Chapter Sixteen
Blaire
It was nice waking up next to Ryan again. It was strange because although I’d only known him for a short while, I felt completely safe next to him. And even though he didn’t have to worry about me, I knew that he did. I lay there watching him sleep, but the moment he opened his eyes, he scrunched up his face in pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“Headache,” he said.
“Oh no, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just need some Advil, and I’ll be fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“I’ll get for you.”
I went to the bathroom where I had seen a bottle the night before, pulled out two, and filled up a glass of water. I went back to the bed and handed it to him.
“Thank you so much,” he said as he popped the two pills. “I’ll be fine in no time. And . . . good morning, by the way.”
“Good morning,” I said and smiled. “You sure you okay? You look like you’re in pain.”
“I’m fine. It happens every now and again, but it’s nothing serious. Did you sleep well?”
I sighed with contentment. “Yes. This bed is amazing. And it was nice not having to worry about someone knocking on my door.” I reached out for my phone and looked at it. “And no phone calls either. Maybe whoever it was has forgotten about me.”
“That would be nice. I hope so,” he said.
“So, Trinity was showing me around the house yesterday. It’s huge.”
He laughed. “I love the way a movie star is telling me how big this house is.”
“Well, you’ve seen my house. This one is bigger. Also, I’m not sure that I’m a movie star just yet.”
“You’ve been in movies. You’re a movie star. It really is that simple. You honestly don’t think enough of yourself.”
“I guess. Anyway, even if I did get super famous, I still wouldn’t get a huge house. I don’t see the point. Why do I need more than what I have now? Even what I have is big and I know I’m lucky to have it.”
“That’s what I like about you, Blaire. I can’t stand people that are superficial. Not that my brother is superficial or anything. He’s far from it, in fact. I guess the house was a nice distraction for him.”
I frowned. I knew very little about Ryan’s family. “What exactly happened between him and his wife?”
“I’ll be honest. I don’t know as much as I should. But you know what men are like sometimes. We don’t always talk about things. And I didn’t want to ask. But basically, she left after Trinity was born. Poor Reed was heartbroken. He hasn’t really been the same ever since.”
“That’s horrible. I feel so bad for him. He seems like such a nice guy too. I suppose there were things going on that we don’t know about. If there’s one thing I’ve realized over the years, it’s that people are not always who they seem.”
I immediately thought about my lying ex-boyfriend and how I had believed him when he said I was the only one for him. I shook my head to get the thought away. He was the last person I wanted to be thinking about.
“He must do pretty well for himself then if he has a house like this,” I said.
We were staying in the back house, which was completely separate. It had its own entrance and was fairly big in its own regard.
“Yeah, he’s a neurosurgeon, and he’s excellent at what he does. I have to say: he’s definitely the smartest out of all the brothers. The rest of us are all a little bit more hands on, if you know what I mean. Not that a neurosurgeon is not hands-on, but it’s very different from the rest of us. He’s very clever, and he’s made a good name for himself.”
“The two of you seem to get along well.”
“We do. He’s a good guy. We don’t have the same relationship that I do with my other brothers. I joke around with him more. He’s more serious. But he’s cool.”
“And his daughter is so cute,” I said.
“She’s adorable. I see she took to you. I don’t think she’s used to having females around. I mean, she’s used to the housekeeper. But that’s different. You’re this gorgeous movie star, and you totally swept her off her feet. I wish Reed would date again; it would be so good for him. And so good for her. I think it’s time.”
“Have you thought about speaking to him about it?”
He laughed. “Not really. As I said, it’s not the easiest thing to talk about with him.”
“Maybe bring it up one day. Maybe he needs that little boost.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it. Anyway, I always feel a little queasy when I have these pills on an empty stomach. Ready for some breakfast? Reed said we could join them this morning.”
“Am I ready for breakfast?” I said. “I’m always ready for breakfast.”
He laughed. “Okay, let’s get ready and go then. They might be waiting for us.”
We got ready and then made our way to the main house. Trinity was peering out, clearly waiting for us, and a big smile formed on her little face the moment she saw us.
“BLAIRE!” she yelled and came running. Then, as if on second thought, she looked at Ryan and smiled. “Hey, Uncle Ryan.”
He laughed. “Good morning, Trinity. Did you sleep well?”
She nodded. “Yes. I couldn’t wait for you to wake up. You took long.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said. “We were so comfortable in bed.”
We walked with her into the house and toward the kitchen where breakfast had been all set up for us.
“Oh wow, it smells so good in here.”
Reed turned around and smiled at us. “Morning. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I made a bit of everything.”
“And I helped!” Trinity said. “I set the table. Come sit.”
“Thanks for this; man, it looks great. Can we help you with anything?” Ryan asked.
“Nah, I’ll bring it all to the table, and you can help yourself. Coffee for anyone?”
