by Sandi Lynn
He stood there, nervous and without words. Ian placed both hands on my shoulders. “Sweetheart, let’s do this another time. This isn’t the place.”
“You want to know why I left. That’s your question,” Jimmy said.
Tears started to stream down my face. The conversation I had played over and over in my head for so many years finally came to life.
“I’ll tell you. But not here, and not tonight. My bar isn’t the place to discuss this. This needs to be done in private.”
“Then let’s take it to your office,” I said.
“Rory, we have Mandy out there, waiting for us. Let’s not do this now,” Ian spoke.
He was right. Mandy had her own problems tonight and I was sure she wanted to go home. “Fine, not here, not tonight,” I said as I turned around and looked at Ian. “I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out. I’m going out there to get Mandy and I’ll meet you outside. I need some fresh air.”
Ian nodded and kissed me on the head. I walked away from my father and didn’t even give him a second look. I wanted peace. I needed peace. But most of all, I wanted him to know how much I hated him for abandoning us. Peace in my life would never exist as long as I carried that around with me. I told Mandy that we were leaving and she followed me outside. As we waited for Ian, I figured I’d better tell her what happened. So I did. Ian came out a few moments later and pulled the car around for us. As soon as I climbed in, Ian grabbed my hand.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. He’s coming over the day after tomorrow to talk. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
I didn’t say anything. I just laid my head on the window and went deep into thought. We dropped Mandy off at home and Ian told her that she didn’t have to come to work tomorrow, but she insisted that she was fine and she wanted to. As we were driving home, Ian softly pressed his lips against my hand.
“Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
“Confusion, sadness, uncertainty, anger, all of the above.”
Ian chuckled. “You’re adorable when you’re confused.” He smiled.
We pulled up to the house and, as soon as I walked through the door, I went upstairs and got ready for bed. Ian did the same and climbed in next to me.
“Come here, sweetheart. I don’t want to do anything but hold you. You’re safe with me, Rory, and I’ll do anything to protect you.”
“I know, Ian,” I said as I snuggled against him.
****
I was sitting at the dining room table, drinking my coffee and waiting for Ian to come and sit down. He was on a business call with a company in Japan. I was nervous about my lunch with Richard today. Ian told me that I was being ridiculous and to enjoy myself. But somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant lunch. As I was in thought, Adalynn strolled in the room and took a seat across from me.
“Good morning, darling.” She smiled.
“Good morning. Coffee? I asked as I held up the carafe.
“Thank you. Can you believe I’m getting married exactly one month from today?”
“No.” I smiled. “It’s coming so fast.”
“Where’s Ian?” she asked.
“He’s on a business call with Japan.”
“Oh, what a big, important man he is.” She winked.
“I heard that, Adalynn,” Ian said as he walked over and lightly kissed her cheek.
“Of course you did, darling. How are you?”
“I’m good. Did Rory tell you she confronted Jimmy last night?”
Her mouth dropped as she looked at me. “WHAT!”
I picked up my coffee cup and took a sip of coffee before responding to her. “He told me I looked like my mother. So he basically confronted me.”
Mandy walked over and handed Adalynn a fruit cup. “Thank you, darling. Wait, Mandy, what the hell happened to your face?”
Mandy looked at Ian and then at me. “Some douchebag she was seeing thought it was fun to hurt her. I kicked his ass last night and told him never to come near her again.”
Adalynn looked at Ian and raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Go you.”
Ian chuckled and Mandy smiled. “Well, I’m glad for your sake that bad man is out of your life. You deserve better, honey.” Adalynn smiled at her.
Mandy walked away and Adalynn turned her attention back to me and my father. “So, go on. What else did he say?”
“Nothing much. He just said he wouldn’t discuss it there, so Ian told him to come here tomorrow.”
“Here? Are you okay with that?” Adalynn asked me.
“Yeah, I guess. At least here I can scream and yell and maybe throw a thing or two at him.” I smiled.
“True. Well, get the answers you need and then move on. Speaking of moving on,” she said as she looked at her watch. “I have to get to Prim. I’ll see the both of you tonight. Get your dancing shoes out, Rory. We’re going to tear up the dance floor.”
I gave her a small smile as she got up from the table and left. I really wasn’t up to going out tonight, but it was for Ian’s birthday, so I had to go. I didn’t want to disappoint him, plus I didn’t trust Andrew.
Ian and I finished breakfast and he left for the office. “Call me after you have lunch with my dad and let me know how it went,” he said as he gave me a kiss goodbye.
“I will, babe. Have a good day at the office.”
I wanted to go visit Stephen’s grave, so I texted Richard and asked him if I could meet him at the restaurant. He said it was fine and to be there around noon. I took a shower, got dressed, and drove my car to the cemetery after stopping at the florist and picking up some flowers. I parked along the curb, which sat a few feet away from a large tree that stood behind Stephen’s grave. The black marble headstone looked beautiful in the sunlight. I knelt down and carefully placed the flowers on his grave.
