On Suzette's other side was Rylan's father. Both kids had inherited Adam Archer's dark hair, though his was mostly gray now. Still, for a man in his mid-sixties, he'd aged well. His eyes were blue, though not the same shade as Rylan's. He, too, didn't look much different from the pictures I'd seen.
The other woman in the room I wouldn't have been able to place if I hadn't known Rylan's mother was coming. In her early thirties, Theresa Ricin-Archer had obviously had a lot of work done, and not all of it had been good. Her hair was golden blond now – an obvious dye job – but her eyes had stayed the same. Rylan had inherited those from her, that unique blue-violet color that had probably gone a long way to helping her modeling career.
“Mom, Dad, Lindsay,” Rylan looked at each one in turn. “I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Jenna Lang.”
I went to them in the order he'd said their names, remembering what Suzette and Zeke had both said about Rylan's parents taking little things personally. I kept my smile the same for all three and shook their hands the exact same way.
“It's nice to meet all of you,” I said as I stepped back to Rylan's side. He put his hand on the small of my back and I resisted the urge to lean into him.
“We've heard a lot about you,” Lindsay said with a stiff smile.
I didn't doubt that.
We moved to sit at the table, Rylan quickly positioning himself between his mother and me. Suzette ended up across from me which I didn't particularly like, but there wasn't really a better choice.
“Your appearance is a bit of a surprise,” Adam said.
“Dad,” Rylan snapped.
“It's okay,” I said softly, putting my hand on his arm. I turned to Adam. “I'm assuming it's the hair.” I gave him my most charming fake smile. “I've always gotten bored of my hair color easily and I don't always choose the most normal colors.” I let my eyes flick over to Lindsay and then to Theresa. “But I decided that I wanted to go into the New Year with my natural hair color, so I dyed it until it can grow out.”
“You lost the eyebrow ring too,” Suzette said. She looked down at my wrist. “Are you going to get the tattoos removed too so you can try to look like you belong with my brother?”
“Suzette!” Rylan glared at his sister.
“Actually, I don't really care what anyone else thinks.” I kept my voice even and polite, albeit a little on the cool side. “If someone doesn't accept me for who I am, then they're not someone with whom I'd want to be acquainted anyway.”
“Well,” Lindsay broke in to the conversation. “If you ever decide you want to see a plastic surgeon about those scars.” She looked at my cheek and my arm. “Just ask Theresa. She has every plastic surgeon in a hundred mile radius on speed dial.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rylan scowl. I was starting to understand why he'd waited to introduce me to his family.
“Unless you want a boob job,” Theresa spoke up. “That's a number you'd have to get from Lindsay.”
Just when I thought there would be some sort of middle-aged women cat fight, the waiter appeared to ask for drink and appetizer orders. Everyone ordered alcohol, which I didn't think was a very good idea, but I did too, so I didn't feel right saying something.
“Nice necklace,” Suzette said as the waiter walked away. “How much did it cost?”
“It was a Christmas present,” I said tightly. Rylan was talking to his mom and I hoped he wasn't paying attention to anything else. I had a feeling Suzette wasn't going to let it go with that explanation.
I was right.
“Did you even have anything on your Christmas list that didn't cost thousands of dollars?” Her voice was low and I could tell she didn't want Rylan to hear her. “What else did he buy you?”
“I didn't ask for anything,” I answered honestly even though I knew she wouldn’t believe me. “And I told him it was too much.”
“But you still kept it.”
My temper started to bubble up, testing my restraint. She loved her brother and wanted to protect him. That's what this was about, nothing more. I almost convinced myself.
“Yes, I kept it.” I made myself meet her eyes. I didn't have anything to be ashamed of. I hadn't asked for an expensive gift and I didn't love it because it cost a lot of money. I would've loved it just as much if it had been costume jewelry. “Because it's not about me. It's about him.”
Suzette's mouth flattened into a thin line.
“He gave them to me as a gift. He wanted me to have them because he thought they'd make me happy, because he wanted me to wear them.” I tactfully left off the part about him wanting me to wear only them. Suzette didn't need to hear that even though I had to admit that it would've been nice to see if I could get a rise out of her.
