Slide (15 page)

We’d been lucky this morning; despite a few Yankees fans spotting Ryan and asking for his autograph and seeing five advertising posters with his face on them, the day went surprisingly went well. There were no cameras pointed at us and even if there were, they went unnoticed. It almost felt normal. Ryan happily signed away and posed for a number of photos while I stood back as far as I could and watched on quietly; intrigued with the way he was able to handle such attention with ease. I envied that about him. Why couldn’t I be like that? Why did I have to break out in a sweat or worst case, have an anxiety attack every time a small amount of attention was placed on me. I knew why… Ryan hadn’t experienced what I had. People treated him like a god and worshipped at his feet. The media loved him; even stories about his conquests were played out to his advantage. I, on the other hand, I was someone that people were unsure about since the media made up their own stories about that fateful night and how I’d managed to survive the horrific crash.

“
Evangeline?
”

I blinked to find that we’d stopped in front of a tiny sushi restaurant about a block down from my apartment. “Happy with this place?” he added, his eyes watching me carefully as if he knew there was something else on my mind.

I nodded quickly, eager to get off the street and away from all the people walking by.

“Sweet.” He squeezed the hand he was holding before turning to the waitress who’d just appeared. I watched on as Ryan raised two fingers at her and then pointed to the quiet, empty table towards the back of the restaurant. The waitress nodded happily and ushered us over.

During lunch, Ryan and I were able to laugh at a few jokes and also talk about his family. He revealed that he was the only boy in a family of five, with three older sisters who were all married and two of them had children of their own. The two sisters with children lived overseas, the eldest in Australia and the second eldest in England, while the third lived in Seattle with her doctor husband. Then there was Annabelle, the baby of the family. She was eighteen; which left a six-year age gap between her and Ryan.

Annabelle was in collage and had wanted to live on campus but Ryan flat out refused the suggestion. Instead, he bought the penthouse apartment on top of the Grand Trinity for her to live in, which happened to the very hotel I’d seen the two of them leaving the day of my father’s funeral. I held back commenting on what I thought about the situation; I thought it was a little outrageous and possessive of Ryan but who was I to talk? Connor was no different. In a way, Annabelle was just like me. I saw the way she behaved around Ryan. She absolutely adored him and looked up to her older brother and I knew Ryan felt exactly the same way. I heard it in his voice every time he mentioned her name.

He also joked about how annoying his little sister could get at times but he grew serious when he mentioned that they’d grown up without their father and that it was important to him that Annabelle had a strong,
positive
male role model in her life.

Ryan went on to explain that his parents had an abusive relationship and that his mother never had the courage to leave his father; the man was a drunk and spent most nights away from the family. By the time Annabelle was born, Ryan’s father was completely out of control. Not only did he hit his wife but also the children.

I was stunned when Ryan began opening up about his past. I wasn’t expecting him to reveal something so personal to somebody he barely knew. I guess I also never expected somebody like him to have a horrible past either.

“Did anybody call the cops? Did your mom ever think to? What about the neighbors, surely they heard something?” I found myself asking. The sushi roll sitting between my chopsticks slipped out and dropped to the table, it then bounced off and fell to the floor. Instead of searching for it, my eyes stayed glued to Ryan.

His eyes dropped to the ground for a moment before they flicked back up to me, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth then quickly disappeared.

“I don’t think anyone ever had the courage to. Mom was terrified of him and it still infuriates me to think about it, but I think the neighbors chose to turn a blind eye to anything they heard or saw.”

My heart ached for him. I couldn’t imagine anyone hitting the perfect specimen of a human sitting in front of me. I couldn’t imagine why someone would beat anyone, period, let alone a child. The thought sickened me to think there were people out there that enjoyed it and took gratification from hurting others because it made them feel superior. With a personality like Ryan’s, it was hard to envision him as a perfect, well-behaved child. He probably deserved a few swats on the backside as punishment but the cruel abuse he and the rest of his family suffered at the hand of their father was horrifying. It made me realize how grateful I was that my father never laid a hand on me.
He only deserted you…

“It’s okay, Bella, I’m fine. My whole family is safe now.” The touch of his soft, warm hand on my cheek brought me back to focus. I lifted my gaze to find Ryan studying me intently; with a look as though something worried him.
Maybe he’s thinking he told you too much.

I stared at him for a moment before asking the question playing on my mind. “What do you mean by ‘
now
’?”

Ryan gently caressed the side of my face using his thumb, before letting his hand drop and rest on his lap. “My dad is dead, Evangeline.”

Oh.
How stupid could I be?

“He died many years ago when Annabelle was four.”

Ohmy.
That meant Ryan was only ten; the same age I was when my entire world fell apart. “What happened?” The words came out before I could stop them.

“There was an accident at the house,” was all Ryan said. A strange look in his eye made me think that there was much more to the story then just simply an ‘accident’, but I wasn’t going to pry; the poor guy had already revealed enough for one day. If he wanted to share his story, I would listen and I’d be there for him but I wasn’t going to force it out of him. I would show the same respect and support he gave me when I opened up and shared my darkest secret. Although, a tiny part of me wondered if Ryan had ever revealed this much of his personal life with other women.

“You finished?” he asked when I remained quiet and began to pick at the remaining grains of rice on my plate. I nodded mechanically without glancing up.

Ryan stood up and held out a hand for me. He paid the waitress and led me outside without saying a word. It wasn’t until we were back in the apartment that Ryan decided to speak again. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I asked, troubled by his apology.

