Chapter 37

(*Aaron*) 

Tonight is Charlie’s art show. My tux is ready. I am not. I wanted to tell Rylan the theory I have about Charlie being her long-lost older sister, but she has been short-tempered with me since Wednesday night.

I spent hours explaining to her that Charlie was just a friend, but it fell on deaf ears. The green-eyed monster has taken hold of my girlfriend, and I am not sure how to show her that there will never be anything between me and Charlie.

Nothing but friendship. Even if that friendship did start with the promise of sex after I won that game of poker. I admitted to myself long before Charlie showed up at my door that the only reason that I was drawn to her was because of the strong resemblance to the love of my life. 

My Rylan. 

When she left my house this morning, she told me that she would be getting ready at her house and that I was to pick her up at seven tonight. I am both relieved and nervous at the same time. I have a feeling that tonight is going to go sideways fast.

So, before I left for the office, I grabbed the file of pictures out of my safe and tucked them into my briefcase. Grady, my assistant, will be grabbing my tux from the dry cleaners later today so that I can get dressed at the office. Saves time.

Now all I have to do is get through the day of back-to-back meetings. Quinn called out today so that he could go to the doctor with Annora. Fridays are my office days, so I told him that I would handle the meetings. I called our CFO to have him sit in with me on two of them.

Once all my meetings were over and I had successfully negotiated a better deal for the silicone needed for our prosthetics company, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Normally I do stuff like this with Quinn beside me. He approved the numbers when I sent them to him, but otherwise, I was solo today.

It isn’t that I can’t do those things on my own. I have had to do a lot of this stuff in the past when Quinn was going through his darkest moments. I carried him and the company back then, and now he seems intent on doing the same thing for me now. He would have been here today to see it through, but I insisted that he stay with Annie today when he called to tell me about the doctor’s appointment. 

I want my best friend to be free to spend all the time he wants with his pregnant wife. This is a special time for them. Something they didn’t get to do together the first time with Grace. So, if I have to fill in when he can’t be here, I will do so gladly. 

Even though I am currently uncertain about my own relationship status. We are entering into some rocky territory with Charlie and Rylan’s insecurity about herself and me. I have tried to assure her in every way that I am hers and only hers. So far, she still seems unsure.

That is all my fault, and I am prepared to prove to her that she owns every part of me. Mind, body, and soul. I am hers, and no other woman will ever take her place. Rylan is the only woman for me and has been since the day I beat the shit out of Heath Truman. She will be the only woman for me until the day I die, and I need to show her that. 

I lift my head at the sound of a knock on my office door. I glance up to see Grady in the doorway with my tux in the dry cleaner’s plastic. He comes in after I give him a nod, and he walks straight to the bathroom door.

“The jewelry you ordered is also here,” he says as he stops at my desk after hanging my tuxedo on the hook in the bathroom. He places a black velvet box on the desk next to my cellphone, then he leaves, closing my office door behind him.

That is what I like about Grady; he is efficient and unobtrusive. Grady gets his tasks done and doesn’t ask questions unless necessary. He and his counterpart, Sherry, Quinn’s secretary, are the best additions to this office. I was relieved to no longer be constantly hounded by social climbing secretaries that only want to fuck the boss, or both bosses, in the hopes of landing one as a husband. 

That was never going to happen, no matter what they did.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and grab the velvet box. When I open it, diamonds and sapphires sparkle in the sunshine, coming in through the windows. There are three pieces inside the large box. A necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. 

The necklace is a pear-shaped sapphire surrounded by diamonds. Then the earrings match the necklace but are a little smaller. The sapphire and diamond tennis bracelet completes the set.

I bought the bracelet for her when we were in South Carolina. It was on a window display in a small boutique. I saw it and just couldn’t help myself. It screamed Rylan to me, so I bought it. I was going to give it to her at the hotel later that night, but that was also the night we had our first fight. 

Well, it was more like a jealous outburst on Rylan’s part than a fight.

I have a feeling that it won’t be the last time she reacts like that when other women flirt or try to get my attention. That means I have a lot of work to do in order to prove that I am committed to her.

How do I do that? How do I reassure her that I am only hers? I thought I had been doing that, but after she saw the painting that Charlie did, more doubt crept into Rylan’s mind. I know my past with countless women doesn’t help at all to ease her mind.

I need to talk to Annora or have her talk to Rylan. If Quinn brings her to the gallery tonight, I will have to pull her aside to have a chat. I am desperate to do whatever I have to do to put Rylan’s mind and heart at ease.

With a sigh, I close the velvet box and then set it back on the desk. I glance at my watch, then get up from my chair to go get changed. I am eager to see what dress Rylan picked for tonight. She had three different dresses shipped to her house and was telling me about how it was going to be tough choosing just the right outfit to wear for the first time meeting the other woman. 

That is how she offhandedly referred to Charlie. The other woman. I had to sit her down this morning before she left for work and explain to her for the fifth time that it is not like that at all between me and Charlie.

She climbed onto my lap, still wearing just the T-shirt she slept in, then started kissing me. I went with it because I wanted to do anything I could to make her happy. Even I know that sex is never the answer. 

