It was something Ryan had been looking forward to. Something she was ready for.
But then it ended.
Because the doorbell didn't just ring.
No, it was followed by a fist pounding on the door.
And shouting.
Sway's arms tensed around her as her head fell to his chest in exasperation.
“I think,” she said at last, “that I really hate my family.”
***
Sway was mad. He didn't get mad often, it wasn't his go-to emotion.
But he had just had his tongue in the most exquisite mouth in the world, and his hands had been touching her remarkably soft skin, and her little sighs and affirmations of what he was doing had him in a place he hadn't been in a crazy long time. And he was about to be there with a woman he was so ridiculously in love with, it made his blood hum when she was nearby.
Then he lost her mouth and her surrender.
All because some jackhole was pounding on the front door.
And he had a feeling that whatever was going to happen next was going to throw a figurative ice bucket on his plans for the night.
So, yeah, he was pretty mad.
“Can we just call the cops?” he asked into her hair as he tried in vain to hold on as she wiggled to get off of him.
“Maybe,” she said, finally succeeding in her escape.
She straightened her clothes and he sighed in disappointment. She was so undeniably gorgeous. Especially when he was touching her. She'd light up, glow. Her entire body coming alive to him and him alone.
He would have taken his time, too. He wasn't going to rush things. Not with Ryan. Never with her. He wanted to watch her come undone.
And now...
He growled as he shoved to his feet and followed her back into the house. He might be pissed, but he wasn't going to make her handle these dickwads by herself.
“Don't just open the door,” he barked, when he rounded the corner and saw her grabbing the door handle. She threw him a frown over her shoulder.
“I know you're in there, you little brat! Open the door!”
Ryan rolled her eyes. “It's my uncle's wife. She gets pretty riled up when she's been drinking.”
Sway shook his head, finally reaching her and putting his hand on top of hers over the door handle. He held her eyes as he said, “You don't do anything alone anymore.”
Then he stepped in front of her and opened the door to a middle-aged box blonde, who had spent too much time in the sun smoking cigarettes. She didn't even notice Sway. She charged right into the house, her mouth still yapping. Or at least she tried to.
Sway put a hand on the center of her chest and firmly pushed her back out onto the front step. She sputtered and staggered, looking down at his hand and then at his face in confusion.
“How dare you assault a woman!” she mawed, her voice rough with alcohol and age. She moved to shove him and he stepped to the side, letting her momentum carry her ass over tea kettle into the landscaping.
“Brenda, what are you doing here?” Ryan asked, joining them outside.
Brenda rolled around in the yard for a minute before finding up again. She got to her feet eventually and spit in Ryan's direction. “How dare you harass a dying old woman! Did you think we wouldn't find out?” She began to stomp in Ryan's direction again and Sway stepped in front of her. “Haven't you caused enough problems?”
“Brenda, I offered to pay all of Amanda's medical expenses and her end of life care. How is this a bad thing?” Ryan countered with irritation.
“Like hell you did! She told us what you said! That she wouldn't see a drop of her money and that you hope she died alone!”
“Of course that's what she said,” Ryan responded dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. “And you're here...? To kick my ass, is that it?”
“I'm here to remind you that you owe us. All of us,” Brenda spat.
“What do I owe you exactly?” Ryan asked. “A night in the detox unit? Because that's what it smells like.”
Brenda sneered. “I can't wait to see your face when he gets here.”
“Who? Vic? I've got news for you, B, he's never scared me.”
“Well he's really mad this time.”
Sway had finally had enough. This woman was clearly just there to cause drama, and not the fun kind. “I think you're done now. How about leaving and I won't call the cops.”
Brenda narrowed her bloodshot eyes at him but didn't respond because headlights pulled into the driveway. Sway watched Brenda's “better” half unfold from his very old Lincoln and come sauntering up the driveway. Dark hair, dark clothes, dark eyes. There was something empty about him. He was a human shell, housing a bug.
He took a long drag from the cigarette in his lips and then flicked the butt into the grass. “Cryn' Ryan,” he said, his eyes roving over his niece in a way that had Sway balling his hands into fists. “You're lookin' good. All that money must be treatin' you well.”
“Yep, couldn't be happier,” Ryan replied. “What do you want?”
Vic checked the time on his cell phone, rubbed his chin, his eyes flicking between Sway and Ryan and Brenda. Sway realized that Vic might be scum, but he was shrewd scum.
“We want what we've always wanted. Our piece.”
Ryan shook her head. “It wasn't mine to give. Grandad explained this to all of you. There are legal stipulations that must be followed. I'll pay for Amanda's expenses out of my own pocket, but I can't do anything about the trust—”
“Bullshit! You're a lying whore!” Brenda screeched and lunged.
Sway saw it coming and he stopped her before she reached Ryan. But it came with a cost. Brenda might have been drunk and stupid, but she was scrappy. She dug her nails into Sway's arm and kneed him in the balls.
“Sway!” Ryan yelled somewhere amidst his fog of pain.
