Nervously, Grace looked at her. “I know you would, but it’s important that I do this myself. I want to be able to stand on my own two feet and not depend on anyone to take care of me or my girls. I’ve never done that before. I think that’s an important lesson to teach the girls.”
Rylee’s bottom lip started to tremble, but she smiled instead of letting any happy tears fall. “I’m so proud of you, Grace.”
Grace smiled. “I lost myself for a lot of years, but now, I’m liking the woman I’m becoming. For a while there, I was afraid I was turning into Mom. That’s maybe why I stuck it out as long as I did. I never should have stayed with Neil. Heck, I never should have married the creep.”
“You got three incredible girls from your time with him, so just focus on that. Have you heard anything about the trial?”
“He pled guilty to intent to sell and got his sentence reduced to fifteen years along with a fine of one hundred thousand dollars. There goes the house and the cars. But he’s not contesting the divorce, and he’s giving me full custody of the girls.”
Rylee was glad that was in her past, and Grace would be able to start over. “Then it’s time to get on with your life, Gracey. And I think going to college will be good for you and for the girls.”
With a smile so large it brightened her face Grace replied, “I think so too. Rylee…thank you for always being there for me, even when I screwed up. I never stopped to consider all you gave up for me. You’ll never know how sorry I am for not appreciating all you did to keep us safe and fed. I don’t know how you kept up with school and worked eight hours at the packing plant. I should have made your life easier, not more difficult. So I’m saying thank you now. I know it’s late, but it’s heartfelt.”
Rylee leaned over and enfolded her sister in her arms, something they used to do often as children, but not so much lately. “That’s what sisters are for, Gracey. Mom leaving was harder on you, I think. I was old enough to know she’d never change, but you still had hope that she’d stay and love us more than she did chasing after her next conquest.”
“I’ve always wondered what happened in her life to make her like she is.”
“I don’t know, Gracey. We’ll probably never know. At least she held it together while we were children. I’d like to think she didn’t go until she knew I was capable of taking care of you.” Rylee gave her sister another hug. “Okay, it’s late. We need to be in bed.”
Leaning back, Grace crossed her arms. “Just hang on a minute. So, tell me how things are going with Nate?”
Rylee propped back and settled in. It felt good to chat like they used to do. When had that stopped? “Good. Very good.” A blush crept up her cheeks.
Grace chuckled as her gaze ran over the telling sign. “Now I have to know. Come on, spill. What’s going on between you and the delicious Nate Kensington?”
Rylee started to brush her question off, but she wanted to share with her sister. Grace might have more insight into how she was feeling. “Oh, Gracey, I don’t know. Nate is…”
Since Rylee was having problems with words, Grace stepped in. “Sexy, hot, muscles for miles, and an incredible lover? Please tell me he does it for you in the bedroom.”
The smile on her face turned sappy. “Yeah, the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen counter, against the front door, even his office.” She ended with a satisfied sigh. “And Grace, it’s incredible. Mind-blowing, knock-your-socks-off incredible.”
The awe on her sister’s face made Rylee chuckle. Grace yawned and shared, “You know, sex with Neil was never hot. It was obligatory. The best thing I got out of losing my virginity was Amy. And even with a tracking device, he still wouldn’t find my happy spot. I want to be swept off my feet by that magical, euphoric type of sex.”
“You certainly deserve that, Grace.” Nate had no problems finding his way around her body. He’d even discovered some very erogenous zones she’d known nothing about. And his attention to detail was stellar. Just thinking about it made her wish he wasn’t out of town.
Grace fixed her gaze on Rylee, “What about you, Ry? You deserve it too, so why are you fighting it when it’s right in front of you?”
Rylee’s eyes widened. “How did you…”
With a scoff, Grace replied, “Oh, please. I know the look. You’re fighting your feelings with everything you’ve got. Go ahead and live in Deny-ville but you’re going to have to admit it sometime. And that’s a good thing, Ry. Hey, did you say he was out of town?”
