Ryder
After the first night, I spent the next three days working late and avoiding Lucy. When I came home late, I could see the light shining under her closed door, but I simply couldn’t manage dealing with her, or the rattling in my brain when she was around. Pretty classic avoidance maneuvers that you can only get away with for so long.
Of course, Jacob had kept me informed of what she was up to, and I’d checked in with him so regularly, that it probably would have been more efficient to talk to her myself. The whole point of having her around, was to literally have her around, so I knew that it was time to suck it up and engage her. Avoiding her just made me think about her more, and that wasn’t getting us anywhere. I had some client dinners on the horizon, as well as the gala coming up, and I couldn’t avoid her, or my conflicted feelings, forever.
I didn’t mean to get so angry with her, but my rules were important. They were for her safety, my security, and they were not negotiable. Regardless of my lament over our past at times, I needed to stand firm on the life I’d built since I left New Jersey, and avoiding Lucy made that so much easier.
I notified Maybel that I’d like dinner cooked at home for Lucy and myself, and informed Jacob and Lucy separately that I’d be home for dinner. Not sure what I’d walk into after three days of not speaking, I cautiously entered my own home, expecting the worst, but hoping for a warm welcome.
“Hello?” I called out when I walked in.
“Oh, there you are, Mr. Donahue. I’ve been expecting you.” Lucy walked out from her the sitting room, in a vintage-style dress, wearing an apron and high heels.
“What’s going on?” I asked, utterly confused.
“Well, since you expect me to sit around all day, doing nothing at all, I assumed that you had reverted into a 1950’s businessman, and expected your woman to be home, ready to cook and clean for you, but not without looking her best,” she replied with a smile plastered across her overdone face.
After a long day, I was not up for her shenanigans. “Cut the shit, Lucy. What the fuck are you doing?”
“Can I get you a drink? After a long day at the office, a good woman gets her man a cocktail before dinner.” She kept up the act, walking over to the bar, where she poured me a whiskey. As I stood in the same spot, just inside the front door, I shook my head, and ran my hand through my hair. “Is something wrong dear?” she asked.
“Come on, Lucy, I’ve had a very trying day. Can we just act normal?” I pleaded.
“Normal? What’s normal? Being stuck in a house all day by myself that isn’t mine with nothing to do? No job, no friends that I can share what I’m up to with? I went shopping, like you told me to. That took up an entire afternoon. I wasn’t really by myself though, because I had Jacob lurking about the entire time. So that was lovely.” She dramatically placed her hand on her hip as she handed me the drink and gave me an exaggerated smile.
“We’ve already been through this, Lucy. He is with you for your protection.”
“He is with me, so you can spy on me all day.” She dropped the act. “I signed a contract stating that I’d do what you said. But you keep me locked up here like a fucking prisoner, Ryder! You’ve left me by myself for days!” she yelled at me.
Unable to control my emotions, I slammed my drink on the table next to me and grabbed her arm, dragging her back to her room.
“What are you doing?!” she yelled.
“Go change your clothes. Enough of this shit!” I shouted back at her. Frustration with her attitude was making me crazy, and on top of that, the sight of her dressed like a 1950’s housewife was also so fucking hot that I needed to adjust my cock. Not only did she have the full vintage clothing on, she had her hair done up in beautiful curls, tied back with a silk scarf. She looked like a fucking pin-up model.
“Oh, I’m sorry, was belabored housewife not what you were in the mood for? What about socialite prisoner? Is that more your speed?” she hissed at me as she attempted to shove me away.
At six foot four, there was not much her tiny frame could do to move me, which just angered her more. I grabbed her just below her shoulders, holding her still before taking in a deep breath. I didn’t want to fight with her. “Please stop, Lucy. Just stop,” I stated as calmly as I could.
“Why? What difference does it make?” She started to calm down, and I loosened my grip on her.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, okay? I’m sorry that I haven’t been home. Is that what you’re mad about?”
Her lips curled into a sexy pout that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. Her painted red lips were calling to me, and I was doing everything in my power to avoid what I wanted to happen.
“I’m lonely here all day by myself, Ryder. I feel like I’m locked up in a tower and have everything I could possibly need, and yet nothing at all. I left my jobs for this. Do you understand that I wanted to work? Do you even know why I’m here?” A single tear rolled down her cheek, slicing my chest open wide. I felt fucking horrible.
I let go of her immediately, and reached to her face to wipe away the tear, when she flinched. Another knife to my heart. “Did you think I would hurt you, Lucy?” I asked in shock. As another tear fell, she shook her head, but didn’t speak. “Fuck. I’m so sorry.” She thought I’d hurt her, and the thought of her frightened of me was more gut-wrenching than the day she left. Completely unsure of how to handle the situation, I did what I knew how to do best. I walked away. “Please come have dinner with me at seven,” I muttered as I headed to my bedroom.
I took off my suit, and changed into jeans and a t-shirt before sitting on the edge of my bed to think. Placing my head in my hands, I tried to calm myself and figure out my next move, when I heard a tiny knock at the door.
“It’s me,” she said quietly through the door. “May I talk to you for a minute?”
“Of course,” I replied as I got up to let her in. I didn’t know what to say, but I was glad that she came to me.
I watched as she looked around my bedroom, taking in her surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. I had a huge California King bed, two nightstands, a dresser, and a lamp. I didn’t bother furnishing it any further than that, as I usually just crashed in there anyway. I stepped aside for her to come in, and motioned for her to sit on the bed, which she did.
“I’m sorry for the theatrics today,” she began. “It’s just that I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I really don’t. I get that I’m supposed to be your fake girlfriend or companion or whatever, but you want me to live here alone, with nothing to do all day. It’s making me crazy.” Her voice shook.
Dropping to my knees in front of her, and taking her hands in mine, I tried to meet her eyes. “Look at me, Lucy,” I demanded softly. As she turned her gaze back to me, I continued. “I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel like a prisoner here. I am overprotective of you because of my business and because, contrary to what you may think, I do care about you. I know that isn’t fair to you, though. I’m going to try to make this better, okay?”
“Do you even want me here, Ryder? I could just move back to my apartment, and I can still go with you wherever you want me to, like we agreed. I mean, we’re not a real couple, so what difference does it make anyway?”
Thinking briefly about how to respond honestly, without either getting angry, or handing over my my heart to her again, I replied, “I want you here. It’s been a strange couple of days, and I promise you that moving forward, it won’t be like it has been.” I brought her hands to my lips, kissing the top of each of them gently.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her lips beginning to form a bit of a smile, slowly closing the chasm in my heart, that had been there just moments ago.
I wasn’t at all sure what the fuck I was doing, but I wasn’t going to make her cry anymore. That was for certain. “I’m sure,” I replied. “Now let’s go eat. Like a normal couple.” I stood up, pulling her with me, and we walked to the dining room together.