CHAPTER TWO

RYDER

It’s been four days since I saw Ashlyn and Bradley in her apartment, and I have to say the pain is starting to ease up. Now, I’m just pissed! At her. I’m pissed she invades my thoughts! That she came into my life. Then just left me hanging. She was everything I didn’t know I wanted!

The worst part is that I’m not able to drown myself in booze. I’ve refused to stay at my apartment; that one I’m not budging on. I don’t want to see her or Bradley. Who knows if he is still here visiting her. I mean, for all I know, she went back to Seattle with him. I don’t know. I’m not speaking to my sister or Jaycent, so I am out of the Ashlyn loop. And that’s how I plan on keeping it.

The shitty part is that I actually have to work. My father walked into my office this morning and threw a file on my desk before ordering me to get my ass up ‘cause our plane was leaving in twenty.

Now I stand in a Philadelphia high rise, talking to a group of men who want to partner with me and my dad. And the sad part is I couldn’t care how much money they offer us. I’d much rather be at a local Hooters getting drunk off cheap beer and eating wings while getting a good show. My father was right—my work is going to shit.

My father’s phone rings, and he answers it. “What is it, Kelly?” he asks.

I look up at him and frown. Why is my assistant calling him?

“Did she say what was wrong?” he asks.

“Ryder …?” I turn to face the man who said my name. “Are you listening?” he asks, holding his hands out wide.

I hold up my finger. “Give me one second, gentlemen,” I say to the others as I take a step toward my dad.

“Okay. I’ll call her. Thank you, Kelly,” he says and hangs up.

“What’s going on?” I ask him, but he ignores me as he scrolls through his phone and pulls up a new number and then places his phone back to his ear. It has to be my sister. He wouldn’t care this much about our mother.

I stay close to him to see what all I can hear.

“Becca, is everything okay?” he asks into his phone, confirming I was right. “Ryder’s assistant just called me and told me that you showed up at the office crying.”

I frown. Crying? What could possibly be going on with her? I haven’t spoken to Becca since she stormed into my office, and now I feel bad for ignoring her. What is she going through that would make her cry?

“What’s wrong?” he asks her again after a long pause. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” he demands, and I pull my shoulders back. Who could possibly hurt her … Conner! Is he back? I pulled security off their apartment because the girls wanted me to. What if her hurt her? What if he hurt Ashlyn? I fist my hands.

“Dad …?”

“Mr. O’Kane?” James, the man who called this meeting, interrupts me looking at both of us with a cold expression. “I only have an hour,” he reminds us.

“It’ll only be a second,” I lie, not knowing what to tell him. I want to know what the fuck is going on!

“What? No, Becca,” my father says.

“Mr. O’Kane!” James snaps at me. I turn to tell him to fuck off when my father speaks.

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” Then he exits the conference room.

I turn around, narrowing my eyes at him. He just ruined what little chance I had to hear what was going on.

He looks down at his watch. “I have a plane to catch in …”

“An hour. I know!” I say, interrupting him with a nod. I gesture to the chairs. “Then let’s get down to it,” I growl and plop down.

I took over the meeting while my father stood outside the conference room and talked to my sister. I watched him as I spoke to the men. I saw him eventually hang up, and then he made another phone call. He seemed more pissed when he returned than when he walked out to talk to my sister.

The fact that I closed the deal should have made him happier, but it didn’t help.

An hour later, I’m sitting on my father’s private jet on our way back to Manhattan for him to drop me off. Once we land, he has to go on to Houston. I finally decide to just come out and ask. “What is wrong with Becca?”He sits across from me in the cream and tan leather seat, his head down and eyes on his phone as he types away. I’m guessing he’s dealing with business. “Nothing.”

I huff. “Lying to me? Really, Dad? What is going on with Becca?”

He looks up from his phone, eyes narrowed and jaw tight. “Why don’t you text your sister and ask her.” He made it sound like a question, but the arch of his brow tells me it’s a challenge. Somehow, he knows I’ve cut everyone off, and I can’t do that.