“Awfully convenient, isn't it?” she asked. “That he'd choose something so expensive for someone he's only been dating a couple months.”
“Convenient?” I raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “What's next, a car because you don't happen to have one? A bigger apartment when your lease is up? Or are you just going to invite yourself to move in with him?”
I stiffened. Not much, but enough that she caught it.
“You've got to be kidding me.” Her voice rose. “You're moving in with him?”
All eyes turned towards me and none of the looks were friendly.
“Well.” Rylan cleared his throat. “I guess that cat's out of the bag.”
Chapter 30
I'd read in books where passages of heated conversations were described as explosions. I never truly understood what that meant until now. The moment Rylan confirmed that I was indeed moving in with him, it was like a bomb went off.
Everyone started talking at once.
Suzette wanted to know how he could trust me when he barely knew me. After all, he'd been with Lara for years and had never known she was a lesbian. Theresa seemed to be more concerned that the money he usually gave her would go to me. Lindsay echoed whatever her husband said, and Adam was emphatic that I planned on tricking Rylan into getting me pregnant so he'd marry me and I'd either have access to his accounts or I'd divorce him and take half.
“Enough!” Rylan slammed his hand down on the table. His face was flushed, eyes flashing. “I love Jenna. She's moving in with me tomorrow and she's a part of my life. You're either going to learn how to deal with that or you're going to be seeing a lot less of me.” He reached over and took my hand, wrapping his fingers around my cold ones. “We come together or not at all.”
“Rylan.” Theresa's voice was soft. “Just think about it, dear. You have a lot to lose if she's just after your money.”
“Don't you mean
you
have a lot to lose?” Lindsay snipped.
For the first time in my life, I was almost grateful that I didn't have family. I knew Rylan loved his parents and his sister, and for us to be together, I needed to accept his family, but I definitely saw some benefits to not having all of this chaos and tension.
While Adam tried to referee between his ex-wife and the current Mrs. Archer, Suzette leaned towards Rylan, completely ignoring the fact that I was there. “Dad had a good point, Ry. You're a good man and we both know if she got pregnant, you'd never leave her.”
Rylan's fingers tightened around mine and I felt the anger coming off of him in waves. Without him saying it, I knew that a lot of that anger was on my behalf.
“Listen to your sister if you won't listen to us,” Adam joined in. Lindsay and Theresa didn't look happy, but now their glowers were focused in my direction. “One little hole in a condom or her 'forgetting' to take her birth control.”
“I'm sitting right here!” I snapped, unable to control myself any longer. I stood up and yanked my hand out of Rylan's. “If you have a problem with me, say it to me, not him.”
“Very well.” Theresa poked at her hair with one long acrylic nail. “We don't know anything about you. How do we know you aren't going to try to steal Rylan's money or force him to marry you?”
“I don't want his money,” I said. “And I didn't ask to move in with him. He asked me.” I lifted my chin. “And as for me tricking him into getting me pregnant...”
“Jenna,” Rylan said softly.
I didn't look at him. “Not that it's any of your business, but that won’t be a problem because I can't have kids. I can get a doctor's note if that'll make you feel better.”
I was slightly gratified to see everyone looking shocked and embarrassed, but I needed to get away before I said something I'd regret.
“Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to use the ladies' room. I'll be back in a few minutes.” I turned and walked away, not looking back even when Rylan called after me.
I was torn between seething and wanting to cry. And the last part made me even angrier. I didn't cry. Not for people like that. It was just that I didn't like telling anyone personal shit, especially the ‘not having kids’ part. And to have to do it that way, to defend why I loved him...
I pushed open the door with a little more force than necessary, wincing as it banged against the wall. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone in the bathroom to hear it. I paced the short length of the room, trying to regain my composure. I couldn't go back out there like this. I was too worked up and they knew it. Granted, they'd started it, but if I wanted them to accept me, I would have to rise above their behavior, prove that I wasn't some low-class gold-digger.
