My Boyfriend's Dad Page 12

  I’d been there many times, but I’d never been there without Adam.

  “Ryan?” I asked as I walked in.

  “Come on in, Kylie. I’m in the living room.”

  His voice echoed through the large chambers of his home as I closed the door behind me. I walked through the foyer and stared up at the vaulted ceiling before passing between the two marbled staircases that ran up either side of the foyer. I turned to my right and walked down a small hallway, then grinned when I found Ryan sitting on the couch with a glass of champagne over his head.

  “For you, my dear.”

  I giggled as I reached for it, plucking it from his fingers.

  “Come sit.”

  He patted the couch next to him, and I sighed when I sank into the buttery leather cushions. I brought the glass of champagne to my mouth, tasting the bubbling decadence as it slid down my throat. I hummed at its taste, at the sweetness before the sharpness of the carbonation tickled my nose. I closed my eyes and smiled at the peace that blanketed me.

  At the peace Ryan’s presence afforded me.

  “Nice to see the lady approves,” he said.

  “It’s very good,” I said. “Though you’re giving it to someone who drinks boxed wine on Saturday nights with her best friend.”

  “Doesn’t mean your palette can’t be expanded.”

  I opened my eyes and looked over at him, taking in how much he looked like his son. But there were subtle differences between the two. Adam’s eyes downturned the slightest bit, while Ryan’s eyes were more of an almond shape. Adam’s cheekbones didn’t sit as high as Ryan’s, which made Adam’s jawline not as sharp as his father’s. Ryan’s nose sloped while Adam’s nose humped, and Adam kept his hair longer and more disheveled while Ryan kept his hair trimmed and perfectly parted to the side.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” he said.

  A strange feeling came over me, and I whipped my eyes over to look out the window at his backyard.

  “We move in less than two weeks and I can’t even get him to pick up the phone. I have to schedule the moving truck and inform the movers—if I hire any—where they will be and when. And I can’t get him to pick up the phone to even tell me if he’s still moving in.”

  “Can you afford the apartment if he doesn’t?” Ryan asked.

  “I can. I guess, in the back of my mind, I wanted to make sure I could in case—”

  I brought the champagne to my lips so I didn’t complete that sentence.

  “I’ll let you slide with that one, but for the rest of this conversation I won’t allow you to edit yourself.”

  I nodded slowly, focusing on the carbonation and not on how smooth his voice sounded against my ears.

  “I’m not even asking him to do anything, Ryan. I’m only asking him if he wants to move on the same day as me or not. It’s logistics, nothing more. I’m not asking him to call anyone or book anything or pay for any of it. And he still won’t pick up his fucking phone.”

  “I’ll talk to him about it,” he said.

  “I don’t know if you should. I’m worried that you talking to him about it before made him feel like he had to make a decision he wasn’t completely set on.”

  “I’m not talking about the move. I’m talking about calling you. Whatever his decision is, that’s his to make, but he needs to call you. He can’t keep avoiding you like a coward.”

  I panned my gaze over to Ryan and took in his angry stare. He had spat that last word, and it was an emotion I hadn’t expected from him.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

  His eyes turned to look out the window, leaving me to study the profile of his face.

  “My ex came by earlier,” he said flatly.

  “I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn't have bothered you,” I said.

  “You’re not a bother, Kylie. You never could be.”

  His words punched me in my gut and sent a surprising warmth percolating through my skin.

  “She came around asking for money,” he said.

  “Can she do that?”

  “No, but I figured she would. The last alimony payment dropped into her account at the beginning of the month and she’s already blown through it.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what was the divorce decree arrangement?” I asked.

  He shifted his eyes to focus on mine before he turned his entire body toward me. The heat was excruciating in the best way, and it made me nervous. Things I hadn’t expected to feel in Ryan’s presence bombarded my system, so I stuffed them away. I was unwilling to unpack them when it was glaringly obvious that he needed someone to lean on just like I did.

  “In exchange for full custody of Adam, I handed her twelve million and promised monthly alimony payments totaling seven thousand a month for twenty years.”

  “Thirteen-point-six million dollars for the custody of your son,” I said.

  “You did that calculation quickly.”

  “It’s pretty simple compared to the ones I run on a daily basis.”

  “But yes, you would be right. The last alimony payment hit at the beginning of this month, and she came knocking on my door threatening to take me back to court for more.”

  “What in the world would be her legal stance?” I asked.

  “Defamation of character and heartache,” he said with a snicker.

  “Did you slander her name in the media or something?”

  “No. But she heard a group of women gossiping about her in a café, calling her a useless, deadbeat mother, or so she said. Not like something like that could be proven. She’s almost certainly blowing it out of her ass.”

  My eyebrows rose to my forehead as I stifled a smile.

  “I finally got her to leave about five minutes before you called.”

  “Now I’m glad I’ve never met the woman. She sounds horrendous,” I said.

  “She is. She hates everyone other than her twenty-something pool boy. She was probably on my doorstep making those threats because she can no longer afford his services.”