“Off-loading all that information on you like that.” His voice was quiet. He stood by the living room wall, motionless, daring to look anywhere but at me. This was a very different side to Ryan that I was unfamiliar with and wasn’t sure how to behave around, but I had to try my best.

“Don’t be stupid, I am angry that you had to go through all of that. No child deserves that, Ryan.”

I stood up from the sofa and made my way over to him when he continued to ignore looking my way. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest, relieved when his strong arms returned the gesture. “You know you can always talk to me, right?”

I pinched him on the ass when I didn’t hear an immediate response.

Ryan chuckled into my hair. “Thank you, Bella. It means so much to me to hear you say that.”

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Bella’? Who is she and why are constantly comparing me to her?”
There.
I finally found the courage to ask him about it.

Instead of freaking out like I expected him too, Ryan laughed― out loud. “Damn it, babe. You’re too much sometimes. I thought you’d have figured that out by now.”

I…what??
I tried to pull out of his embrace but he held me there tightly. So I lifted my head and scowled, causing him to laugh again.
What the hell is so funny?

“It means beautiful in Italian,” he said after he’d managed to stop himself from laughing. “Which you are. You’re beautiful in every way. When you’re smiling, when you’re frowning at me, when you’re laying naked underneath―”

“Yeah, I get the point, smart-ass,” I groaned, earning another quick laugh from him. “I bet that’s how you lure all the girls to bed.”

Ryan immediately stopped laughing, coughing as though he’d choked on something.
Yeah, that shut him up.

“No one has ever been so lucky. I just wink and girls drop their panties. With you, I actually had to pull out some tricks.”

“
Ugh
,” I complained and tried to wriggle free from him again.

He let me go but followed me when I began walking away. There was a proud, cheesy grin on his face.

“I’ve never met a guy so full of himself,” I grumbled as I crossed the living room and headed for my bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

Before I had the chance to shut the door, Ryan was standing there blocking the doorway to my room.

“You in or out?” I questioned, pointing to the doorway he was now leaning against.

“Depends…”

“On?”

“If you want to be full of me too,” he said with a wink.

I couldn’t help but laugh. God, this guy was a piece of work. Now, I understood how difficult it was to say no to this man, no matter how cheesy his lines were most of the time.

I didn’t give an answer. Instead I gave him a devilish smile and slowly began lifting my shirt up and over my head for him to see. I knew it was bound to drive him crazy, which was why I chose to do it. Once my shirt was off, I threw it at him. “Are you just going to stand there or help me out of the rest?” I teased.

There was no hesitation; Ryan lunged for me, causing the both of us to go crashing down on the bed. His mouth was on mine before I even hit the mattress.

Waking up alone after spending an entire weekend with Ryan felt strange. It was hard to remember that we weren’t really a couple. So what were we? Was I reading too much into it? Perhaps this was what he did with every other girl?

It was Monday morning and the next three days― possibly four ― I was committed to spending time
not
thinking about him. It helped that he was away in Baltimore, playing against the Orioles. It was time to clear my head after he’d consumed my mind over the weekend. To my amazement, I’d enjoyed every minute having him around but if it was just a fling for him, then I wasn’t going to allow myself to get too involved.

Feeling at ease with myself for the first time in a long time, I decided to wake up early that morning and go for a jog. I stopped by Starbucks and grabbed myself a coffee along with the morning paper. I never usually read the paper― or followed any social media sites ―there was often nothing but bad news, but occasionally I would find myself buying a copy just to keep up with the fast moving world. I also had to read up on my father.

I was just about to sit down outside on my balcony when I spotted a large colored photo with a small article on the very back page of the New York Times.
Shit.

YANKEES YOUNG STAR WITH NEW SQUEEZE.

Notorious bad boy and serial womanizer, Ryan Fox, has been spotted taking a mysterious, yet stunning, brunette, who is thought to be the late multi-billionaire Rupert Montgomery’s one and only daughter, to the Knicks game on Friday night. A lover of the game and regular courtside fan, this is the first time 24yr old, Fox has been seen at a game with someone else other than a family member or teammate. Is it love? Has our hot, young bachelor finally been tamed? Sources say, “While the beauty kept her eyes focused on the court, a starry-eyed Mr. Fox couldn’t keep his eyes or hands off her”.
The picture above definitely backs up that statement. Let’s hope young love is finally on the cards for our beloved star pitcher.

The photo was snapped just as Ryan was facing me. A proud smile was plastered on his face, while I looked away, concentrating on the game.
Shit. Shit. Shit
!

A feeling of dread coursed through me. I wondered if Ryan had seen this already. This was the very thing I was afraid of. I didn’t want to see myself plastered all over newspapers or the Internet. Of course this was going to happen. Was I expecting it to go differently? What had I gotten myself into―

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Seeing Connor’s name light up, I answered it immediately.

“Evie. How are you?” Connor asked sounding concerned.
He’s read the article
.

“What am I doing, Con? How could I forget something stupid like that?”

“Look, it was only a matter of time. Dad’s funeral covered most of Sunday’s paper and there were a few shots with you in it. Did you see it?”

No.
I hadn’t even thought about buying the paper yesterday. “No, I didn’t.”

“You just need to prepare yourself for what will come after this. Do you need me to call Dr. Brennan?”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll call her if it gets too much for me.”