Ian
We boarded the plane and took our seats in first class. I always let Rory have the window seat because she said it calmed her to look at the clouds. I sat there, thinking about what my father said about his plane. There was no need for him to buy a new one because there was nothing wrong with the one he had. It wasn’t like him just to buy things like that.
“You look like you’re in deep thought.” Rory smiled as she took hold of my hand.
“I was just thinking about my father and him buying a new plane. It’s just odd to me.”
“Why? The man can afford it,” she said.
“I know he can, but that’s not the point. The plane he has now is practically brand new. It’s only a few years old. It’s just out of character for him.”
“Well, maybe Richard is having a change of heart about things. He was very nice to me that night he came over, for the first time ever.”
“I’m happy he’s finally warming up to you. He has no choice, really,” I said as I brought her hand to my lips. Did you enjoy New York, sweetheart?”
“I did. Thank you for taking me.” She smiled.
One of the many things I loved about Rory was the fact that she was always thanking me for things. She didn’t expect anything from me except my love, and I knew Andrew was dead wrong about her.
“You’re welcome. There are going to be many more trips in our future. I’m going to show you the world, Rory Sinclair. Just the two of us.” I smiled.
She smiled back and rested her head on my shoulder. I rested my head on hers and closed my eyes, remembering our day yesterday, when it was just her and me spending the day touring New York City. She was so excited about everything; like a big kid. She fell in love with the art museum and, of course, all the shopping we did. We were only interrupted by Adalynn a couple of times when she was face timing Rory and showing her maid of honor dresses that she liked. I made a comment and she told me to shut up. I loved Adalynn and nothing pleased me more than her and Rory becoming best friends. Rory needed someone like Adalynn in her life. I lifted my head and so did Rory. She looked at me and then leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you.” I smiled.
Those words. Those three words that I never spoke to anyone except to my mother when I was just a child. Those three words that meant nothing to me and had no meaning. My mother
had told me she loved me every day, but she left and never came back. As far as I was concerned, she showed me that those words didn’t have any meaning. But, when I almost lost Rory, I found that those three words meant everything to me.
****
We pulled up to the house and I saw Adalynn’s car in the driveway. I looked at Rory.
“Did you know she was coming over?” I asked.
Rory looked away and then made the cutest face that I’d ever seen. “Well, she texted me and said she wanted to show me some dresses, so I said okay. I’m sorry, Ian. It’s just that—”
“Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay,” I said as I kissed her.
How could I be mad? Rory was so excited to see those dresses and who was I to deny her that? We had a beautiful few days alone and now it was time for her to help Adalynn with the wedding. As soon as we walked into the house, Adalynn came strolling out of the kitchen. She ran right to Rory and hugged her.
“I’m so happy you’re back. I can’t wait to show you the dresses! Oh, hi, Ian.” She smiled.
“Hi, Adalynn. Good to see you, darling.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek.
“Good to see you too.” She smiled before grabbing Rory’s hand and taking her into the living room.
While Rory was looking at dresses, I went into my study to catch up on some work. I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed I had a missed call from Andrew. I punched in my password and listened to his message.
“Hey, Ian. Hope you had a good time in New York. Give me a call when you get back. I’m not sure if you remember
, but that event we committed to about six months ago is coming up next week and you have to be there. Call me.”
Shit, I forgot about the event for K Corp. Damn it. I dialed Andrew’s number.
“Hey, buddy,” he answered.
“Hey, Drew. I completely forgot about the K Corp event.”
“Good thing I reminded you. We both sponsored it, so we have to be there.”
“No problem, Rory and I will be there. I suggest you bring someone along.”
“Don’t worry, friend. I intend to. I knew there was no way you would leave Rory at home.”
“Good, as long as we’re clear on that.”
“Are you up for some golf tomorrow? It’s Sunday.”
I did miss playing golf and maybe it was a good idea to spend some time with Andrew so he’d get off my back a
bout Rory. “Sure. How about nine?” I said.
“Great,
Ian! I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. See ya, buddy.”
I hung up and continued going through my messages. I was going to have to tell Rory about her father and I was still trying to decide when to do it.
“You look like you’re in deep thought,” Rory said as she stood in the doorway.
I looked up and gasped when I saw her standing there in a floor
-length red dress. She looked like an angel.
“Do you like?” She smiled as she spun around.
“You look gorgeous, sweetheart, simply stunning. Is that the one?”
“Yeah, I think so. I love it and so does Adalynn.”
“It’s perfect.” I smiled.
“I’ll be sure to tell her. I’m going to go change.”
“Okay. I’ll be done here in a few minutes.”
I watched her beautiful body turn around and walk away. I decided that maybe it
was best to tell her about her father tonight, over a couple of drinks and some Thai food out on the patio. I unlocked my top right hand drawer to get out my checks and, as I pulled them out, I stared at the white envelope that I’d kept tucked away for the past five years. A white envelope that was addressed to me. There was no return address on it, but I knew who it was from and I had no desire to or intention of reading it. I didn’t even know why I kept the damn thing. I shut the drawer just as Adalynn walked in.
