are you sick?" Asked Rihanna with a chuckle.

"Neither, " said Ryan. 

"He's in love," said Renée, walking into the room. Ryan gave her a look.

"Shut up or I'll never drive you to college, " he threatened her. Renée stuck her tongue out at him. 

"I've seen you many times with Georgia. Can you explain that?" She asked him with her hands on her hips.

"She's my project partner, dammit, " shrugged Ryan, trying to defend himself. 

"Hang on, you two. Which Georgia are we talking about here?" Asked Rihanna curiously. 

"The one and only Georgia McLean, our sworn enemy's only daughter!" Said Renée dramatically. Rihanna's mouth hung open at the information. 

"Ryan, why did you choose her out of all the people in the world? You know how her family is?" Said Rihanna, looking alarmed. 

Ryan shrugged. He couldn't tell her the truth. "I didn't choose her. Sir chose our partners for us," lied Ryan. Renée rolled her eyes at him and so did Rihanna. They were not to be fooled. 

"How is it that I can't believe him?" Asked Rihanna. Renée giggled. 

"Because Georgia's drop dead gorgeous. If I would have been a guy, I'd surely have chased her," said Renée. Ryan glared at her.

"I've seen better," he muttered.

"Where, Ryan? Here at Fordsville?" Laughed Rihanna. 

"Maybe. I'm going to my room to complete my assignments. I don't have time for this," said Ryan, eager to escape from the topic his sisters picked up. As if they had no other work in the world! He didn't wait for their answer and got up and rushed out of the room. 

The next morning, Ryan was apprehensive of what Georgia might say to him. He reached college twenty-five minutes early and sat on the steps near the campus gate, waiting for Georgia to arrive. After ten minutes, she walked in from the parking area and her glance fell upon him. Ryan's heart started beating faster and faster as she approached him. He jumped to his feet and jogged towards her. 

"Hi!" He said, scratching his head to search for words to say to her. 

"Hi!" She greeted him avoiding looking at him. Macy's words had been ringing in her head since yesterday. Did Ryan actually decline everyone just to be with her? Did he really like her? But she just couldn't know the truth. She couldn't ask him directly to his face whether he liked her, could she? It would look so dumb!

"Have you been able to write the introduction?" Asked Ryan. Georgia nodded. 

"Yes, a rough draft. Check if you want to add some points to it," she told him. Ryan was impressed. He hadn't expected her to do it at all. Georgia saw the open admiration in his eyes for her and felt a little overwhelmed. No one apart from her aunt Dorothy had appreciated her in her entire nineteen years of life. She had written the introduction after completing her mom's work. She didn't want Ryan to regret his decision of choosing her as his partner. 

They walked into an empty classroom and sat down to work on the project. Georgia handed him the introduction to take a look at. He read through and added a few points here and there. "It's good. That's done then," he said with a satisfied smile on his face. Georgia nodded, a warm glow spreading all over her body after receiving Ryan's approval. 

"So, are you coming to Alpine farm tomorrow?" Asked Ryan, staring at her beautiful face. Georgia nodded absent-mindedly, biting the back of her pen, as she read through the contents page that she had made. 

Ryan kept staring at her. Renée was right. She was the most gorgeous girl in the whole of Fordsville. She had left her damp hair untied and it fell like a curtain as she poured over the project sheet on the table. He wanted to tuck it behind her ear as it blocked him from gazing at her face. Every time her hair tickled his arm, he felt the jolt of a 1000 volts go up and down his body. Unable to contain himself any longer, he raised his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. Georgia's body jerked off as she trembled like a leaf at his touch. Her troubled eyes flew up to his and her mouth parted to say words which seemed stuck at her throat. 

Georgia didn't know how to react to Ryan's tender touch. What was he up to? A deep blush stained her cheeks and she looked away. "What are you doing?" She whispered, trying to tie up her hair in a bun. Ryan stared at her helplessly. He himself didn't know what he was doing. He caught her wrist to stop her from tying her hair into that hideous bun. Georgia froze, her eyes looking up into his eyes with shock. 

"Don't, " whispered Ryan, staring into her mesmerizing green eyes. They were like a magnet drawing him towards her and he seemed too powerless to stop himself. 

"Ryan please," she said, looking away. Ryan came back to his senses and looked away too. What was happening to him? It seemed as if he couldn't concentrate upon anything when she was near him. "I've made the contents page as we had discussed, " she told him, shyly, showing him the page. Ryan took it from her and read it. 

"This is perfect. I'll take them and create a Pdf file on my laptop. We'll take a print out when we need to submit, " said Ryan. 

"I've made the pdf file. I can forward it to you but I don't have your number or email address," said Georgia shyly. She didn't want him to think that she was asking for his contact information for some underlying reason. 

"Oh, right, give me your phone, " said Ryan. Georgia handed him her phone and he punched in his number and saved it. Then he have himself a missed call and then returned her the phone. He saved her number on his phone and messaged her his email address. 

"There, done, " he said. Georgia nodded. 

"I'll go home and send it to you, " she told him. 

"You've done such a lot of work. When did you do so much?" He asked with disbelief. 

"Last night after completing my mom's work, " she told him absent-mindedly.

"Oh, you might have stayed up to do it?" He concluded. 

"I didn't sleep last night," said Georgia, making Ryan gape at her. 

"Why? You could have done it later," he pointed out. Georgia didn't answer him. She just went through the contents page to decide what she needed to do next. She couldn't have done it later. She had to make him proud of her. 

"You didn't answer me, Georgia. Why did you stay up the whole night when you could have done it later? This will affect your health, you know, " said Ryan in a harsh tone. Georgia looked helplessly into his eyes. 

"It's okay, " she just mumbled. Ryan stared more at her, his eyes boring into hers. "I managed," she shrugged, tearing her eyes off his.

"But you don't need to go out of the way. It's just a project," said Ryan. 

"I had to do it. I didn't want you to regret your decision of choosing me as your partner, Ryan. I know that you've let down everyone's offer to just help me. I'm indebted to you for it," she whispered, her eyes reflecting the gratitude that she felt deep within her. Ryan stared at her trembling lips, the desire to kiss her was utmost on his mind. How could one not be attracted to such a sweet, vulnerable and beautiful creature?