Chapter 18

 

 

On the way home, Ryan called Raven and asked her to come over. He needed moral support for this call, and not from Shannon, who would only distract him. He needed a clear head for the conversation.

Now he was pacing the living room trying to get the courage without a bottle of liquor.

Raven watched Ryan from the couch. “Call Luke.”

He nodded, pulled his phone from his pocket, and stared at the display. A hundred ways to tell him rolled through his head.

“Fuck it.” He pulled up Luke’s number and pressed call.

It took a couple rings before he heard, “Hey, Ryan. What’s going on?”

He rubbed his thigh. “You sitting?”

“Uh, why?” Luke asked slowly.

“This is important, and I’m worried about your reaction.” Ryan winced. Maybe he should have done it face-to-face. Nope, not face-to-face. Luke might deck him.

Ryan didn’t truly believe that.

Luke sighed. “Okay, fine. I’m sitting, happy?”

“Uh…”

“Dude, what’s going on?” Now he sounded worried.

“I’m gay,” Ryan blurted out.

“You’re wha—is this a joke?”

“No.” He blew out a breath. “Why do you think you never see me with anyone, ever?”

“Okay,” Luke said slowly, like he was processing a total shocker.

Ryan sank onto the coffee table and closed his eyes.

Luke was silent a long moment, then finally laughed softly. “That actually makes a lot of sense. Why didn’t you tell me?”

The moment of truth. Ryan held his breath a second before admitting, “Because I wanted you for years, and I knew it wasn’t going to happen, so I didn’t want you to know.”

“Oh.” Then silence.

Ryan gulped.

“And now?” Luke asked.

“You’re happy with Leona, and in love. You’re exactly where you should be.”

“Then what’s the problem?” The confusion in Luke’s voice was a huge relief. Not a hint of anger or fear.

“I’m seeing Shannon O’Neil. Is that going to be weird Saturday? If not, I was hoping you and Leona could come out with us on the yacht Sunday, if it’s not too much.” He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll check with Leona. Wait, she can know, right?”

“Yeah. I know she’ll keep the secret.” His face screwed up. “Is it going to cause a problem with what I admitted?”

“Considering what you did to help me find her, I doubt it.” Luke paused for a moment, then tentatively said, “I don’t have to tell her.”

“No, tell her. That’s why I told you all of it. I don’t want to hide it from you anymore. Maybe I should have kept that part to myself, but I needed to get it off my chest.”

“I figured that. Look, Ryan, this doesn’t change anything. You’re still my best friend. As long as you still plan to go with me when I shop for you know what.”

Ryan grinned. “Hell yes. I honestly can’t believe you’ve waited this long to ask her.”

A laugh came out of Luke. “And I can’t believe I didn’t know about you.”

Ryan dropped his head, feeling foolish. “Didn’t want to push you away.”

Luke chuckled. “You haven’t. But so many things make so much more sense now.”

“Like what?”

“How you’ve always managed to stay so unattached even when you were out with women I couldn’t stop drooling over.”

Ryan’s brow cocked. “You’ve been out with hot women too.”

“Look, your secret is safe with me. We’re cool. And wow, O’Neil is your type?”

Ryan couldn’t help smiling. “Something like that.”

“Good for you. And I’ll tell Leona. I’m sure it’s not going to change anything.”

“Probably not. I’ve read some of what she writes.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. She is open-minded. She’s calling me for dinner. I need to go. See you tomorrow.”

“Yup. Make sure she’s cool with this, please.”

“You have my word, but I can guarantee it will be fine. Talk to you later.”

“Later.” Ryan set the phone down and looked at Raven.

“Told you not to worry.” She sat forward. “You should have believed me.”

“Yeah, you’re always right.”

She nodded, clearly proud of herself.

Ryan changed the subject. “Have you gotten anything from your stalker lately?” After mentioning it to Shannon, he’d been thinking about it. And if Shannon was upgrading his security, it made sense to ensure he did the same for Raven. For two years, she’d received gifts and mildly threatening letters from an anonymous source. They weren’t mailed, they weren’t delivered by a service. The items showed up in places like hotel rooms, trailers on set, and in her car.

“Nope. Doesn’t mean I’m not watching over my shoulder. But lately, he’s not hassling me. But I also haven’t wound up in the tabloids with anyone, not even you. That’s usually when he starts up again.”

“And the police still haven’t done anything?”

She shook her head.

“Fuck.”

“He hasn’t gotten inside. Just leaves things in the mailbox.”

“I could ask Shannon to look into it. See if he can find anything out. Maybe update your security.”

Hope lit her blue-green eyes. “If he’s up for it.”

“I’m sure he would be. He’s upgrading mine this weekend.”

“Then I’ll definitely want him to go through mine. I don’t even care if the service is expensive. I don’t want to meet the guy following me around.”

