Chapter 50

(Aaron)

After hearing the tail end of Rylan’s conversation with her mother, I held her while she cried. After she cried herself to sleep in my arms, I tucked her in, then went to find Rosalie. She looked paler than she has in the last few days.

I found her in her room with the new laptop that Rylan bought her so that she could do her nursing classes online. There were medical text books spread out on her bed, but I could tell by the distant look on her face that she was not into the study session she had planned.

“Are you alright?” I ask after knocking on the doorframe. I knew she wasn’t, but I asked anyway.

Her head jerks in my direction in surprise, then she shakes it. “Not in the slightest, but thank you for asking. How is Rylan?”

“She is sleeping at the moment. Is there anything that I can get you?”

Rosalie shakes her head, and I take that as my cure to leave her alone. I had only taken a few steps when she calls out to me, so I turn around to face her again. She looks sad and worried.

“What’s up?”

“Thank you for everything that you have done to help me and my sister. I can tell that you love her, and she deserves that.”

“There is no need to thank me, Rosalie. Rylan is my heart, and you are her family, which makes you my family, too. I protect what is mine.”

Her expression looks hopeful for a moment, but then the sadness is back. “I wish I would have found someone like you before I met Grant.”

“You will find that person one day. Besides, now you have all my protective friends to investigate any man you meet if you want us to.”

She shakes her head. “Can those investigators find the type of stuff that some people hide so well? Their darker sides that they hide from the world?”

“No one can hide their dark side forever. All we can do is trust our instincts and not ignore the red flags.” I move into the room and take a seat on the padded stool at the dressing table, then face her.

Her head tilts to the side as if she is thinking about those red flags. “Looking back now, I can see all of those glaringly obvious red flags that I ignored. Grant is a charmer and knows just what to say and when. I am not sure I will ever be able to trust another person enough to let my guard down again after the nightmare I just survived.”

My mother would know what to say here, so I take a moment to think.

“One day, when you least expect it, someone will come into your life, and you will. It may happen slowly where he earns your trust and wears down your walls, or it may happen suddenly, and you will know that you can trust that person with your life. Don’t give up.”

Rosalie gives me a weak smile, then nods her head, then she picks up the laptop and settles back against the headboard. I take that as my cue to leave, so I stand up and leave the room. Rylan is leaning against the wall outside the room.

There is a soft smile on her face as she looks at me. She nods her head towards the stairs leading down to the first floor, then holds her hand out for me. I take her hand, then let her lead me downstairs.

Quietly, she leads me to the living room, where she sits down on the sofa with her legs tucked under her. I sit down, then turn to face her. The sadness in her eyes from earlier is gone and in its place is something close to peaceful.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her after watching her for a few moments.

She takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “Resigned. My mother only kept me because she was hoping my father would leave his wife for her and then they would be a happy family. She never loved him either, but she loved the idea of him and all his wealth. I figured that out when I was a kid, maybe eight years old.”

What do you say to someone whose entire world has finally become crystal clear?

I lean back against the arm of the sofa and stretch my legs out on the cushions. After making space for her ass between my knees, I motion for her to come to me. She smiles and soon we a snuggled together with her back to my chest and my arms around her waist.

We sit like that in silence, just enjoying the feel of each other. There has been so much happening over the last few days, and we just haven’t really had the time to be like this. Quiet and alone with each other.

No drama or sadness to weigh us down.

For once, my mind is at rest and I think I like it.

Rylan is my peace.

Even if her world right now is anything but peaceful. I will be hers, just like she is mine. The safe harbor we can come to when everything else goes pear-shaped.

“I will move in with you,” Rylan says after a while.

“You will? I thought you didn’t hear me when I asked last night.”

“I did, but you wore me out and I just couldn’t stay awake anymore to acknowledge that I heard you. I will move in with you, but not right away.”

She twists around enough so that she can look up at me. There is a happy yet determined look on her face. I know what she is going to say before she says it, so I put my finger to her lips to shush her. 

“After everything is settled with Paulson and Donovan. Once your sister is back on her feet. I know you want to be here for her as much as you can. This place is the safest place for both of you right now. We can talk more about moving in together once this all dies down.”

“Thank you for understanding, Aaron.”

“I love you and we have plenty of time,” I tell her before leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

“Shit! I need to call Gail so I can tell her I won’t be at work tomorrow. I want to go with Rosalie for her appointment. Annie set it all up and will meet us there.”

“Go do that now. I am going to call my mom to see what they are doing for dinner. How would you feel about a big family dinner here or at their new place?”

“That actually sounds great. I think having it at their new place could also be like a housewarming party for them too. Yes, let’s do that tonight.” Rylan smiles at me.

“Ok, you go call Gail and I will call mom and then Quinn.”

Rylan gets up off my lap and rushes out of the room. I watch her run up the stairs to make that phone call, only once she is gone do I pull my phone from my pocket. My mother will be surprised to get my call so soon after dropping them off at their house.

When she answers, we chat for a bit about the house and all the things she likes and dislikes, which thankfully isn’t much. Once she winds down, I tell her what I have in mind for tonight. Her excitement is palpable, and I can practically feel it through the phone.