Rylee nodded. “Yeah. It was a last-minute thing.” Just saying those words stirred up a whole lot of ugly memories. But then the tightness in her chest eased, because it was Nate she was talking about.
Her sister was quiet for a moment, “I could have sworn I saw him tonight as I was walking to the bus stop.”
They did say everyone had a doppelganger. Two Nates would mean someone else was a lucky woman. “Really? Where?”
“At Delmonico’s. You know, that fancy restaurant downtown.”
Rylee grinned, Nate would never go to Delmonico’s. Their coat and tie police would never work for him. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if Nate owned a suit. “Yeah, I know it. But it wasn’t him. He said he wouldn’t be back till Monday.”
“Well, this guy looked just like him. I mean even down to those sexy blue eyes. And I’ve never seen that shade of blue before.”
This guy really must be Nate’s twin. “Me either, but it wasn’t Nate. He’s out of town.”
Later as Rylee laid in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep as doubts seeped through her mind. Nate said he was going out of town. They’d been together only a few months. And what type of business? She rolled over on her side and tucked her pillow under her cheek. She was being ridiculous. Nate said he was out of town on business. Rylee had no reason to distrust him.
Saturday morning, Rylee woke feeling just as tired as she did when she went to bed. When had sleeping with Nate become necessary? She rolled over and grabbed her phone from the bedside table and found she had a text from Nate. Good Morning, I miss you.
With a smile she quickly typed. I miss you too. Who’s going to make me breakfast?
And that’s all you’re missing?
No. That’s not all. Any chance you’re coming home earlier? Hey, where are you anyway? Rylee tacked that question on at the last minute.
A frowny face appeared along with, Sorry, I have to run. See you Monday. Plan on spending the night.
Will do. Rylee replied and sighed. Monday was so far away.
Rylee decided to let Dotty take the girls to the park, and she was going to give her apartment a good cleaning. Something she was about two months behind on doing. By the afternoon, she still hadn’t heard from Nate and she considered texting him. But she didn’t want to come across as clingy or distrustful.
When the apartment was put back to rights, she decided to splurge and surprise Grace and the girls with takeout from Vito’s, their favorite Italian place, for dinner.
Grace got home a little after seven, and Rylee called in the order and ran to pick it up. Of course, on a Saturday night, Vito’s was especially busy, so she took a seat in the waiting area until her order was ready. And that was when she saw him.
Rylee turned to get a better look. Her stomach dropped. Nate was sitting in one of the back booths in an expensive-looking suit. And he was cozying up to a very attractive woman, who was plastered against his side. The look of adoration in his eyes as he looked at the woman tore a gaping hole in her heart. The woman touched his face and leaned in and they kissed. Deeply. Rylee knew what that felt like.
Grace was right—he’d never left town. Her hand pressed against her churning stomach as it threatened to erupt. She hurried toward the door, wanting to escape, but she stopped. No. She wasn’t going to run away. She turned around and marched toward their table. A passing waiter with a tray filled with bowls of pasta caught her attention. Without hesitation, she grabbed the biggest bowl.
Nate didn’t even lo
ok guilty when he saw her approach or acknowledge her. “This is your business? You bastard,” she shouted, upending the bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce over his head. The woman beside him screamed and dove for the far side of the booth to get away from the splatters. Noodles and red sauce cascaded over Nate’s hair, dripping down his face and onto his expensive suit.
“Rylee. What are you doing?” Nate said from behind her...wait.
Rylee whipped her head around and blinked. She blinked again. How could Nate be standing beside her? She turned back to the table and pointed to the other Nate. Her mouth opened to ask…what? Was this a nightmare? How could she be seeing two Nates and be sane?
She shook her head to clear it and looked at the two Nates again. The Nate standing beside her said, “Rylee, I’d like for you to meet my brother, Milo.”
She looked up into his eyes and tipped her head. “Brother…”
Nate chuckled. “Yes, my twin brother.”
The woman’s laughter shifted her gaze. “And that’s Milo’s fiancée, Kiersten.”