He started to go down, positive that he was going to pass out before he hit the ground. Ryan pulled Brenda off of him by grabbing her ear and twisting her arm behind her back.
“Motherfu—” she was muttering under her breath. “Some things never change.” Ryan tossed Brenda in the direction of Vic. “Take your trash home, Vic! Enough is enough!” Then she was back by Sway, helping him to stand again. “All communication is through our lawyers from now on.”
Vic didn't say anything. He gathered Brenda, got in the Lincoln, and left.
Ryan locked the door behind them once they were back inside. “I really hate those people. How you doing, sweetie? You okay?”
Sway groaned as he hobbled towards the kitchen. “I feel like less than a man, and I also need some ice.”
Ryan rushed around making an icepack. He sank into the non-wicker couch, shoved a hand down his pants, checking to see if everything was still there, and closed his eyes. “It's not like she kind of got my balls. She really nailed 'em. I'm surprised something didn't rupture.”
Ryan sat down beside him and gently rested the icepack on his crotch. “I'm so sorry. I should have warned you. She has a history of doing that.”
Sway turned wide eyes her direction. “What kind of person even has a reputation like that? That's just... evil.”
“Yeah,” Ryan agreed. She rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled apologetically. “I think you're very brave.”
“Don't try to sweet talk me, darlin'. Sexy time is over for tonight.” He arranged the ice and tried to get comfortable.
“Man, I hate those people.”
***
“Why did we leave?” Brenda was pouting. Loudly. “You didn't even defend me.”
“Shut up,” Vic mumbled, lighting another cigarette. “I gotta think.”
At first he had been pissed that Brenda had gotten ripped and gone over there without him. He'd wanted to handle this with a little more style. But she may have ended up giving them a very different line of credit.
He looked familiar but it wasn't until Ryan called him Sway that Vic started to connect the dots. Good thing he had
taken a picture of the rock star hitting his wife.
Now all he needed was to call the right person.
Chapter 33
Bend And Not Break
“So do you think the relatives will be paying another visit today?”
“Hm?” Ryan asked, shaking her head and leaning forward onto the table slightly.
A lopsided grin spread across Sway's face and he spooned more cereal into his mouth. She had been staring right at him.
“You were daydreaming about me again, weren't you?” he asked.
“What? I don't do that,” she scoffed, bringing her coffee cup up to her mouth.
He stood up, taking his bowl with him. “It's okay, I do it too.”
“You daydream about yourself?” she teased, leaning back in the kitchen chair and crossing one leg over the other.
Sway put his bowl in the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. He let his eyes wander slowly up her body to her eyes, his thoughts made clear by the expression on his face. “You're there too.”
She tried to fight the smile, but she lost on the blush that crept up her neck. One thing he really liked about making Ryan blush was the hot pink strawberry shaped splotch she got on her neck under her left ear. She probably had no idea it was there. He loved making it light up.
He wanted to make all of her light up.
But with the threat of Isabella stopping by unannounced and her family causing issues, he wasn't going to try for that right now. Probably not until they got back home.
Whenever that was.
“So,” he said, changing the subject. “What's the next step?”
They were interrupted by his phone ringing. He slid it out of his pants pocket and frowned at the call screen.
“Who is it?” Ryan asked.
“Lindy, our publicist.” He slid his thumb over the screen and put it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Please tell me you're in Connecticut.”
Sway's eyes cut to Ryan. “No, I'm in Florida.”
“Shit.”
“What's up, Lindy?”
“Can you tell me why US Weekly is calling to ask for a statement in regards to you hitting a woman in a suburb of Tampa?” Lindy sounded pissed. He was always kind of snippy with Sway, but this was intensified.
Sway rubbed the side of his face, not quite sure if he was believing what he was hearing. “I didn't hit anybody. Lind, you gotta believe me. The woman was drunk and she tried to go after Ryan. All I did was get in her way. Took a shot to the junk for it, too.”
“Do you have any witnesses?”
“Just Ryan and that chick's dick of a husband.”
Lindy sighed. “So, Ryan, the woman they're suing for expenses incurred due to mental and emotional duress she caused?”
Sway must've conveyed something in his face, because Ryan sat up straighter.
“They came over last night, uninvited. Caused some trouble and left.” Sway should have known something like this was possible. Ryan hadn't made it a secret that they were greedy assholes. “What do they want?”
Lindy chuckled into the phone. “They held a photo out for money. The magazine is fact-checking to see if it's actually you in the picture. They're going to want to know about Ryan—who she is to you and what she does for a living.”
Sway knew Ryan wasn't going to like that. Most of her life was based on anonymity. Not even her relatives knew what she did for a living. Having it all come out in a gossip column would be awful. It would shatter all that she had built for herself over the past several years. Her quiet life, her ability to be who she was, write what she wanted, and enjoy her life.
Flashes of reporters banging on her door entered his mind. They'd want statements, interviews. She didn't even have people. She had an editor and a writers' group. She had no one.
Except him.
“Lindy, we have to talk. How long until you have to make a statement?”
