by Sandi Lynn
“You’re worrying me,” Ian’s voice said from behind.
I turned around and smiled at him. He walked up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“Hmm, is that wine?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were going for water.”
“I was. Then I saw this and it sounded better. Would you like a sip?”
“No thanks, sweetheart. Tell me what you want to do about your dad. You can’t keep going on like this.”
“Can you find him?” I asked.
“Yes, I can.”
“Then do it. I need to put Jimmy O’Rourke to rest.”
Ian picked me up in his arms and carried me back to the house and up to our bedroom. He laid me down on the bed and covered me with the sheet. As he climbed in next to me, he wrapped his arms around me.
“As soon as we get back from New York, I’ll look for your father. Until then, I don’t want you give him another thought. Now, go to sleep.”
“Thank you. I love you, Ian. I love you so damn much.”
“I love you so fucking much, sweetheart. Good night.”
****
As I was talking to Stephen in the courtyard, he looked over my shoulder and a smile spread across his face. I looked at him and then behind me and saw Ian standing by the door. As soon as I gave him a smile, he walked over to where Stephen and I were sitting, gave me a kiss, and then shook Stephen’s hand.
“Ian, how are you, man?”
“I’m good, Stephen. How are you?”
“I’m okay. No complaints,” he replied.
“Honey, what are you doing here?” I asked.
Ian sat down next to me. “I finished up early and I thought I’d stop by and see how Stephen’s doing before we leave for New York.”
“Thank you, Ian.” Stephen smiled. “Look at the two of you. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous.”
“Stephen,” I said as I looked sadly at him.
“Rory, don’t give me that look. You deserve it. You took care of me your whole life and now it’s time for someone to take care of you. You’re taking care of my sister, right, Ian?”
Ian looked at me and smiled. “I think I’m taking very good care of her.”
“You are taking very good care of me.” I smiled back as I laid my head on his shoulder.
“That’s all that matters to me,” Stephen said.
The announcement that visiting hours were over came across the speakers. We all stood up and Ian and I hugged Stephen goodbye.
“Have fun in New York, sis.”
“Take care, Stephen. I’ll see you next week.”
Ian took my hand and we walked out of Hudson Rock and straight to the limo where Joshua was waiting to take us to the airport. After we climbed in, Ian put his arm around me and pulled me into him.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Now let’s go to New York City!” I said excitedly.
Ian chuckled as he tightened his grip around me.
****
Ian unlocked the door to our room and when I walked inside, I gasped. As I stood there, I looked around the suite.
“Rory, are you okay?” he asked with concern.
“This room, it’s—”
“Welcome to The Trump, sweetheart.” He smiled.
It was the most amazing hotel room I’d ever been in. Not that I’d been in many. Ian took our bags into the bedroom and I followed behind, throwing myself on the luxurious king-sized bed. Ian smiled as he sat down next to me and stroked my hair.
“I’m happy you like the room.”
“I love the room. Would it be wrong if I never wanted to leave?”
“No, but this is New York City, sweetheart. We just can’t sit in the hotel room the whole time we’re here.” Ian chuckled. “This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to make love first and then we’re going to change and get ready for dinner. I want you to experience Jean Georges. It’s one of the restaurants here in the hotel and it’s one of my favorites.” He smiled as he leaned over and his lips brushed against mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him on top of me. “I love that idea.”
“I knew you would,” he said as he began unbuttoning my top.
After a session of crazy sex that pretty much destroyed the bed, Ian and I showered and got ready to go down to Jean Georges. As I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup, I heard Ian on the phone.
“Can you send up the maid to fix our bed? We’ll be leaving the room in about ten minutes. Thank you.”
“Ian!”
“What?” he asked.
“How embarrassing!”
“What’s embarrassing?”
“You having the maid come up here and fix the bed. She’s going to know what we did and how crazy it was. Look at it,” I said as I pointed to the bed.
Ian laughed and he wouldn’t stop. “Rory, this is a hotel. People fuck in hotels. Half the time, that’s why they come here. The staff is used to it and won’t give it a second thought.”
“Well, I don’t want to be here when she gets here.”
Ian walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. “You’re too cute and you make me laugh. I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too,” I said as I kissed him and then walked over to the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asked as I picked up the sheet from the floor.
“I’m trying to make the bed more decent.”
“Rory, stop.” He chuckled as he grabbed my hand.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Maid service.”
“What the fuck! You told them ten minutes, Ian.”
Ian laughed and walked over to the door and opened it. The maid walked in and straight to the bedroom where I was standing. I was so humiliated at what she must’ve thought, I looked at her and said, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
Ian sighed, grabbed my hand, and led me out of the hotel room. We walked down to the restaurant and were promptly seated. It was a beautiful restaurant and I was happy Ian wanted to eat here. As we were looking over the menu, a beautiful woman walked over to our table.