So I go a different direction. “Who was the other person you called?”

He lowers his eyes back down to his phone and answers. “Jaycent.”

I frown. That doesn’t make any sense. Becca calls him crying, and he then calls Jaycent. I mean, the two could be unrelated. Jaycent does a lot of work with us.

I open my mouth to speak to him when my phone goes off. I look down to see it’s my mother. I press ignore and look out the window of his Gulfstream G6.

“Still ignoring Ashlyn?” he asks.

“Nope,” I state and then close my mouth. He doesn’t need to know my personal life. I’ve never been one to fill him in before, so why start now? And whatever we said to one another in those thirty seconds that night she called must have been enough. ‘Cause she hasn’t tried since.

“Then who else are you ignoring?” he asks.

I look over at him. “Mother,” I say flatly.

“Ah, I see.” He nods once. “Still avoiding her after what happened on your boat.”

“What the fuck?” I snap. “How do you know everything that is going on in my life all of a sudden?” I demand.

“Come on, Ryder? You think you can embarrass Vicki on your boat and not expect your mother to call me afterward?”

I roll my eyes. “I liked it better when you all stayed out of my personal life.”

“And I liked it better when you didn’t have one,” he responds flatly, his eyes still on his phone.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I growl.

He sets his phone down on his lap and gives me his full attention. “It means when you started working for me, your personal life became my problem.” I snort. “Seriously, Ryder. You run around New York like a kid on a sugar high. You sleep with woman after woman. And that reflects badly on my company.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m sorry I’m not more like you.” I scoff.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I don’t prefer to be alone with my work all the time. It means that I don’t plan on settling and marrying a woman who I can’t stand to be around.” I look away and take a deep breath. My life is fucking falling apart, and I’m being a dick to the man for no reason. It’s true he was never really there for me and Becca, but I’m not one of those kids who looks down on him. I look up to the man who works hard for his family. I know the life he chose came with sacrifices. And we were that offering.

I look back at him, and he too is looking away from me. He takes in a long breath and then lets it out, looking back at me. “I didn’t always hate your mother,” he says softly.

I hold up my hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Dad. I under—”

“You don’t,” he interrupts me. “There’s so much you don’t know. That you didn’t see.” He pauses and swallows. “But you need to know one thing. Becca already knows, and I need you to be ready for whatever she throws at you.”

“Who? Mom?” He nods. “What could she possibly throw at me?” I ask. “So what if I threw Vicki off the boat? She knows I don’t give two shits about her. All she cares about is her reputation in this town.”

“We’re getting a divorce.”

My eyes widen, and my mouth opens slightly. “A divorce?” I manage to say the words. He nods. “When did you …?” I tilt my head to the side in confusion. Honestly, I’m not all that surprised about the divorce. I’m only surprised he has finally decided to do it.

I should feel pain at his words. You hear kids all the time discussing how their parents’ divorce ruined their lives and all that. But instead, I feel nothing. “When did this come about?” I find myself asking.

“I filed last week,” he states. “Becca overheard me talking to your mother about it on the phone up at O’Kane’s.”

I frown. “Is that why she came into my office so pissy?”

He nods. “She overheard me and your mom talking, and your mom brought up Talia’s.”

“That’s how Becca found out ….” I wonder out loud.

He nods again. “I didn’t know she had overheard me until Jaycent came and saw me and filled me in.”

It all makes sense now. Why Kelly called my father earlier and told him she

showed up crying. She’s upset about my parents divorcing. Of course, she is. Becca takes everything to heart. She cares too much.

“Did Ashlyn know you are buying Talia’s?” he asks.

“No.” I never had the balls to tell her.

“Well, she probably does now. If your mother didn’t tell her, I bet Becca did.”

“Not like it matters,” I say truthfully.

“It should,” he says.