“When you get a chance, Ian, we need to go over a couple things regarding
Prim
.”
“Okay, Adalynn. When’s good for you?” I asked as I pulled the calendar up on my phone.
“How about Monday morning at ten?” she replied.
“Ten it is.” I smiled at her.
She stood there and looked at me with a cocked head. “I like that you’re happy. You’re a different man, Ian Braxton.”
“Thanks, Adalynn,” I said as I got up, walked over
, and hugged her. “It looks like we both are getting everything we want.”
“Ahem,” Rory said as she stood in the doorway. “Are you flirting with my best friend?” she asked me.
“Why? Are you jealous?” I replied with a smile.
“No. You’ll know when I’m jealous, my love.” She smiled back and winked.
“Adalynn, as much as I love you, you need to get the hell out of here now!” I told her.
“How rude, Ian.”
“Not rude, darling, it’s called desperation. I am desperate for my beautiful girlfriend over there to show me what happens when she gets jealous.”
Adalynn sighed and rolled her eyes. “Good lord, you two make my head spin.”
She turned around and gave Rory a light hug. “I’ll see you soon. Try not to hurt him too much.” She winked.
****
“I swear that I’m going to make you jealous every day,” I said as I kissed her lips.
The bed was in shambles and we were both drenched in sweat. Still trying to catch
her breath, Rory looked at me with that smile. The smile that told me she wanted me to fuck her again.
“Sweetheart, are you trying to kill me?”
“Of course not.” She laughed.
“You need to remember that I’m ten years older than you.”
“Not a full ten for a couple of weeks. What do you want to do for your birthday?” she asked as she ran her finger down my chest.
“I don’t know. I haven’t given it any thought. I do know that I don’t want a party.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to spend my birthday with you and only you. How about we take the yacht out for a couple of days?”
“I would love that.”
I kissed the tip of her nose. “Good, then that’s what we’ll do. Now, let’s get these sheets off the bed, shower, and then order dinner. How’s Thai sound?”
“Thai sounds great. Are we taking a shower together?”
“Do I ever shower alone anymore, sweetheart?”
She jumped up out of the bed and went into the bathroom to start the shower. I grabbed hold of my semi-hard cock and looked down.
“Here we go again.”
Rory
Ian was already waiting for me outside on the patio with an open bottle of wine and the table set.
“Our food should be here shortly.” He smiled as he poured some wine into my glass.
“Great. I’m starving.”
“We sure did work up quite an appetite,” Ian said as he walked by and lightly kissed my neck.
As I sat down at the table and took a sip of my wine, Ian walked back with the Thai food. He set the cartons on the table and then took his seat across from me.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” he said.
“What is it?”
“I found your father.”
I almost choked on my food. “What? Where is he?”
“That
, my darling, you’re never going to believe. He lives in Los Angeles.”
“What? You mean like less
-than-an-hour-away Los Angeles?” I asked in utter shock.
“Yeah, that Los Angeles, sweetheart.” He chuckled.
“He owns a bar called the Piano Bar in Hollywood.”
I felt sick to my stomach and I put down my fork. It was hard to believe that my father lived so close
, but yet so far. A man I knew nothing about except that he was a coward who abandoned his children.
“Are you okay, Rory?” Ian asked.
I sighed as I stared down at my food. “I don’t know, Ian. I’m not going to lie to you. It really upsets me that he’s so close and I’m scared, but I need to see him, talk to him, and get some answers.”
Ian got up and walked over to me. He grabbed my hand, helped me up from the chair
, and wrapped his arms around me.
“Listen, I know you’re scared
, but I’ll be with you every step of the way. If you feel that strongly about seeing him, then do it. If you feel like you just can’t, then I’ll support you. It’s your decision, sweetheart, and only you can make it. You need to do what’s best for you.”
My grip around him tightened. I never thought in a million years
that I would have found someone who loved me and supported me like Ian did. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Yes, but please tell me some more.” He smiled.
Ian broke our embrace and grabbed our wine glasses. “Come on; let’s go down by the water,” he said as he held out his arm.
I smiled as I looped my arm in his and we walked down to the beach. As we were sitting in the sand, Ian told me about his golf date with Andrew tomorrow. As much as I didn’t want him to go, I didn’t dare tell him that. I didn’t like Andrew and I didn’t like Ian hanging out with him.
“Oh, by the way, I have an event dinner to go to next week and you’ll be joining me. I want you to go shopping and find a nice dress to wear. But nothing too sexy, understand?”
“Yeah, whatever, Ian.”
“No whatever, sweetheart; nothing sexy.”
I was silently laughing to myself. If he d
idn’t want sexy, then he’d get frumpy. That would teach him to tell me what I could and couldn’t wear.
“Okay, my love
. Nothing sexy.”
“Thank you.” He smiled as he kissed my head.