“Ian Braxton, how wonderful to see you.” She smiled.
Ian looked up at her and then at me. I could tell he was nervous. “Michelle, nice to see you,” he said as he got up and lightly kissed her cheek. “I want you to meet my girlfriend, Rory.”
She looked at me, lightly shook my hand, and then turned her attention to Ian. “Girlfriend, eh? Ian Braxton doesn’t do girlfriends. At least that’s what you told me,” she said.
“Things change, Michelle,” Ian said calmly.
“Things may, but people don’t.” She smiled as she looked at me. “Nice seeing you again, Ian,” she said as she walked away.
Suddenly, I was very uncomfortable. The waiter brought my cosmopolitan and I grabbed it from his hand before he had a chance to set it down on the table. I did more than take a sip.
“Rory, I can tell you’re pissed.”
“No. What gives you that idea?” I asked sarcastically. “One of your many women, I assume.”
Ian rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Yes, I won’t lie to you.”
I nodded my head as I threw back my cosmo. “Okay. I guess it’s something I have to learn to deal with around the world.”
“Rory, that’s not fair.”
“No, what’s not fair is me having to be subjected to that every time we go out!” I snapped.
“It’s not like I hid who I was before I met you, so you can’t hold it against me.”
In a way, he was right, but now that he was mine to keep, seeing the other women and knowing he fucked them in ways he probably would never fuck me burned the blood that ran through my veins. We ate our dinner in silence. It wasn’t until after the waiter gave Ian the bill that he decided to say something.
“You need to stop behaving like this.”
<
br /> I took in a deep breath and looked at him. “I’m hurt and upset, Ian. I’m sorry if you think I’m behaving like a child. See, the thing is, you don’t ever have to worry about running into someone like that from my past because there’s only you.”
“Rory.”
I threw my napkin on the table, got up, and walked out of the restaurant. I walked out of the hotel and onto the busy streets of New York City. I didn’t care where I was going, I just needed some fresh air. Was I being ridiculous? I think so. This was all new to me. As I was walking, I felt someone grab my arm.
“You will never walk away from me. Do you understand?”
I stopped dead in my tracks and the people that were behind us ran right into us. I turned around and apologized to them.
“You will let go of my arm now!” I said through gritted teeth. “Or I will scream and make a scene.”
“Right. That I know you will do.” Ian sighed as he let go of my arm. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
Chapter 11
Ian
Rory walked across the street and over to Central Park. I followed behind because I knew she needed space. This was killing me because she was upset. She sat down on a bench in front of the fountain and I sat down next to her. We both just stared at the fountain and didn’t say a word. I had asked her to talk to me, and I knew she would when she was ready.
“I’m sorry,” she finally spoke. “It’s just hard when you’re so in love with someone and you feel threatened by another woman.”
“Sweetheart,” I whispered as I took hold of her hand. “Why do you feel threatened?”
“Because, there’s always going to be someone prettier than me and more entertaining.”
My heart ached when she said that. Insecurity was still deep inside her and I hated that she felt that way.
“Sometimes, I still can’t believe that you picked me over all those millions of women you’ve dated and slept with.”
“Rory, first of all, it wasn’t a million, so please get that number out of your head. Second of all, I think you are the most beautiful woman on the face of this earth.”
She turned her head and looked at me as I placed my hand on her cheek. “I love you, and I’m sorry that you have to deal with those other women. Unfortunately, I had to go through a lot of them before I found my soul mate.” I smiled. “You’re perfect and you’re you. You’ll always be beautiful and entertaining to me. You keep me on my toes and you keep my soul alive. You’ve changed me, and I thank you for that.”
A tear fell down her cheek and I gently wiped it away with my thumb. “I love you too, Ian, and it scares me to think I might lose you someday.”
“I don’t ever want you to be scared. You’re never going to lose me.”
I pulled her into me and held her tight. I needed her to feel safe and secure. “All better?” I asked.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Yeah, all better.”
“Good. Now let’s go back to the hotel so I can make love to you for the next few hours.”
“Next few hours?” She laughed. “Are you taking Viagra?”
“I don’t need Viagra when I’m with you, sweetheart. Just your look keeps me hard for hours.”
****
I rolled over and the Rory’s side of the bed was empty. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. As I glanced at the clock, I noticed it was six a.m. and the sun was starting to rise. I got out of bed, put on my pajama bottoms, and walked into the living area of the suite. That was where I saw Rory standing and looking out the window. I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her, and softly kissed her neck.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Just looking out into the city. It’s so amazing here, Ian. Just to be able to look at all the cars, the people on the streets, the tall buildings; it’s just incredible.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying the city so far, sweetheart,” I said as I kissed her cheek. “Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“Why don’t you go take a shower and I’ll order us room service? Connor is sending his driver, Denny, to pick us up at nine-thirty.”