“And why is that? Her knowing isn’t going to change the plan,” I growl. I would have lost her anyway. If she hadn’t pushed me away from the beginning, she would have hated me the moment she found out I was buying it.

He frowns. “I thought you loved her.”

I shrug. “You taught me never to mix business with my personal life.”

He looks away from me and sighs as if my words disappoint him, and I snort. “Now what?” I ask. He looks back at me but says nothing. “Please tell me what I can do to make you happy,” I say sarcastically. “God knows I can’t make anyone else happy these days,” I snap.

He frowns. “What about you?”

“What about me?” I demand, getting irritated at how my life has taken a turn that I never saw coming.

“Are you happy?” he asks as his eyes look into mine.

I stare back, unable to answer that question. He’s never asked me that before, but we both know I’m not. I look back out the window and lean my head against the seat as his phone rings. He answers, and the subject is dropped for now. Because I have a feeling he’s gonna come back to that question someday soon, and the answer is gonna be the same. I’ll never be happy because I lost the only woman I’ve ever loved.

My phone dings, and I look down to see I have a message from my mother.

 

Mom: We need to talk.

 

I ignore it like the last.

ASHLYN

Sitting on my bed, I’m talking to my mother and telling her about my day when I hear the front door open and slam shut. Then I hear Becca walk past my room and into hers.

“Hey Mom, I gotta call you back,” I say and hang up, not waiting for her to say goodbye.

I make my way to her room and knock on her door before I open it. “Becca?”

She’s lying on her bed but rolls over and wipes her wet cheeks. She doesn’t say anything, so I go in and sit beside her. “Do you want to talk?”

She sits up and sighs. “I ran into Conner today, and he told me to tell my dad to stay away from him. So I went up to his work, but he is out of town. Ryder’s assistant called my dad, and then he called me, and he told me that Jaycent had told him last week that Conner was being paid to date me.”

My eyes widen, hoping I heard her wrong. “He was what?” I snap. “Your dad was paying him?” I demand.

She shakes her head. “I forgot you didn’t know.”

“Who the fuck was paying him?”

“My mother.”

“What the fuck, Becca? For how long?” I all but shout.

“Four years,” she whispers. I gasp and go to speak, but she lifts her hand. “Please let me finish.” I close my mouth. “Well, Jaycent had found out I guess back in Panama when he beat Conner up in the bathroom. And then after Conner laid hands on you here, Jaycent went to my dad and asked him to take care of it. Well, I still hadn’t known.”

“When did you find out?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“The night on Ryder’s boat. Vicki told me.”

“That bitch knew about it?” I snap. “Who the fuck told her?”

“My mom.” I let out a long breath. “I guess my mom wasn’t secretive about it.”

“Have you spoken to her about it?” She nods. “And did she deny it?”

She shakes her head. “She said that Conner was what I needed.”

“Such a bitch,” I growl. “So then what happened?”

“I broke up with Jaycent,” she says matter-of-factly.

“Why would you do that?” I ask wide-eyed. “You love him.”

“And I thought I loved Conner but look at how horrible that decision was.” She sighs.

“Yeah, but they’re not the same,” I say, taking her hand. “I don’t agree with

what Jaycent did, but he was just trying to protect you.” I give her a soft smile. “And Conner was only about himself.”

“Maybe,” she says and hangs her head.

“Hey.” I grab her hands. “How about we heat some leftovers and watch Top Gun. Girls’ night?” I suggest. I had planned on sitting in my room crying my eyes out over how my life has fallen apart, but my best friend needs me. I had no idea what she had been going through these past few days. I’ve been too busy wallowing in self-pity to open my damn eyes and see that she was hurting as well.

She finally nods, and my fake smile fades. “I’m so sorry, Becca.”

“For what?” she asks.

“For everything you’re going through. I should have been there for you and not so wrapped up in Ryder. I had no idea—”

“No, don’t do that to yourself,” she interrupts me. “You’re a great friend. Don’t think you’re not. You’ve always been there for me.”