The woman she’d seen was his brother’s… “Fiancée?” Camera flashes startled her, and she flinched from the bright lights. Looking around the restaurant, she started to panic when everyone was staring at them, most with their cellphones out, recording the entire incident. She had to get out of there.
Brushing Nate’s hand away, she ran for the door and kept running. She heard someone behind her and ducked into a shop and came to a halt just inside the Tasty Tarts and Sweet Brews shop.
“Rylee, what’s wrong?” Joyelle asked from behind the counter.
With her chest heaving, she could only get out, “Back door.”
Joyelle pointed behind her. “Is there anything I can do?”
Rylee looked out the window but didn’t see anyone coming after her. That hurt more than she wanted to admit. “Yeah, don’t let them follow me.”
Joyelle gave her a thumbs up. “You got it, but do I need to call the police? Ace is next door. I can get him over here to protect you.”
She needed to get a move on; just because she didn’t see anyone didn’t mean they weren’t following. Anyone looking in the bakery’s window would see her. “No, I just need to disappear for a while.”
Joyelle nodded and said, “Then go. I’ve got your back.”
Rylee flew through the back and out the door and didn’t stop running until a stitch in her side made it too painful to continue. Her phone rang, but she ignored it. Then she hopped on a passing bus without caring where it went. She sank into one of the seats and rested her head on the window. Her mind was spinning, but kept coming back to the same place. Nate had lied to her.
Her phone started ringing again, and this time she turned it off without even looking to see who was calling. Looking back over her time with Nate, he’d never really told her much about himself. At least nothing specific. Everything had been generalization. He was from somewhere in Europe. When she’d asked more, he’d said near the coast. She knew he had brothers and sisters, but she didn’t even know their names or ages or that he had an identical twin. Wasn’t that information he should have shared with her?
Whenever she asked or tried to pin him down with an answer, he’d been vague, changed the subject back to her, or kissed her, which would lead to more kisses, which led her to completely forgetting her question.
Why hadn’t she noticed? Was she too trusting or too dense to see the lies?
But why wouldn’t Nate want to tell her about his family? There was only one answer that she could come up with. Nate and his brother were both wearing suits, and his brother’s fiancée had been wearing a dress that had to be designer. She didn’t even know Nate owned a suit. But he’d certainly looked comfortable in it, like he was used to dressing that way.
She had nothing in her entire closet that would even begin to compare. She didn’t want to admit it, but it was clearly obvious. She didn’t belong with Nate or his family, and he knew it. He’d lied about being out of town to keep them apart, which only meant he’d never had any intention of having any more with her than just a few months of sex.
That’s all they had ever been.
She’d rode on the bus for thirty minutes before she got off and wandered into a coffee shop, where she sat at a table with a cup of steaming black coffee warming her cold hands. Pulling her phone out, she knew she needed to let Grace know she was okay. She should have been back with their dinner over an hour ago.
Her sister answered on the first ring. “Rylee, where are you? What’s going on?” Grace asked frantically.
“I’m fine. Are the kids okay?”
“Of course. When you didn’t come back, I thought something had happened to you, but then Nate stopped by looking for you. He’s worried about you, too. Where are you?”
As if coming out of a fog, she looked around. “I have no idea. But I’m fine. I saw him, Gracey. I saw Nate just like you said, with another woman, except it wasn’t Nate. It was his twin brother.”
“Oh, my gosh. Does that really happen? Didn’t you know he had a twin?”
Rylee felt so stupid admitting she knew very little about Nate. They’d spent weeks together, but she was beginning to wonder if she knew him at all. “I knew he had brothers and sisters, but I had no clue he had a twin. Shouldn’t I have known? I mean, I’ve spent over two months with Nate, and I really don’t know something like that.” She moaned and cringed at the thought of what she’d done. “Oh, Grace. I poured a bowl of spaghetti over his brother’s head, thinking it was Nate. And I called him names.”