“Yes please!” Ryan and I said at the exact same time, and Reed laughed.
“Coming right up.”
A few minutes later, Reed had set the table up with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, jam, peanut butter, and various other bits and pieces that we would never be able to eat. There was way more food than was necessary and I wondered if it was because Reed wasn’t used to having people around. The thought saddened me. Trinity was so excited to see us, and she couldn’t stop talking.
“Don’t you have school today?” Ryan asked.
“Yes! But Daddy said I can go in a bit late. He’s also going to work late.”
“Ah, thanks; you didn’t have to,” Ryan said to Reed.
Reed shrugged. “I thought it would be nice to have breakfast together today. Anyway, I never get to work late, so just one time won’t matter. And all my important appointments are much later. I told Linda to come in a bit later too, so she’s probably really appreciating the sleep in this morning.”
“Linda?” Ryan asked.
For a brief second, I thought that Reed was going to tell us that Linda was his new girlfriend.
“She looks after me when Daddy is working,” Trinity said, and I breathed a sigh of relief that Ryan hadn’t asked if it was Reed’s girlfriend. That would’ve been incredibly awkward.
“Yeah, she’s great. She helps with the house, but she also looks after Trinity and gets her from school when I can’t. She’s a lifesaver. The problem is that my hours aren’t always that great, so I can’t be here all the time. Trinity used to come to work with me when she was younger as we had some people there that could look after her. But this is better.”
“It’s good to get the help. Do you like her, Trinity?” Ryan asked.
“Yes. She’s nice. What do you do? Do you also look after kids?” Trinity asked me. She was clearly more interested in Ryan and me than she was in talking about the housekeeper.
I chuckled. “No, I’m an actress.”
Trinity’s eyes widened. “An actress. On TV?”
“Yes, it’s a lot of fun.”
“That sounds so interesting, Blaire,” Reed said. “I was telling Ryan last night that I thought you looked familiar. Were you in Project Stair?”
I was so surprised. Not many people had seen that movie, and when they did, they usually didn’t realize I was in it. It wasn’t the movie that I went around telling people about.
“You looked me up, didn’t you?” I said and laughed as I pictured him quickly looking me up when he found out I was an actress. A lot of people felt nervous when they discovered I was an actress, but they didn’t know who I was. I didn’t mind. There were a lot of people in the acting world. It took a long time to become very well known.
“Look you up? No. What do you mean?” he asked, and I could tell that he genuinely had not done that.
“Oh,” I said, completely taken aback. “Most people don’t know about that movie, and I wasn’t a big part.”
“Are you kidding? I love that movie.”
The more I thought about it, the less surprised I was. The movie was not a blockbuster hit. It was an indie movie, which had been less mainstream than what they had even intended it to be. It was very different from the kinds of movies that most people enjoy. It was certainly very unique and when I had read the script, I’d fallen in love with it. It was a very intelligent movie. It made you stop and think about your own life in a way that most movies didn’t do. The type that a man like Reed would enjoy. I’d always loved that movie, but most people I knew simply didn’t get it.
“I’m so glad you liked it. It’s always been one of my favorites even though it didn’t do so well. I usually don’t even tell people about that one. They either haven’t heard about it or they really didn’t get it. And truthfully, I got sick of explaining it.”
“A lot of the times, those are the best films. I still remember where I was when I watched that movie. Afterward I walked around in a bit of a daze. It made me look at life in a whole new way. Wow, I can’t believe you’re sitting here.”
Ryan chuckled. “Are you star struck?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” I said as I decided to answer for Ryan. “I’m the one that’s star struck. I’m a big MMA fan. So meeting Ryan was a huge deal for me.”
“Oh yeah?” he said and raised his eyebrows. “I’m a fan too.”
“No, you’re not!” Ryan said. “You hate fighting.”
“Yeah, but I watch to support you. You know that.”
“Me too!” Trinity said.
“You watch your Uncle Ryan fight?” Ryan asked her.
She nodded. “Yes. But Daddy says it’s not real fighting. He said you are an actor. It’s just for play. But he says you are the best.”
“I hope he’s right,” Ryan said. “And what about you? What do you want to be when you’re older?”
She sat for a while, really thinking about the question. “Hmm . . . spaghetti!”
Everyone burst out laughing. “You want to be spaghetti?” Ryan asked.
“Yes. I love spaghetti.”
“That is the best answer I have ever heard in my life,” he said.
We sat for another hour enjoying our breakfast, and I watched in amusement as Ryan interacted with Trinity. He’d been very caring toward me, so I knew he had a soft side, but this was a side that I was sure nobody else got to see of him. He obviously cared deeply for Trinity, and the two of them seemed to have a very special bond. I couldn’t help but think how attractive he was to me. Here was this big strong man, filled with tattoos, who had barely remembered to shave the past few days, playing and laughing with his young niece. It was impossible not to feel attracted to him at that moment.