I nod, but I’m not convinced. “What were you going to say to me on the boat that night before Ryder came in and interrupted you?” She asks.

I let go of her hand and sit back. “When Vicki realized who I was, she said that your mother had mentioned me. She said that I pulled you down. And that I was beneath all of you. And I wanted to apologize if you felt that way,” I say softly.

“What?” She grabs my hand again. “No, Ashlyn. That’s not even close to the truth. You are the best friend I’ve ever had. You have always been there for me. More than anyone else ever has. I just told you that my mother was paying my boyfriend to be with me. So don’t believe anything she says.”

I nod. “I just … Ryder got mad at me because I told him that she was right. I don’t fit into your guys’ world. And what she said made some sense.”

“Ashlyn, you are the best thing about my world,” she says, and my eyes fill with tears. “You and your parents have taught me so much that I could never repay you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” I whisper.

“That’s not how I see it,” she adds with a smile. “I was in a new place scared to death with a man who at the time didn’t give two shits about me. You took me in, and you all showed me what life was supposed to be about. To me, that means everything.”

**

The following night, we sit on the couch watching Top Gun once again when we hear a knock on the door just as my phone rings in the bedroom.

I get up and run to my room to answer it. A part of me hopes it’s Ryder. I sigh when I see it’s Bradley. He just won’t stop.

“Hello?” I ask, answering the damn thing.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hey,” I say, sitting down on the side of the bed.

“I, uh …” He pauses, and I say nothing. “I need to see you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea ...” I say honestly, not wanting to lead him on.

“Please. I’m begging you. Just come and see me.”

I run a hand through my hair. “We shouldn’t …”

“I’m not leaving New York until you see me,” he says, changing his approach.

I fall onto my back and sigh. “Fine.”

“Tonight?” he asks, pushing it as if I don’t already have plans on this Friday night.

“Okay.” Might as well get this over with.

He hangs up, and I sit. “We need a bottle of wine,” I say, walking to the kitchen but stop when I see Mr. O’Kane standing in our apartment. I had thought Jaycent was at the door. “Oh, Mr. O’Kane,” I say in surprise.

“Hello, Ashlyn,” he says.

“Hello, sir,” I say, looking back and forth between them. “I’ll give you guys some space …”

“No need. I’m here to see you too.” My brows lift. “May we?” He gestures to the living room.

Becca and I both nod and turn to make our way back to the living room. I sit beside her, and he sits on the couch across from us. “What are you doing here, Dad?” she asks.

He undoes the bottom button of his suit jacket and sits back on the couch. “I just wanted to let you know that you won’t be having problems with Conner anymore.”

“What did you do to him?” she asks.

“Nothing short of killing him will do,” I say, hating that man.

Mr. O’Kane laughs at my statement, and she just looks at me wide-eyed. “The less you know, the better,” he says, and I give them a genuine smile. “Honey, I think you should call Jaycent.” He changes the subject.

She snorts. “Now all of a sudden you’re on his side?”

He sighs. “I didn’t realize how unhappy you were. And that’s my fault.” He looks around the apartment and frowns as if he too doesn’t like it. “I never thought you would hate this apartment. I bought it thinking you would be safe. That you would be near my office and close to your brother in case you needed anything. If you want to sell it, then I’ll help you do just that. But now I see that you have someone else to help take care of you, and that person is Jaycent. Becca, don’t be mad at him for telling me about Conner.”

Sell her apartment? This is news to me.

“He should have told me,” she argues.

“I’m not saying he shouldn’t have, but I’m also saying that he realized the situation was bigger than him. And all I want is for you to be safe. And that’s exactly what he did. I just want what is best for you, and Jaycent coming to me showed that he is it.”

“So you condone him keeping secrets from me?”

He shakes his head. “I condone a man willing to do whatever it takes to keep the woman he loves safe.” She sighs, and I wonder why I am needed for this conversation. “Give him a chance,” he urges.