“Guess what, Stephen. I met our dad last night. He knows who I am. He told me that I look just like Mom. The funny thing is that you were the spitting image of him. He’s coming over tomorrow to explain to me why he left. I’m finally going to get the answers I’ve always wanted. I miss you, Stephen, but I know you’re over the rainbow and that you’re happy now.”
I wiped my eye and looked at my watch. It was almost noon. I said goodbye to Stephen and drove to the restaurant to meet Richard.
****
Richard got up from his seat and gave me a light hug when I walked in. I sat down and ordered a glass of red wine as I admired the beauty of the Italian restaurant.
“How are you, Rory?” Richard asked.
“I’m okay. How are you?”
He pursed his lips together and gave me a small smile. “I’m sick, Rory, and I don’t want you telling Ian about this.”
I frowned at him and shook my head. “What do you mean, you’re sick?”
“You need to promise me that you won’t mention any of this to Ian. I’m not ready to tell him.”
“Then why are you telling me, Richard?”
“Because you saw the paper from John Hopkins.”
“I suspected something was wrong because of the way you reacted when I picked up the paper.”
“You didn’t say anything to Ian, did you?”
“No,” I replied as I shook my head. “What’s wrong with you?”
He pick up his glass of scotch and took a drink before answering me. “I have pancreatic cancer, stage four, and it has spread.”
Instantly, that sickening feeling in my stomach appeared. “Richard,” I said as I placed my hand on his. “My God, are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure and so is every doctor at John Hopkins.”
“You’re getting treatments, though, so you’ll be fine,” I said.
“No, Rory. There’s nothing they can do for me. It’s too far spread at this point.”
Tears started to fill my eyes. “No, Richard. There’s got to be something. You’re not going to die. Ian needs you.”
He placed his other hand on mine. “Rory, I need you to listen to me. I know we got off to a rough start and I’m so sorry about that. There are things about me you don’t know, so I don’t expect you to understand. What I do know is that you’re the best thing that has ever happened to my son. I’ve never seen him happy like he is. At first, I thought you were just another woman after his money, but you’re not. You’re a kind and warm woman. You’re selfless and you’re genuine. My son is one lucky man to have found you. To be honest, I knew right away you were the one because I saw it every time Ian looked at you and it scared me. I didn’t want his heart broken like mine had been.”
I didn’t know if Richard was talking about Ian’s mother with that remark, but I felt incredibly bad for him. I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but I had the feeling it wasn’t going to be.
“When are you going to tell Ian about this? And how can you expect me to keep this secret from him?”
“You’ll do it for me. I trust you. Ian will never know that you knew. I’ll tell him when all my affairs are in order.”
“But—”
“No buts, Rory. I’ve made peace with it and I need you to as well. Ian is going to need you in a way he’s never needed anyone before.”
Richard went on to eat his lunch. He had put me in an awful position and I hated it. I couldn’t lie to Ian and now I was forced with a decision I didn’t want to make.
Chapter 22
Ian & Rory
I set down my briefcase and walked upstairs to see if Rory was getting ready to go out to the club. When I walked into the bedroom, she had just gotten out of the shower and she was standing naked in the closet, looking through her clothes.
“Hot damn, that’s what I like to see when I come home after a long hard day at the office.”
She turned her head and looked at me with a smile splashed across her face. “How long and hard is it? I mean, did you have a nice day?”
I smirked and walked up behind her, placing my hands on her breasts and gently giving them a squeeze. “I like your first line better, sweetheart, and I’ll show you how long and hard it is.”
She gasped, and I knew in that moment that I had her. She could never resist me, just like I could never resist her. My fingers made their way down to the area that she told me constantly ached for me. Feeling how wet she already was turned me on even more. As my tongue began to explore her neck, she reached behind and stroked my hard cock through the fabric of my pants. My finger made its way inside her, causing her to let out a sexy moan. As I turned her around, I passionately kissed her lips before they trailed down to her breasts, torso, and then finally her pussy. She brought her leg up over my shoulder as I had a tight grip on her hips. She ran her fingers through my hair as her body tightened and she yelled my name. Her legs shook as she came. I stood up, tore off my shirt, and took down my pants as fast as I could. There was no waiting. I wanted her and I needed her now. I kissed her lips as I led her to the bed. After I laid her on her stomach, I took her from behind. I clutched her tight beautiful ass as I thrust in and out of her rapidly. I could feel her swelling again and preparing to come.
“Come again, sweetheart. I need you to come one more time for me.”
“Please don’t stop, baby. I’m so close.”
Her moans grew louder and I felt her coming. I gave one final thrust as the buildup in me released and pure bliss took over. As I collapsed on top of her, I reached under her and softly held her breasts while we tried to catch our breath.
“I love you,” I whispered and kissed the side of her face.
“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.”
While I was in the shower, Rory was putting on her makeup.
“How did lunch go with my dad?” I asked.
“It was nice. I think he really likes me now,” she replied.
“I know he likes you, Rory. What did you talk about?”