I took a slow breath, then let it out. While they could've expressed themselves better, I had to admit that Rylan's family had legitimate concerns. I knew my intentions towards Rylan were honorable, that I wasn't after his money, but his family didn't know me. Hell, he barely knew me. I hadn't lied to him, but he honestly had no way of knowing that, not really.
I stopped in front of the sink, wetting a paper towel and dabbing my face with it. I couldn't think like that. He knew me. We might not have known each other long, but we knew each other better than some people who'd been together for years. We hadn't only been through a lot, we'd talked, shared. He knew about my past, what I'd been through, and he didn't care.
I looked at my reflection. My skin was paler than usual, except for two spots of color on my cheeks. I closed my eyes and tried counting to ten. When that didn't work, I went to twenty. I was still counting when the door opened.
“Jenna.”
Dammit. It was Suzette. She was pretty much the last person I wanted to talk to. Still, I managed to put a cordial expression on my face before I turned around.
“What is it, Suzette?” The question came out harsher than I'd intended.
“You're not good for him,” she said bluntly. She crossed her arms and looked down at me. She may have been a year younger than me, but if I'd been anyone else, the fierce look on her face would've scared the shit out of me.
I didn't respond. There was no point in arguing. The best thing to do would be to let her get everything out of her system, then figure out where to go from there.
“He blew off Zeke on Christmas Eve,” she continued. “Left early Christmas Day because he wanted to spend the rest of the day with you.”
I crossed my arms and mimicked her stance. “I didn't ask him to do that.”
“I don't care.”
I waited. There had to be more she wanted say than just a simple “he's spending too much time with you” argument. She wouldn't have followed me into the bathroom for that.
“Do you know why he bought that house?”
The change of subject surprised me. “He said he bought it after he and Lara broke up.”
“I'm surprised he told you about her,” she said.
I shrugged. “We met at her Christmas party.”
“It doesn't matter.” Suzette made a dismissive gesture with her hand, the resemblance to her brother stronger than before. “He found the house before he and Lara broke up. He only bought it afterwards as a way to tell himself that he hadn't lost hope for the one thing he wanted the most.”
“And what's that?” I tried to keep my voice even.
“Family, Jenna.”
I flinched. I couldn't help it. I knew what she was saying, but didn't want to believe it.
“You know how most guys freak out at the idea of getting married and having kids? How, if their girlfriend told them she was pregnant, they'd run away? Not Rylan. That's how we knew that if you got pregnant, he'd marry you. All he's ever wanted is to get married and have kids.”
My heart thudded painfully in my chest. Rylan hadn't told me that.
“Now, I suppose you could be lying, but I don't think you are. And, let me guess, when you told him you couldn't have kids, he acted like it was all okay.”
My answer must've shown on my face.
“Of course that's what he'd do, because he's Rylan. He spent two years with Lara, not seeing what was right in front of him. He thinks he loves you so he's going to tell you what you want to hear.”
I began to shiver and pulled my arms more tightly around me. That couldn't be true. Rylan wouldn't have done that to me. He said he'd tell me the truth. Unless, of course, he thought it was the truth. I knew how well people could lie to themselves.
“If you care about him, like you claim you do, you'll leave before you hurt him even more.” Her eyes narrowed. “Of course, if all you want is his money, I guess you'll just stick with him until you get what you want.”
I could barely breathe. My chest tightened and I felt the beginnings of a panic attack. I needed her to leave. Now.
“You can't give him what he wants. What he needs. But he's not going to tell you that.” She turned to walk out and then paused at the door. “Just something to think about.”
I watched the door close behind her, and then leaned against the sink. My hands shook and I couldn't get them to stop. How could Rylan not have told me how important kids were to him? I'd been honest with him as quickly as I'd been able. All he would've had to do was walk away. I wouldn't have stopped him. It would've hurt like hell, I wouldn't deny that, but it would've been much easier than this, than finding out now.
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I couldn't do this now, couldn't deal with this. I would have to think about it soon, I knew, before things went any further, but not now. I had to go back out there. I wasn't going to leave him to face his family without me, especially since I was the one he was defending.