“Well, if it ever gets bad, you can stay here, with us.”

“Wouldn’t that cause some headlines?” she teased.

“Well, it would be better than staying alone, where that creep could get to you.”

“True. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping it’s not as bad as all of that.”

“This has been going on over a year.”

“Yeah, but because he hasn’t actually done anything besides leave gifts in a mailbox anyone can get into, the police aren’t taking it serious yet.”

“I’ll see what Shannon has to say.”

“Thanks. Should I go before he comes over?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Depends, are you meeting Ash?”

“I am. But I have some time.”

“If you want to stay, I’m sure Shannon will be happy to know I told you and Luke.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t get why you were that worried.”

One brow arched. “Think about the last person who obsessed over him. Bitch nearly killed him.”

“You aren’t a psycho, and you may have wanted him, but you didn’t chase him. And you’re with someone. He’s with someone. It’s ancient news.”

“Let’s hope time to think about it doesn’t change his mind.”

She rolled her eyes. “Doubtful.”

The gate bell rang. Ryan buzzed O’Neil through and went to the door.

Shannon’s brow rose at the car in the driveway. As he climbed out, he watched Ryan.

Raven stepped out of the house with a smile. “How are you, O’Neil?”

“Good. You?” he glanced at Ryan, probably for confirmation.

Ryan smiled. “Told her. And I needed her here for moral support when I told Luke.”

Shannon hesitated before asking, “Did you?”

Nodding, Ryan beckoned him closer. “Yeah, and he’ll tell Leona before dinner Saturday.”

“And?”

“And he’s fine.”

“Good.” Shannon closed the distance.

Raven grinned. “No one would bat an eye if you two sat close, touched, even kissed.”

“I’m not worried about that. I just prefer it not being an issue if we all hang out sometime. And that was happening Saturday, which I hadn’t expected.”

“You would have been fine keeping it a secret from everyone?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time I had to keep that kind of secret.” That was what his mouth said, but not his eyes.

Ryan rubbed at his arm. “Come inside.” He stepped in, followed by Raven. Then O’Neil joined them. “I have a yacht. Want to come out with us Sunday?”

“Who?”

“Manny, which possibly means Aubrey, me, you, Luke, Leona, Raven, and possibly Ash.”

Raven held up her hand. “Actually, I’ll skip Ash. He doesn’t know, and I don’t know how well I trust him yet. Besides, he has an opening to go to, which I declined to attend.”

“Are you positive?” Ryan asked. “You know I trust your judgment.”

She nodded. “Definitely. Besides, I have questions for Leona about my character. I want to make sure I don’t wreck her vision.”

Ryan nodded. “Good idea.”

“What’s she like?” Shannon asked.

“Introspective, funny, and easy to talk to.” Ryan shrugged. “And she’s beautiful.”

“The way Luke lights up when he talks about her, I can imagine,” Shannon answered.

Raven glanced at her phone. “Okay, boys, that’s my cue to go. Have fun.” She hugged Ryan and turned to do the same for Shannon.

“Oh,” Ryan said, “I want to hire you to update Raven’s security. She has a problem I’ll tell you about.”

Ryan held up a hand. “This weekend is going to be busy.”

“Doesn’t have to be this week.” Raven lifted a shoulder. “When you can. I’ll put in a formal request for your work.”

“I will. I want to make sure it gets done,” Ryan said.

“Not if I call first.” She waved, ducked into her car, and took off.

Ryan turned to Shannon. “She has a stalker. One who leaves her things. It’s been going on for a year.”

“You mentioned that, and nothing is being done about it. Any clue who it might be?”

“No. Bastard’s clever. He’s avoided all the cameras so far.” Ryan headed inside and turned toward O’Neil.

He closed the distance. “I would have been fine if you hadn’t told Luke. But I admit, it feels good knowing we don’t have to hide from people you actually spend time with.”

“Timing might have played a role. I’m supposed to help him go ring shopping in a couple weeks. He still wants me to go.”

“I’m glad I haven’t wrecked that for you,” he teased.

Ryan pulled him closer. “It’s a relief.”

“We don’t have to do anything at Minae’s.”

“We won’t. I wouldn’t anyway. On the boat, fine. But anywhere there’s anyone who might recognize me, I’m not ready for it to be out in the public.”

“That’s fine. But I have a request for Friday night.” He pulled Ryan closer. “You told me to tell my closest friends. I told Peter. And his brother, who happens to be married to a man. Paul runs the Italian restaurant I brought the pizza from. He’s going to cook Friday night, at my place. Come over. Hang out with us.”

The grin on Ryan’s face was damned attractive. “I’d love that.”

“They won’t tell anyone,” Shannon promised.

“Have I mentioned that I trust you? Because I do.”

“Same goes for you,” Shannon admitted.

“What do you want to do?”

“You,” Shannon answered.