Chapter 29

(Rylan) 

The rest of my day went by quite smoothly after that amazing encounter with Aaron in my office. I know that I used sex as a distraction from the heavy conversation we were having, but I just wanted to stop talking about all that painful shit. Tonight, once I am at his place, we can have a more in-depth conversation. 

Although I am very curious about what he wants to talk to me about.

I spent the rest of my day thinking about it as I worked with my last two patients. By the time I locked my office door and headed to my car, my mind was all over the place. Is what he has to say bad or good? Will I like what he has to tell me? 

I am so distracted with the thoughts of Aaron that I don’t see the person leaning against the hood of my car until I am right up on them. My father’s voice pulls me out of my head and startles me so badly that I drop my car keys and my bag. 

“Rylan,” my father calls my name in a firm yet gentle tone. 

His voice still has a heavy accent, even though he has lived in the USA for most of my life. His wife is from Spain, and so are my paternal grandparents. They still live there, and I have spent time with them at their villa there as a child and a few times as a teenager.

Seeing him leaning casually against the hood of my car seems very surreal to me. He is very out of his element, just standing here in the parking lot waiting for me. How long has he been out here? Why didn’t he come inside to speak to me? 

“Dad. Why are you here?” 

“It seems that you and I need to have a talk. You have been keeping things from me, Rylan. Things I had to pull out of your brother with great reluctance on his part.” 

Damnit Andrew.

“I... I just...” 

“Let’s not have this conversation in a parking lot. I am staying at a hotel a few blocks from here. You will meet me there in twenty minutes.” 

He stands up straight and moves to walk away without even waiting for me to agree. Typical Julio Perez. He is used to people doing exactly what he says and not standing up to him. Well, at least most people in his life.

My brother and sister included.

Not me. No, I challenge him at every chance I get. Which has made for a very tense relationship. 

He says I am just like my grandmother, his mother. When he says that to me, he usually has a scowl on his face. Yet, there have been a few occasions where he has actually smiled at me when he said it.

When I don’t respond to his demand, because that is what it is, he glances over his shoulder and gives me a questioning look.

“What seems to be the problem, hija?” 

I bend over and scoop up my keys and bag. After singing my bag over my shoulder, I straighten my spine and prepare for a fight. My father narrows his eyes at me and turns around to face me again. 

“Does it ever occur to you to ask instead of demand? Oh, or maybe ask if I have plans?” 

Anger flashes through his eyes at my defiance. “This is a conversation that is long overdue if what Andrew told me is true. You will meet me at my hotel so we can have that talk.” 

“No, I won’t. Not tonight at least.” 

“You have somewhere more important to be?” 

Oh, most certainly. Anywhere other than his hotel and having a conversation that I want no part of. I knew this would happen the second he found out about Jake and Heath. 

Thanks Andrew. 

“As a matter of fact, I do. I have a date with my boyfriend.” 

“Cancel it. You can meet him another night. I leave in the morning.” 

“I know this is news to you, Father, but my life hasn’t revolved around you since I was a child, and I still craved your attention. I have plans tonight, so if you want to have that chat, then I suggest you make the time for me tomorrow.” 

He takes a deep breath, then nods his head. Something that shocks the shit out of me.

“I will call you in the morning. You will make time for this, as there is more that we need to talk about than what has happened to you in the last few months.” 

With that said, he spins around and walks away. I let him, because if I say anything more, it will look like I am caving to his demands. I haven’t done that in years, and I don’t intend to start now. 

I take a deep breath to calm down, then I walk the rest of the way to my car. Once inside, I toss my bag into the back and start the engine. Before I pull out of the parking spot, I fish my phone out of my pocket and text Aaron to let him know that I am on my way to his place and that wine would be appreciated. I called Rosalie after my last patient left to let her know my plans for the night.

She told me to have fun and not worry about coming home if things get spicy tonight.

Hearing her laugh was nice after all she has been through lately.

By the time I pull up to the gates at Aaron’s, I am ready to relax and have a big glass of wine. The entire drive here, my mind was racing with why my father was in California. He said there was something to discuss other than my issues. My father rarely visits me; I am always required to go to him.

That never ends well since I have to be in the same house as my stepmonster.  

Maybe they are getting divorced? That would make my day, but if they are, why now? Why, after all these years and his many affairs? Divorce doesn’t seem likely now.

Is he sick?

My mood plummets at the thought of my father being sick. Was he sick enough that he would fly across the country just to tell me instead of calling? Oh holy shit. Is that how he convinced Andrew to spill all my drama? 

The gate opening pulls me from my thoughts, so I drive through and then park beside Aaron’s car. The front door of the house opens as I get out of my car. Aaron walks to me with a glass of wine in hand. 

Bless this man. 

“Oh, you are amazing. After the conversation I had after work, I will need at least two more of these.” 

“Kiss me first, and you can have the entire bottle.” He holds the glass of wine just out of my reach. 

I walk to him with a smile on my face, then wrap my arms around his neck. I try to keep the kiss light so that we can go inside, but Aaron has other ideas. He molds his body to mine, and soon the kiss grows heated, and I can quickly feel just how excited he is. 

When he breaks the kiss, we are both breathless. 

“Let’s take this inside.” Aaron laughs as he steps back and hands me the glass of wine.