Grace laughed. “Oh, wow. I wish I’d have seen that. But at least you know he wasn’t cheating on you.”
Rylee groaned. “This is even more serious than that. Nate told me he had to go out of town on business. He lied to me because he didn’t want me to meet his family. What does that tell you?”
“No, Rylee. The worried man who came to find you tonight wasn’t trying to hide a dirty little secret. He was concerned about you.”
Grace couldn’t justify Nate’s lie. “Then you explain why he didn’t tell me his brother was visiting.”
“I don’t know, sweetie, but I do know that you’ve been happier since being with Nate than I’ve ever in my life seen you. The man you’ve been telling me about would have a good reason for doing what he did. Don’t you think you should find out?”
She’d started to believe. “You think I should see him and let him explain?”
“I do. I think you are jumping to conclusions because you’re judging him based on past experiences. Give him a chance, Ry. It’s late. Come home, honey. Tomorrow, you can get your answers.”
Is that what she was doing? The Nate she knew wouldn’t have lied. But maybe his plans had changed at the last minute. But he’d dodged her when she’d asked where he was. “My car’s back at Vito’s. I’ll call a ride service.”
“Ry, what do I tell Nate? He’s been blowing my phone up about every thirty minutes checking to see if you’ve come home or if I’ve heard from you. He’s worried about you.”
“Tell him…” She paused and rubbed her aching head. Grace was right. She needed to see him. “Just tell him not to worry. And Grace. Tell him to apologize to his brother for me. I’m pretty sure I now have an enemy for life.”
“I think you may be exaggerating a smidge. But I’ll tell him.”
It was after midnight when she unlocked her apartment door and found Grace asleep on the couch waiting for her. Instead of waking her, she pulled a blanket over her and then stumbled into her bedroom and fell face-first onto her bed.
She didn’t wake up until giggles caused her eyelids to flutter open.
“Auntie Ry, why did you sleep with your clothes on?”
It took her tired eyes a few moments to adjust to the light, and she blinked and rolled over. “Ummm, that is silly, isn’t it?”
“Girls,” Grace called softly from the hallway and then stuck her head in the bedroom door. “Girls,” she scolded.
“I told you to let Auntie Ry sleep.” Grace mouthed, I’m sorry and Rylee shrugged.
Amy looked over at her mother with such forlorn eyes that Rylee had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “We’re sorry, mama, but we wanted to see if she wanted to play with us.”
Grace crossed her arms, letting the three know she wasn’t fooled. “Breakfast is waiting, so go on and wash up.”
The three little tornadoes streaked from the room. Once they were gone, Grace turned concerned eyes on her sister. “How are you today?”
Everything from the previous day came crashing in, spoiling her morning. But after a lot of debate, she knew what she had to do. “Better. You’re right. I’m going to take a shower and go see Nate. One way or the other, I have to know.”
Chapter 11
Nate
* * *
“Have you heard anything?” Milo asked as he walked in the study.
Nate looked up with bleary eyes, “No. Nothing.”
Milo took the empty glass from his hand, went to the wet bar, and returned with a new glass filled with orange juice. “You’ve been up all night, Lukas. Go get some sleep. You’ll hear something in the morning.”
The early morning light filtering in the windows announced it was already daybreak. When Rylee had realized he hadn’t been out of town like he’d said, the look on her face left him cold. He could only imagine what was going through her beautiful, stubborn head. “I told her I was going out of town on business.”
Taking the leather seat beside his brother, Milo replied, “Ahhh, to keep us from meeting her. Man, Luk, you really screwed up.”
Nate drained the juice, and the cool liquid soothed his dry throat. Rylee had run from him. He’d tried to catch her, but he didn’t see which way she went. Even his security detail couldn’t locate her. If she ever forgave him, he was going to put a tracking device on her. When the acid from the juice hit his belly, his stomach rolled. “She won’t answer my calls or my texts. That’s bad, Mils. She’s probably coming to all kinds of wrong conclusions.”
Over Ruled: On the Wild Side Series Page 8