****
Another restless night between thinking about my father
, and Ian’s command about not wearing a sexy dress to the event we were going to. Ian was already in the bathroom, getting ready for his golf day with Andrew. I got up, walked into the bathroom, and wrapped my arms around him, laying my head against his bare back as he shaved.
“Good morning, sweetheart. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Good morning, and no, you didn’t.”
I gave
him a soft kiss on his back and then went downstairs for some coffee. Since it was Sunday, Charles had the day off, so I made a pot of coffee. As I was waiting for it to brew, Ian walked into the kitchen.
“What are you doing today?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I really hadn’t thought about it.”
The coffee finished brewing and Andrew walked into the kitchen. “Good morning
, all.” He smiled.
“Andrew
.” I nodded.
“Look at you, Rory. Looking sexy
, even with the ‘I just rolled out of bed’ look.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Andrew?” I asked because I wanted nothing more than to throw it in
his face.
“Nope. Ian
, let’s go. We can stop on the way and grab some breakfast.”
“Sounds good, man. Bye, sweetheart. Have a good day and I’ll be home later,” Ian said as he gave me a kiss goodbye.
“Have fun.”
I ran up the stairs to get dressed and
to give Mandy a call.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Mandy, it’s Rory. I was wondering if you and Molly would like to come over today and go swimming. Ian is out with Andrew for the day and I thought it would be fun to hang out.”
“That sounds like fun, Rory. Molly and I would love to come over. Thank you for the invite.”
“You’re welcome and I’ll see you later.”
I was excited. I really liked Mandy and it was going to be nice to visit with her as friends and not on work time. I decided that we needed a treat. I went through the cupboards and gathered all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. As soon as the first batch came out of the oven, Mandy arrived with Molly.
“Oh my gosh, Rory, it smells so good in here.” She smiled.
I smiled back and looked at Molly. “She’s beautiful, Mandy.”
“Thank you, Rory.”
“Come on
; let’s go out to the pool.”
Mandy climbed in with Molly and I followed behind. The sun was shining
, and it was overall, a perfect day.
“So Mr. Braxton is with his friend?” she asked.
“Yeah, he’s with douchebag Andrew. I can’t stand him and I wish Ian wouldn’t see him anymore.”
We had Molly in a baby float that Mandy brought over and I pulled her around the pool. She was laughing and splashing her little hands in the water. Mandy confided in me that she was seeing someone and that he was really good with Molly.
“What’s going on here?” Ian asked as he stood by the pool.
“Ian, you’re home already?” I asked.
“Hi, Mr. Braxton.”
He looked at Mandy and said hi. “I’ve been gone four hours, Rory,” he said with an attitude.
Now I was pissed. There was no reason for him to come home the way he did with an attitude.
Mandy and I climbed out of the pool and I took Molly from her float and held her on my hip. “Ian, meet Molly, Mandy’s daughter.” I smiled.
He stared at me with a not-so-pleased look. “I said, meet Molly,” I whispered through gritted teeth.
“Hey there,” he said as he looked at her.
“Let me take Molly inside and get her changed,” Mandy said as she took her.
I took the towel from the chair and began drying myself off
. It seemed that Ian thought it was a good idea to start with me.
“What the hell are you doing, Rory?”
“Having a lovely afternoon with my friend,” I replied.
“Mandy is the staff, not your friend.”
As I stared into his serious eyes, anger began to brew inside me. “So let me get this straight. Because she works for you, I can’t be friends with her? So now you’re choosing my friends?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart.”
“The only one being ridiculous here is you, Ian. I don’t care if she works for you or if she’s homeless. She’s my friend and we’re hanging out whether you like it not,” I snapped and stormed into the house.
Mandy changed Molly back into her clothes and, before they left, I gave them a hug goodbye. Ian walked over to the plate of chocolate chip cookies and
, as he grabbed one, I snatched it out of his hand and threw all the cookies in the garbage.
“What the fuck, Rory!”
“You don’t deserve one of my cookies. You’re rude and I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“How the hell am I rude?” he asked as he threw his hands up in the air.
“Mandy may be your employee, but she’s also a human being and she’s my friend, and if I want her to come over on her day off to hang out, then I’ll have her over. I don’t know if she really has many friends, considering she puts in long hours working for your ass and then going home and taking care of her daughter.”
He stood there and stared at me. “I’m going to take a shower and then I think I’ll go
to dinner with Andrew.”
“Go to dinner with Andrew, Ian. I don’t fucking care.”
He shook his head and walked upstairs. I wanted to tell him so bad what Andrew said to me on Thanksgiving, but somehow, I didn’t think he’d believe me. I sat down at the piano and began to play. After a short while, Ian walked into the living room.
“I’ll be home later,” he growled.
I didn’t even look up at him. I couldn’t bring myself to. He walked out of the room and out the front door. I slammed my hands down on the keys as hard as I could and tears began to fall from my eyes. As I lightly pressed the keys, one at a time, I thought about what Ian said about my father. I ran upstairs to change, grabbed my keys, and drove away.