We head into the house after I grab my bag out of the back seat of my car. He leads me to the dining room, where he has a very romantic dinner scene set for us. Candles are set up in the middle of the table, and there are two plate settings. A vase of lilies sits on a side table, and there is soft jazz music coming from hidden speakers.

“Aww, Aaron. This is so sweet.” 

“I thought it was time for us to have a date night. I was going to take you somewhere, but then I decided that I wanted more privacy. We can go to a fancy restaurant another night. For tonight, I want you all to myself while we talk.” 

“Talk? Is there something important that you want to discuss? Is it bad?” 

He laughs as he guides me to my seat, then pulls the chair out for me. I sit down but look up at him with a concerned look. 

“Relax, babe. It is nothing bad. Let’s eat, and then we can talk. I am going to go get our dinner, and I will be right back.” 

What is it that he wants to talk about? I hope it isn’t about what we discussed in my office this afternoon. I want to put that shit behind me until I have to see both of those douchebags in court. That is, if Paulson is ever caught.

If I never see that man again, I will be just fine with that. 

“What caused your mood to plummet since I saw you last, Rylan?” Aaron asks, as he comes back into the dining room. 

He has a large serving platter in one hand and a large salad bowl in the other. I can smell the steaks as he places the food on the table. On the platter, there are two steaks, two baked potatoes, and a dish with grilled asparagus.

“Now, this is something that I could get used to. A man who can cook is a keeper.” 

“The steak was easy to grill, but it was the asparagus that was a struggle.” 

“Did you have to call your mom?” 

His laugh is rich as he throws his head back and laughs. “Yes, she was most helpful. She says, hello.” 

I like Victoria Carter. She is kind and gentle. Everything I have wanted from my mother but never got. Something that I will never get from the bitch that birthed me.

“Your mother is amazing.” 

“She is, but I am nervous about her living so close again after all these years.” His face crinkles with frustration. 

“Why? I thought it was a good idea for you to put them so close. That way, they can be near if you need them during this time.” 

“It is a good idea, and I know I will need them as I continue with Dr. West. However, my mother was very strict when I was growing up. Schedules were very important to her, and she always had to be in control.” 

I can see that with the way she helped organize Quinn and Annora’s wedding. 

“Are you worried that she will try to take charge of your therapy?” 

Anger crosses his face briefly as he looks up at me after grabbing a steak off the platter. That is an emotion that I can’t seem to associate with his mother. It also makes me wonder how much of what he told me about his childhood is 100 percent truth.

“When things don’t go my mother’s way, she tends to get dramatic and emotional. She also tends to smother me. Being her only child used to be a good excuse when I was little, but that excuse got annoying as I got older. I didn’t have a carefree childhood until I met Quinn.” 

“What happened then?” I asked him after I fixed my plate and cut into my steak.

“Quinn filled that void in my mother’s heart and completed her need for more children. Surprisingly, she loosened the reigns for me when she saw how we were together. Then, when she learned who his parents were and what happened to his mother, she accepted him as her son.” 

“He has been your brother since then.” 

“I think he has been my brother since the day we met. We just clicked immediately.” 

We lapse into silence as we eat. When we are finished, we clean up together, and then he leads me out to the lounge by the pool. There is a large object propped up against the wall, covered by a dark sheet. It looks like a picture frame or perhaps a painting.

“What is that?” I ask Aaron as I point to it. 

“This was a gift from someone that I met on my trip to London.” 

“Oh, why is it covered?” 

He sits down on a lounge chair and pats the space beside him. I frown at him, but I sit next to him at an angle so that I can see his face clearly. I have a horrible feeling in my gut that I am not going to like what is under that sheet. 

“I need to tell you about my time in London.” 

After glancing at the sheet-covered painting, if that is what it is, I look back at Aaron and nod my head. For the next thirty minutes, he tells me about the other woman, Charlie. A woman he wanted to fuck because she looked like me. A woman he didn’t fuck at all because he played the hero and gave her safety. 

Part of me wants to hate this woman because of how they met in the first place. Yet, I am surprised at his confession that he never slept with her. One thing I need to know now is why he needed to tell me any of this at all. 

We were not together then, and I was with another man too. 

Would I really have the right to be angry with him for sleeping with her? 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“I want there to be no secrets between us. Trust and honesty go hand in hand, and if we are going to make this work between us, I want us to have full transparency.” 

“I agree, but why are you telling me now?” 

“Charlie is here in California, and she wants to meet you. That painting is something she talked me into doing one night. It is very suggestive. That is why I wanted to make it clear that nothing happened between us.” 

I stand up from the lounger and walk to the covered painting. After taking a deep breath, I rip the sheet off of it and stare at the painting before me. Anger flares through me at the intimate nature of what I am seeing. 

How can he tell me that they didn’t fuck after? The lust in his eyes and the way the sheet is over his body suggest a deeper intimacy than what he is telling me. I turn around to look at him, and he must see the anger on my face because he stands up to walk to me. 

“So, let me get this straight. You sat and posed for this for hours, I presume, and nothing happened between you two? That painting says otherwise. Tell me the truth, Aaron. Did you fuck her? I don’t believe that for her to paint such a scene, that you two didn’t have sex.” 

“I was thinking about you and only you."