“A chance to what? Prove he’s not like Conner?”

“You know he’s not like Conner,” he responds flatly.

She lifts her hand and rubs her forehead. “I did but—”

“But nothing,” I say, interrupting her. She looks at me, and I give her a smile. “He’s the one you’ve always wanted. Don’t allow Conner to take something else away from you, Becca. He doesn’t deserve that much credit.”

She bites her bottom lip before smiling. “Okay. I’ll call him.”

“He’s outside your door,” he says. “I made the call for you.”

I stand. “I’ll let you guys be alone …”

“Actually”—he stands as well—“I would like to talk to you, Ashlyn. If you don’t mind?”

I nod and sit down slowly. He looks at Becca. “Alone.”

I swallow as she nods and walks to the front door before exiting the apartment.

I cross my legs and look anywhere but at Mr. O’Kane. He looks so much like Ryder it’s scary. And it’s just another reminder of what I fucked up on. “I’m assuming that Becca told you about Talia’s,” he says, getting to the point.

I nod. “She told me that O’Kane Enterprises is buying them.”

“I know the manager very well …” He lets his sentence hang in the air, and I swallow nervously. “I must say I wasn’t surprised when she called me a few days ago,” he says, eyeing me.

I shift in my seat.

“She informed me that you put your two weeks’ notice in.”

My heart rate picks up. I didn’t want anyone to know. Can she legally do that? Not like it matters. Anyone who has the last name O’Kane owns this town. I’m just a fish in their ocean. “I did.” I own up to it. I’ve never been a coward.

He shakes his head as if he’s disappointed in me. “I told her to disregard your request.”

My brows rise. “You can’t—”

“I did!” he interrupts me sharply.

I sigh, feeling defeated. Can’t I choose how to live my life? “With all due respect, sir, you can’t control what I do.”

He actually smiles at me. “I’m trying to protect you.”

I snort. “You are just prolonging the inevitable. You think I’m going to work for a company that my ex owns?” I shake my head. “I’ll pass. And I doubt you guys keep it a gallery.”

He stands as if we’re done and buttons his suit jacket. “Give me a month.”

I stand as well and eye him skeptically. “A month to what?”

“To give you something better than what you have now,” he says with confidence. As if putting my future in his hands would be a smart move.

“I don’t know …”

“I’m a man with many connections,” he adds.

I square my shoulders. “I don’t need your connections,” I say sternly. “I was taught that you get what you work for.”

He nods. “And I respect that. You’ve worked hard to get where you are now. And believe me when I say that Lauren was impressed beyond words with your interview, and that you have major potential. So I’m asking you to give me one month.”

I run a hand through my hair and let out a long sigh. One more month in this town that just continues to swallow me up and spit me out? Another month with the man I love living above me and wishing I didn’t exist? To someone else, four weeks is nothing. To me, it’s thirty days in hell. But he’s right. He has connections, and no one tells him no. Finally, I nod. “One month.” I agree as if I had a choice when, in all honesty, we both know I didn’t.

I turn and walk back to my room to change my clothes. I have somewhere to be.

**

I take a deep breath as I approach the door of Bradley’s hotel room in Brooklyn. The long cab ride made me nauseous. I really regret selling my car. I’m pretty sure I won’t survive another month of these cab rides.

Closing my eyes, I let it out and lift my hand to knock on the white door. My eyes spring open when it’s opened before I even get the chance. My hand falls to my side when I see him standing there wearing a pitiful look on his handsome face. His brown hair is disheveled, and he has dark circles under his eyes.

He moves to the side and gestures for me to enter. “Please?” He says the single word softly, and it just reminds me that this isn’t going to end well.

I step into his hotel room and turn to face him as he shuts the door. I wanna get this over with and then go home, drink a bottle of wine, and pass the fuck out! “What was so important that I needed to come see you?” He opens his mouth, but I continue. “Or better yet, why are you still here, Bradley?” I’m mad at him. For doing this to me. To us. For ruining our friendship when he didn’t have to.