I didn’t stop her when she reached into my lounge pants to grab my erection. I did not resist in any way when she pulled her panties to the side and sank down on my cock. When we were done and she was in the shower, I felt a little dirty at the way she laid claim to me.

Only a little.

I am hers in every way, and I will show everyone tonight that fact.

Please let tonight not blow up in my face like the proverbial ticking time bomb that it could turn into once Rylan gets a good look at Charlie.

(*Rylan*) 

I have been standing in front of the floor to ceiling mirror on my bedroom wall for the last twenty minutes. This is the third dress that I have tried on, and I am still not sure if it is the one. I managed to find some small flaws with each of them. 

This last one is almost too... girly.

It is a pale pink, which is a color that I normally don’t pick for myself. The skirt is perfect in its loose, flowy style. It is the rest of the dress that makes me cringe. Pink ruffles in the shape of little roses make up the waistline and neckline of the bodice. It is the flowers that make me want to scream. 

“That dress is adorable,” Rosalyn says from where she is sitting. She has been camped out in the overstuffed chair in the corner of my bedroom since I started this fashion show.

I glance at her with my best ‘you got to be kidding me’ face, which causes her to laugh.

“This is the worst of them all, Rosalyn.” I tell her when I look back at my reflection. 

“It is almost like you picked some of the ugliest dresses just so you would have an excuse to tell Aaron that you don’t want to go tonight.”

My head whips back around to look at my sister. What she said stuns me. Is that what I did? I mean, part of me wants to go just so I can meet Charlie. Yet that is the major reason that I don’t want to go. 

Charlie intimidates me. Her friendship with Aaron has turned me into a jealous harpy, and I hate it. I am hoping that by going tonight and meeting her face-to-face, I will be able to make that jealousy stop.

I am not normally an insecure, jealous woman. I have been aware of all the women in Aaron’s past for years. Yet this one woman, for some reason, seems different from the others.

That painting she did of him was sinfully sexy. 

It is hard to believe that there was no sexual relationship between them after seeing it. I listened to his story about winning a night with her in a poker game. I believed him at the time when he told me that all they did was talk.

Now I am not sure if I can believe that was all they did.

“I want to meet this woman, but I am afraid to meet her in public. If I do, I want to look amazing. This dress is not the right one at all.” 

Rosalyn makes a small sound behind me, then she gets up and rushes out of my room. A few minutes later, she comes back with a garment bag and a huge smile on her face. She hands me the bag, then moves to the chair to sit back down. 

“Try that on. I bought it a year ago for an event at the hospital that Grant works at. I ended up wearing something that... covered me more.” Her smile faded and was replaced by a sad, haunted look. 

My sister hides her pain too much. I understand why, and I am hoping eventually she will come out of her shell the more we get to know each other better. Well, as she starts to feel more confident and safer than she was, at least.

I look down at the garment bag, then smile at her before walking into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, I walk back out into my room and stop when I hear my sister gasp. I walk straight to the mirror to see what she gasped at.

My breath hitches as I look at my reflection. There she is. The confident me.

The dress has a halter top that is silver and studded with silver sequins. The skirt is dark blue and is that high-low fashion that I love. It is to my knees in the front but ankle length in the back and sides. The back and sides are made from a shimmery sheer fabric.

“Oh, Rosalyn! I love this dress.” 

“I thought you would. Now, let’s get your hair done. I think an updo look with some loose curls will be perfect.” She says as she leads me back into the bathroom. 

For the next thirty minutes, I let my baby sister do my makeup and hair. We laugh and make jokes like we have been this close for years. By the time she steps back, my ribs hurt from the laughter. 

“Come into the bedroom so you can see yourself.” She walks out with me right behind her.

As we stop in front of the mirror, the doorbell rings. My date is here, and I am almost ready to go. All I need is a necklace and a pair of earrings to complete the outfit.

“Will you go let Aaron in while I find some last-minute jewelry to wear?” 

Rosalyn nods the rushes out of the room. I turn to my tall mahogany jewelry chest that is next to my dresser. It is one of those standing, dresser-like jewelry boxes. Almost like a safe. 

I open one of the side doors where I store my necklaces. A frown forms on my face as I look over my options. Most of my jewelry is simple and understated. I do have a diamond pendant with small diamond earrings in teardrop form.

My father gave them to me on the day I graduated from medical school.

I had just finished fastening the second earring when I heard my bedroom door open. Turning to face the door, I see Aaron standing there with his mouth open and his eyes wide. He has one hand over his heart as he just stares at me. 

“Do I look bad or something?” 

“You are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. That dress suits you perfectly. However, that necklace is a little too... simple for that outfit.” 

I frown at him as I reach up to touch the little diamond. “My father gave it to me years ago.” 

“It is pretty, but I have something here that I think will work so much better with that dress.” 

I watch as he reaches into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket and pulls out a long velvet box. My heart does somersaults in my chest as he walks toward me—well, more like prowls like a predator, and I am the prey. 

There is heat in his eyes, and it takes all my willpower not to tear that jacket off him and let him have his way with me right now.

Focus Rylan!

Focus on something other than your vagina.

Who am I kidding? This man is sex walking, and he is all mine. All mine and Charlie can weep with envy for all I care.