  I put my hand up to my mouth as I tried not to spray champagne between my lips.

  “Do you want my advice? Or do you want to vent?” I asked.

  “Advice?” he asked as he quirked his eyebrow.

  “Yes. You know, that little nugget of wisdom people listening to others' problems have a tendency to bestow on them?”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve been married and divorced.”

  “No,” I said with a giggle. “But it doesn't take experience to know what to do in this case.”

  “Then what is your sage advice?”

  “Hire a lawyer and bury her ass.”

  A smile crawled across his cheeks before laughter fell from his lips. It started as a low rumble, a chuckle percolating from her chest. But the second it fell from his lips, the explosion of it tossed his head back. His Adam’s apple bobbed as the bombastic sound filled the air, and it ripped laughter from my throat in return.

  “You are a feisty young woman, Kylie. And way too good for my son,” he said.

  I drew in a deep breath before finishing off the last of my drink.

  “Here, let me top you off,” Ryan said.

  I knew I needed to refuse. The energy flowing between us was a little too comfortable, a little too friendly. But it was a connection I had missed. A connection that seemed lost to most people in a world of technology and online relationships.

  I smiled as he held out my glass, filled to the brim and bubbling with a want to be consumed.

  “But seriously, it would be very easy for you to prove she’s doing nothing but coming after your money, Ryan. And you said it yourself: A conversation like that would be very hard to prove. I’m pretty sure ‘defamation of character’ lawsuits take a little more than a café conversation.”

  “I’m sure you’re right on that front,” he said.

  “Does Adam know what his mother’s doing?”
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  “I’ve always tried to shield him from it. He deserves a better mother than that—a woman who was willing to sell her kid away in exchange for a few million dollars.”

  “I couldn't imagine doing something like that to my children. I just…it…”

  The mere idea left me at a loss for words.

  “The world is open to you, Kylie.”

  “What?” I asked.

  I turned my gaze back up to his and watched his face grow serious.

  “If Adam doesn’t want the same things you do, the world is open to you. You’re young, vibrant, and intelligent, on your way to being successful. You’re driven in ways many women aren’t. And you deserve to be with a man who finds those qualities attractive.”

  “I don’t know if men like that exist,” I said.

  “They do. Adam just isn’t one of them.”

  I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I took a sip of my champagne.

  “If we’re on this track, let me address you on the same topic. The world is also open to you, Ryan. You’re mature, grounded, successful, interesting. You’re powerful but not oppressive. Don’t allow this issue with Adam’s mother to taint your view of the world when it comes to women. A man like you doesn’t deserve to lead a bachelor life if you don’t want to be a bachelor. Somewhere out there is a woman who is perfect for you, a woman who is searching for you and goes to sleep alone every single night because you aren’t searching for her.”

  I turned my eyes out the window as clouds rolled over the sun.

  “Somewhere out there is a woman who would give anything to be a part of your world, Ryan. Not for your money or your luxurious life, but for the person you are. There’s a woman out there right now, shivering in the cold because she doesn’t have the heat of your embrace to warm her, who would give anything to be sitting on this couch next to you and listening to you speak.”

  I turned my eyes back to his and watched as he drew in a deep breath.

  “Don’t stop searching for her because your ex wants your money. Don’t attribute that disgusting persona to all of us. Adam’s mother is the minority. I promise.”

  Something flashed in his eyes. Something that tingled my skin and sent my heart thundering against my chest. I brought my champagne to my lips and took a sip. Then another. Then another still. Anything to keep my focus away from his intense gaze. I didn’t know what the hell was going on or why I was having the reaction I was, but I knew one thing: I didn’t need to be having it.

  Adam

  I looked at the sheer amount of phone calls I’d missed from Kylie. I couldn’t avoid her any longer. After racking my brain the entire weekend to try to make sense of what I wanted, the only thing I could do was call her and hope she would accept my dinner invitation. I knew things would be awkward and I knew there was a chance another fight could break out, but I had to stop acting like a coward and start acting like the man Kylie deserved.

  “Adam?” she asked.

  “Hey there,” I said.

  “Hey. Um…I, uh…am sort of in the middle of something.”

  “I know you’re at work, so I’ll make it quick. Are you free for dinner tonight?”

  She paused, and I finally got the full effect of what my pause had done to her. It was a simple question, one that warranted a simple answer. When it didn’t immediately come, I figured out firsthand why my pause in the yurt had made her as upset as it had.

  “I am,” she finally said.

  “Would you meet me for dinner so we could talk?” I asked.

  Yet another pause. Another bloated, deafening pause. I didn’t like this pausing shit.

  “Sure,” she said. “Where do you want to meet?”

  “What about the diner across the road from your apartment? Whenever you get off work?” I asked.

  “I’ll be there,” she said. “But I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Then she hung up the phone without saying good-bye. Fucking hell. My father always did that shit, and it burned my blood. Why couldn't someone just end a phone call with a decent “good-bye” or “talk to you later”?