Lindy sucked in a breath. “I was hoping to make one when I got off the phone with you. I can push it another hour.”
“Thanks. I'll call you back soon.”
Sway hung up and set the phone down on the counter. Ryan's wide eyes were letting him know she had already put together most of what was happening.
“I hate my family,” she said again. “They take everything from me.”
Sway's gut tightened at her words. “They're not going to take anything from you anymore.”
Ryan shot to her feet, slamming her cup down on the table. “Yes, they are!” she shouted. “They're horrible people! They will take and take and take until there's just nothing left, and then they'll lay about bitching about how I bled out too soon and how selfish of me to not stay a live just a little bit longer!”
Sway's lips twitched. He had a feeling that smiling at this point would only provoke her, but she was super cute right now.
Her eyes narrowed at him and her fists went to her hips. “Do not laugh at me, Ryan Sway Schaeffer!”
His eyebrows went up and he sucked his lips into his mouth. “You just called me by my full name.”
“No I didn't, because I don't know your middle name, so I had to improvise!” she yelled.
“It's Ethan.”
This was one of those moments when Sway was excited about their future. Because he could push her buttons without even trying. Getting a rise out of her was glorious.
Ryan's jaw clenched and her mouth got small and Sway burst out laughing.
“C'mere,” he said, waving her over with open arms. “Oh please, come here and let me hold you.”
Ryan huffed a sigh and then stomped over to him. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her head to his chest and holding her until he stopped laughing.
“I'm scared, Sway,” she said seriously.
“I know. But you don't have to be. I think Lindy can handle this if I tell him what he can and cannot say. He doesn't have to say that you're an author. We can use your legal name and say that you and I met through friends.”
“There's an issue with that, too.”
Sway let her pull away and her face was defeated.
“I have my dad's last name. He's not going to be happy to have it in the papers suddenly.”
Sway frowned. “Why should he care?”
She rolled her eyes like she thought it was stupid, but the glossiness that appeared there gave away her true feelings on the matter. “He's very concerned about his reputation.”
That's when Sway put it all together.
“He left your mom because of her family.” It wasn't a question. The tear that escaped the corner of her eye confirmed it.
“He's a really successful businessman. They would never leave him alone about it. Always wanting money and to use his connections.” She took a shaky breath. “Sway,” she whispered. “Think about this, please. Being with me is going to be a nightmare. Maybe you should get out before it's too late.”
Sway couldn't fathom a future without her. He really could not wrap his head around that idea. Or the idea that a man would leave his wife and child simply because some assholes made life hard. That wasn't okay.
“I'm not that guy,” he said.
“I know, I just—”
“No, Ryan,” Sway said firmly, moving his hands to her shoulders and looking her in the eye. “It's not even an option. You're it for me. Those jackholes can try as hard as they want to wreck this, but it's just not going to happen.”
“You don't know that. They never stop. They never go away. I keep trying to make them and they just find new ways to... take.”
The heartache on her face was crushing him. He couldn't handle it. She was too good and too much his to let these dumbasses mess with her life anymore.
“You know what I do know? I know that you and I are amazing together. I know that what we have is important. And they're just not. They're laughable. They don't matter.”
“But they do!”
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “They don't. And you know it, to
o. You're just scared because they've brought me into their mess. I know that feeling. I have that fear everyday with you. I don't want anything bad in my life to ever touch you. But that's just not reality.” He took a breath as it all clicked for him. “Life is gonna be shitty, Ryan. It just is. So, wouldn't it be smart to stick together?”
Her eyes lost focus as she thought about his words. They came back to him. “Yeah.”
“Yeah,” he repeated. “Me and you.”
“Even when it's shitty.”
He cracked a smile. “Especially when it's shitty.”
“My writing career is over.”
“It's going to evolve,” he corrected. “I can't promise there won't be some bumps. But I can promise you're not in this alone.”
Ryan hugged him. Tight. He held her until she seemed to be okay again. Then he called Lindy and explained everything.
***
Ryan heard Sway's words. She understood where he was coming from, she really did. But he hadn't had to break free of these people before. He didn't understand that they really wouldn't stop.
Lindy released a nice statement and Ryan braced. She hadn't had to brace in a very long time, but she remembered how.
Getting ready, she packed what few things she'd brought and went through the house to make sure nothing of value was still there. Because she wasn't coming back this time.
It wouldn't take too long for all of everything to crash onto her front door. And maybe, just maybe, she could be gone before it happened. And maybe she'd save Sway from it too.
Life never goes the way you plan. She'd been all too aware of that for many years now. But for the first time, in a long time, she had something she didn't want to lose. Something worth fighting for.
Even if Sway didn't understand, he would eventually. He'd see that this was the way it had to go.
“What are you doing?”
She sucked in a surprised gasp and whirled around to find Sway sitting on the bed, calmly watching her braid her hair in the mirror.
“My hair,” she said, untangling the strands and starting over.
“No, what are you plotting in your head?”
She avoided looking at him and instead focused on her hair. “What makes you think I'm plotting?”
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