Rory turned around and smiled at me. “I can’t wait to see Ellery and Julia.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
She gave me a kiss and then went in the bathroom to take a shower. I called our breakfast order in and then checked my voicemail messages from last night.
“Hey, Ian, I wanted you to know that we found Rory’s father. Mr. Jimmy O’Rourke is living in Los Angeles. He owns the Piano Bar in Hollywood. Good luck.”
I sighed as I sat there, debating when I was going to tell Rory. I told her that I would look for him when we got back from New York. I honestly didn’t think he’d be that easy to find. God, wait until Rory finds out that her father lived less than an hour away from us. I didn’t want to ruin our trip for her, so I’d tell her as soon as we got back home. I looked up and saw that she was standing in the doorway, looking at me.
“You looked like you were in deep thought,” she said.
I held out my arms to her, motioning for her to come sit on my lap. She smiled as she walked over to me and sat down.
“I was just thinking about some business stuff.” I smiled as I kissed her head.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything is fine, sweetheart. It’s just business; nothing for you to worry about.”
Just as I leaned in to kiss her beautiful lips, there was a knock at the door.
“Room service.”
Rory got up and I walked over to the door. I wasn’t wearing anything but my pajama bottoms and the young girl that delivered our food gasped when I opened it. I held the door open as she pushed in the cart.
“Here’s your breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Braxton.”
Instantly, I spoke up. “We’re not married.”
Rory shot me a look and the girl looked at Rory.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I reached in my wallet and pulled out some money for a tip.
She quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Wow, Ian,” Rory said.
“Wow what, sweetheart?”
“That was rude.”
“Well, we’re not married and I don’t want her thinking we are.”
“Of course not, because that would tarnish your playboy reputation,” she said with a big attitude.
“Rory. Stop it and come eat your breakfast.” I sighed. “I’m not going to argue with you over something stupid like that.”
“It’s just the way you said it, Ian. You said it with an authoritative tone. Big deal if she thought we were married. You didn’t have to be so rude about it. Better yet, maybe I should get my own room so people won’t make that mistake again and maybe when we go out, I can walk a few feet behind you so people won’t get the wrong idea.”
I rolled my eyes at her and took in a deep breath. “Sweetheart.”
“No! This is not okay,” she said as she grabbed her tray and stomped off into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Great, now she was eating alone in the bedroom. I was starting to believe that Adalynn’s wedding was getting to her. I walked over to the bedroom and opened the door. She was sitting on the bed with her knees up. I stood in the doorway and stared at her, since she wouldn’t look up at me.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“No. I just want to be alone right now.”
I knew I needed to apologize to her, but I was afraid it would come out wrong. “Rory, please. I’m coming in, and I don’t want you throwing something at me.”
I saw a small smile grace her face. I walked over and sat down on the bed. “There’s a little bit of a smile. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for what I said and how I said it. I’ll be honest with you, Rory, I didn’t realize it came out that way. Please forgive me, sweetheart.”
She looked up at me with her sad eye
s and nodded her head. I let out a deep breath and wrapped my arms around her. “For the record, you’re not staying in another room and you’re not walking behind me. Now let’s eat breakfast and then head to Connor’s and Ellery’s place.”
****
“Ellery, you’re looking as beautiful as ever.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek.
“Ian, good to see you, buddy,” Connor said as we shook hands.
Ellery grabbed Rory and dragged her upstairs. Connor grabbed his coat and we climbed into the limo to go look at the property he was interested in. Once we arrived, I looked at the empty field.
“This is it?” I asked.
“Yep, this is it. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a field, Connor.” I chuckled.
“Good eye.” He winked. “Look beyond the field, Ian. I want to build one of the largest art galleries in New York, and this is the place to do it.”
I stood there with my hands in my pockets, nodding my head. “For Ellery?”
Connor looked over at me and smiled. “Yeah, for Ellery.”
I started walking forward towards the field. “You two are a perfect couple. You give me hope,” I said.
“Hope is what Rory should be giving you, Ian. She’s an amazing woman.”
“Yes. She is an amazing woman.”
Connor walked up and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Relationships aren’t easy. I almost lost Ellery a few times over things I never should have done. She’s my first and last love. Me and you aren’t that different, Ian. From what I can see, she’s completely changed you as Ellery did me.”
I laughed softly. “She’s changed my views on a lot of things and she’s changed my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done if she hadn’t come back with me from Paris.”
Connor sighed. “Yep, I know what you mean. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Ellery hadn’t come back with me from California.”
“I guess we’re lucky.” I smiled.
“We sure are. Now, what do you think about the property?”
“It’s a field, Connor. It’s really not property yet. But I’ll turn it into a property and you can go and build Ellery the biggest art gallery in New York.” I smiled.