  It wasn’t that hard.

  I wrapped up my filming for the day and headed to the diner. I sat down at a booth in the corner and kept looking at my phone. Kylie didn’t get off until five, and I’d sat down at four thirty. The minutes dragged on like someone had put my day into slow motion. I ordered myself a cup of coffee and kept batting the waitress off. My eyes focused on the door, waiting for her to come in. I sat up in my chair when I saw her car pull into the parking lot of her apartment complex, and I kept my eyes on her while she crossed the street.

  She looked beautiful with her hair flowing past her shoulders and her pencil skirt hugging the curves of her body.

  She saw me, but she didn’t smile at me. And when she sat down, she was all too eager to go ahead and order. I placed my food order before chancing a grin at her, but it was returned with a tight-lipped smile.

  Things felt different between us already, and neither of us had said a word.

  “Do you want me to start?” I asked.

  “You’re the one who called the dinner meeting,” she said.

  “I am,” I said. “Okay. Kylie, you know I love you. You know I care for you deeply.”

  Her face was set in stone. There was not an ounce of reaction to what I’d just said.

  “But I know you’re unhappy with the situation between us, and that’s not what I want for you,” I said.

  “What do you want for me, Adam?”

  “I want you to be happy, to enjoy your life and be proud of it. I want you to succeed and have all the things you could ever possibly want out of it. That’s what loving someone means—wanting the absolute best for them no matter the cost to themselves.”

  “I can’t be happy if you’re unhappy, Adam. That isn’t how that works. You’re my boyfriend, not my personal martyr.”

  “I know,” I said. “And I want to apologize for how I reacted to you in the woods, how I yelled at you and how I acted when all you wanted to do was talk about something.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I cocked my head to the side as the waitress set down Kylie’s coffee in front of her.

  “Are you expecting an apology in return?” Kylie asked.

  “No,” I said.

  It was the only safe answer I could come up with.

  “I accept your apology, Adam, but I really wish you would’ve picked up my calls. That was a childish thing to do.”

  “I was acting childish. I admit that,” I said.

  “That isn’t how a man conducts himself in a relationship, no matter the status of it.”

  I furrowed my brow in confusion as she reached for the creamer sitting on the table. For some reason, she sounded a lot like my father with that statement.

  Holy shit, was she talking to my father about all of this? I shook the thought away and buried the anger driving up my throat. This was not the time to fight. It was the time to make up and keep pushing forward.

  “I shouldn’t have yelled at you, though,” Kylie said. “No one deserves to be yelled at like that.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “We were both frustrated. It’s bound to happen.”

  I reached my hand out for hers and watched as her eyes fell to it. For a second, I thought she wasn’t going to take it. Then her hand appeared from underneath the table and slipped into mine. The electricity crackled and I watched the hairs on her arm stand on end. My beautiful Kylie. She had always been irresistible. I gazed into her eyes as a grin slid across my cheeks, pulling one across hers in return.

  “You were always easy to read,” I said.

  “Shut up. It’s a natural reaction,” she said.

  “To want for something I most certainly can’t give you in here.”

  I slid my foot against hers and began creeping my toe up her bare leg.

  “Adam, stop it. Everyone is going to be able to see us,”
she said.

  “Let them,” I said. “Because I’m not ashamed to love the woman I love.”

  “You’re going to start something you can’t stop.”

  “Good thing your apartment’s right across the road.”

  She shook her head and bit down on her lip, but she didn’t pull away until I got to the crook of her knee. She reached underneath the table and swatted me away, causing a chuckle to fall from my lips. She giggled and her cheeks turned a deep crimson as the waitress set our food in front of us.

  “I love you, Kylie.”

  Her beautiful eyes fluttered up to mine as her thumb stroked my skin.

  “I love you, too, Adam.”

  Our dinner was filled with eating and joking. We laughed so much, I grew hoarse. She wiped tears of joy away from her eyes and I began to sweat when my abs ached from all the laughing. We barely were able to touch our food as we regaled each other with positive memories of our relationship: the first time we met, the first time we kissed, the first time we had sex, the first time we made love. I mentioned the first time Kylie ever passed gas in front of me, and she mentioned the first time she’d ever walked in on me taking a shit.

  So many small things that defined the comfort and resilience of our relationship.

  I knew we would be okay. I didn’t know what the future held for us, but I knew we would be all right. I paid for dinner and reached for her hand, helping her from the booth before we started out of the diner. We ran across the road, laughing at cars that honked as I picked her up and spun her around.

  She gazed into my eyes before she dropped her lips to mine, and as we stood there on the sidewalk in front of her complex, I felt her chest tighten against mine.

  The make-up sex would be astounding this time around.

  “Race you to the top,” Kylie said with a grin.

  She took off in her heels as I followed her up the steps. It always amazed me how quickly she could move in those things. I grabbed at her waist and pulled her to me, crashing our lips together as she flung her door open. I walked her backward inside and kicked the door closed with my foot, kissing down her neck as her hands tangled in my hair.