“I … uh, well … I needed …” He stops blabbering and just stares at me.

The silence in the small room makes me nervous and uncomfortable. “Spit it out, Bradley,” I growl.

I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows and then he falls to one knee while pulling a small white box out of his jeans pocket.

I stumble back a step. “What the hell …?”

“Please marry me, Ash …”

“You can’t be serious!” I gasp.

“You can’t be this surprised, baby,” he says with a smile forming on his face.

The way he calls me baby makes my stomach turn. I open my mouth but then shut it—unable to form a word.

He slowly stands as his eyes drop to my stomach then meet mine. “After I left your apartment, I came back.”

“What? When?” I ask, trying to process everything.

He looks down at the open box sitting in his hand. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t walk away from you. Jaycent answered the door and wouldn’t let me in.”

I shake my head. He has to be lying, right? Jaycent never told me this. “He actually took up for Ryder. Said he just needed time.”

I wish that would have been the case.

“I’ve thought about it, and maybe he was right in a way. It’s you who just needed time.” I start shaking my head. “I told Jaycent I would propose.” What? “I told him that Ryder doesn’t deserve you. That I would never walk away from you like he did, and I’m a man of my word, Ash. Here I am, still fighting for you. Please, give me a chance.”

“A chance to what?” I can’t help but ask.

“To show you that I’m the one for you. And that I’m the one you love,” he says simply.

“All this time …” I can’t finish the words.

He gives me a big smile and takes a step toward me. “I’ve loved you all along, Ashlyn. How did you not see it?”

My stomach knots at how wrong I have been all this time. “I … I love …” His smile widens, and I hate that what I’m about to say will destroy him once again. “I love Ryder,” I whisper.

The smile falls off his face, and he looks away from me, licking his lips. Then very slowly shuts the box. He gives me his back and runs a hand through his hair.

I take a step toward him as I say, “I’m sorry …”

“Sorry?” he snaps, spinning back around to face me.

I let out a sigh. “I am, Brad. I’m sorry I can’t love you like you love me,” I say truthfully. My throat tightening. “You were my best friend—”

He throws his head back and lets out a dry laugh, interrupting me. “You’re not even trying!” He growls. “Three years you’ve known me, Ash. You’ve known him for three weeks. And you choose him over me? Why? ‘Cause he has money?”

My lips thin. “It’s not about money!” I snap. “You know I don’t care about that shit!”

He holds his hands out wide to his side. “Apparently, I don’t know you at all,” he shouts. “I mean, I’ve stood by while you’ve whored around …” I gasp. “But to fall for one of the bastards …”

“Fuck you!” I shout and then ask him “What about the girl you were seeing when I got back from Panama City?” I had asked him this before he stormed out of my apartment, but he never answered.

“I made her up,” he says.

“What?” How many other things has he lied to me about?

“I did it to make you jealous, but it obviously didn’t work,” he snaps.

“I can’t believe you,” I say and start to storm toward the door.

He grabs the back of my arm and yanks me to a stop. “Let go, Brad!” I growl, looking up at him.

His dark brown eyes are narrowed and his jaw tight. “Where is he at, Ash?” he demands.

“That’s none of your business!” I snap, trying to remove my arm from his

grip. No luck.

He gives another rough laugh. “He never came back to you, did he?” I refuse to answer that. “Let me guess. He hasn’t even called or text you.” I close my lips tightly. His other hand comes up and grabs my other arm, holding me in place. “Men like him don’t fall in love with women like you.” His voice has softened, but he might as well have screamed it at the top of his lungs and slapped me across the face.

My shoulders slump, and my chest tightens at the truth in his words.

He lets go of my arms and cups my face. “Women like you are a dime a dozen to him.” He just twisted the knife in my chest. “But to me …” He sighs. “To me, you’re everything.”