I tell her to send me a list of everything she will need, and I will have it all delivered to her in a few hours. Five minutes after I end the call, I get a string of text messages with her demands. I smile as I get up off the sofa, then head to my office to make a ton of calls and online orders. I send Rylan a quick text message before I open my laptop to tell her I am in my office so she can find me when she is done talking to Gail. Then I call Quinn to invite him, Annie, Grace, and Annie’s parents, to dinner tonight at my parents’ new place.

Then, I get to work so that I can make my mother’s first house warming party special for not just her, but for us all. We all could use some joy and family time. Tonight, it will be all about family.

Family that loves each other unconditionally and wholeheartedly.

Love that, sadly, Rylan and Rosalie never really got from their parents. I know nothing about Rosalie’s father, but since neither she nor Rylan have mentioned him, I can only assume he is not in the picture or he is worse than their mother.

Is that even possible?

Later that night, I am standing in my parents’ living room as my father tells Rylan about our first and almost last fishing trip. Rylan is sitting next to me on the sofa, tucked close to my side, as she stares at my dad with amusement on her face.

Annie is sitting on the sofa along the other side of the room with Grace, who is laughing at my childhood dramatics. Quinn is sitting next to Annie and stroking her lower back. He is a good man, and I am glad he is my best friend.

Rosalie is in the kitchen with my mother and Vivien. They are in there talking and swapping recipes. It is the happiest I have ever seen Rosalie since I met her. It makes me glad that tonight we all came together so smoothly and quietly.

“So, here we are making our way up the front walkway, Aaron’s bloody finger wrapped in a rag. Tori comes rushing out of the house with panic written all over her face. She rushed him straight into the house, up the stairs to the bathroom, then cleaned him up. Al while she yelled at me for getting her baby boy hurt and that there would be no more of that.”

“She was protective of him,” Annie says with a smile as she rubs her belly with one hand and Grace’s shoulder with the other.

“She still is,” I say quietly in Rylan’s ear.

“She still is,” Dad says loudly, but there is a smile on his face. “It wasn’t until he met Quinn that she finally let loose a little. Then I had two boys to take fishing after I convinced Tori that they needed it. Two boys to keep out of trouble, much good that did since they were pretty wild sometimes.”

I glance over at Quinn, and he laughs.

“We got into a lot of trouble that first summer.”

For the next few hours, Quinn and I share some of our more innocent childhood stories with Rylan and Grace. Annie knows most of them as well as almost all the not so innocent stories and she gives us both knowing smiles when we evade questions.

Dinner was an amazing feast. My mother and Vivien made a pecan crusted pork roast with a wide variety of side dished. Rosalie made an apple pie cheesecake for dessert. Everyone at the table was in awe of the food and praised the two women who cooked it all.

Annie’s father, Alexander, arrived ten minutes after we all sat down to eat. His last surgery ran into some complications, and he came as soon as he could. His patient will make a full recovery.

He took one bite of the pork roast and moaned his appreciation.

Everyone at the table watched in abject horror, well, almost everyone, as Vivien blushed beet red. My mother smiled, and she shared a look with my father that I never ever want to see again. Quinn practically choked on his wine.

“I think our parents are going to be christening this house tonight,” he whispers in my ear after he stops coughing.

I smack his shoulder. Knowing that my parents are going to be getting freaky later tonight is not something I ever thought I would talk about tonight. I don’t want to think about it ever.

Thankfully, the awkward moment fades fast, and the dinner table goes back to enjoying the meal and lively conversations.

“I will erase all those horrible thoughts from your head later when we get back to the penthouse,” Rylan whispers in my ear a few minutes later. “I can feel the childish embarrassment that is written all over you, Aaron.”

Her hand lands on my thigh and my dick twitches. I give her a knowing look and thankfully she moves her hand off my leg to pick up her wineglass. A small smirk on her lips and all I can think about is leading her upstairs to the bathroom to have a small prelude to later tonight.

Instead, I pick up my wineglass and tune back into the conversations around the table. My attention is caught on what Annie is saying about Max, which reminds me I need to check in with him again about the outreach center.

“How is Max doing? I haven’t talked to him since I got back from London,” I ask Annie.

“He has thrown himself into work and practically lives on the job site. I went by my old house where he is living, and the place looks like he is rarely there.”

“We are getting worried about him,” Vivien says softly. Alexander reaches for her free hand.

“Is Leita still contesting the divorce?” I ask.

“Yes, she claims they can get past this minor hiccup. She is referring to what she did to him as a hiccup in their marriage.” Annie scoffs and shakes her head in disbelief.

Sleeping with Max’s best friend is a hiccup in their marriage? What the hell is wrong with that woman? Not only did she fuck his best friend, but she also slept with her boss. To add more to that, the boss is the father of her baby and not her husband.

“We can step in. Make sure he leaves the job site at night and goes home.” I suggest.

“Honestly, work is the only thing keeping Max sane right now. He has Lorelai fighting for him in the divorce. Thank goodness for prenups and Dad’s insistence that Max had one.” Annie snorts but looks over at Quinn.

“I looked it over with Lorelai and it is ironclad. Leita won’t get a dime of his money except for the agreed-upon amount in the original document. Adultery is a deal breaker in so many prenups. Mine included at my insistence.”

Adultery is nasty and hurts everyone in the end.

Do your partner a favor and just get divorced before you sleep with someone else.

(Author's Note)

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