“Nothing much. Just small talk.”
“About what?” I asked as I turned off the water and slid the glass door open.
“He was just asking me about my childhood.”
She was lying and I knew it. I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and looking straight at her through the mirror.
“You would never lie to me, right?” I asked.
“Of course not, Ian,” she said with nervousness. She stared at me and I could see the sadness in her eyes. She turned around, looked at me, and then started to walk away. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”
“Do what, Rory?”
“Lie to you. I can’t. I love you too much to lie to you,” she said as she turned around and looked at me. “Ian, your dad is really sick.”
I cocked my head as I looked at her from across the bathroom. “What? What do you mean?”
“He told me not to tell you because he’s going to tell you when he has everything in order. He has stage four pancreatic cancer and it spread. I’m so sorry.”
I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. “I already know, sweetheart.”
She pushed back. “What? How?”
“I just found out a couple of days ago. He’d been acting strange lately and he wasn’t looking well, so I had someone find out what was going on.” I put my hands on her face. “Thank you for telling me the truth when I asked you. You have no idea how much that meant to me,” I said as I kissed her warm lips.
She broke our kiss and looked at me with knitted eyebrows. “What the fuck, Ian? You knew and you didn’t even bother to share it with me?”
“Sweetheart, listen to me. I just found out the night he came over. I was going to tell you about it that night, but I saw the look on your face when you picked up the piece of paper from the floor.”
“You saw that?”
“Yes. I was on my way back into the room and I saw his reaction when you went to pick it up. Then, when he asked you to lunch, I found it odd and that was when I suspected he was going to tell you.”
“So basically, you waited to see if I’d lie to you or not?” she asked with an attitude.
“No, not really. But I did want to see if you’d tell me.”
Rory sighed and walked to the bedroom. “You really suck, Ian.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Do you have any idea how much it’s bothered me all day that your father put me in that position?”
I walked over to her and grabbed both her hands. “I’m sure it did bother you and he was wrong, but I’m so proud of you for telling me. I love you so much, Rory,” I said as I pulled her into me.
“I love you too. You’re not going to say anything to him, are you?”
“No. I’m just going to pretend I know nothing. I’m really upset about it. But we can talk about it later. We need to finish getting ready for the club.”
Rory
We met Andrew, Adalynn, and Daniel at the club. Andrew wanted to pick us up, but Ian told him that we’d all meet up there. We walked inside and, instantly, Andrew flagged us down. Ian had a tight grip on my hand as he led us to a booth.
“Hi, darling. You look amazing!” Adalynn said as she gave me a hug.
“So do you.” I smiled.
Andrew leaned over and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. “You look nice, Rory.”
I forced a small smile to amuse him as I said thank you. I said hello to Daniel with a kiss and we all sat down. Ian put his arm around me. It was almost as if he was letting everyone know I was his. He wasn’t thrilled with the short dress I was wearing. We, or should I say he, had a discussion about it before we left the house. Naturally, I won and he didn’t say another word about it. The music was loud and people were everywhere. Andrew ordered appetizers and had a round of drinks brought to the table every thirty minutes.
“Come on; let’s go dance!” Adalynn said with a grin.
“Do you want to come?” I asked Ian.
“No, you go ahe
ad. I’ll just sit here and watch you.” He smiled.
Adalynn and I tore up the dance floor. I had a couple of drinks and I was feeling really relaxed. I caught Ian staring at me as I danced. He was biting his bottom lip and shaking his head. I was pretty sure he was turned on and so was I just by looking at him. After a couple of songs, Adalynn and I went back to the table and sat down. Ian already had another drink waiting for me.
“You looked amazing out there,” he whispered in my ear. “Wait until I get you home. In fact, we may not even make it until we get home,” he said as he grabbed my hand from underneath the table and put it on his hard cock.
I removed my hand and giggled as I kissed his lips.
“Okay, you two, that’s enough,” Andrew said. “It’s time for your birthday present. Follow me.”
We all got up and followed Andrew into a private room. There was a TV, two couches, a loveseat, and a couple of chairs.
“You sit in this chair, Ian.”
I looked at Ian and he shrugged his shoulders. I didn’t like this because I knew douchebag Andrew way too well. He was up to something. Whatever he had planned, I wasn’t going to let it bother me. He was doing it to hurt me.
Suddenly a tall, blonde-haired girl walked in, wearing a box. She was dressed as a present and had a bow on top of her head. She was wearing thigh-high black stockings and black high-heeled shoes. She walked over to Ian.
“Are you the birthday boy?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Ian smiled.
I sat there because I knew damn well she was a stripper. I glanced over at Andrew, who sat on the couch with a smirk on his face.
“I need you to unwrap me,” she said.
Ian didn’t hesitate as he took the bow off her head. I sat there with a raging fire inside me. A fire so hot that it was making my skin burn from inside.
She took the bow from him and stuck it on his head. Adalynn got up and sat down next to me.
“Don’t let it get to you,” she whispered.