Chapter 34

Ryan

The whole point of Alec taking Sara out for the day was so I could get some work done. It sounded good in theory, except having Alec out with her made me anxious as hell. All I did the whole time was sit there and listen for the door, trying to take phone calls to calm my brain. It was insane how much I thought about it. I wasn’t normally the guy to worry about those kinds of things. I had always been easygoing when it came to women, not really giving it that much thought. At the same time, I had never felt about anyone else the way I did about Sara. I had been smitten by her from the beginning and had been her protector the entire time.

I had known Alec for a long time, and though I trusted him, it was still getting under my skin. He knew there was something between her and me but he’d still offered to take her out and pretty much stole the entire day from me. I couldn’t help but be furious with him, and all I could think about was exacting a painful revenge somewhere in the very near future. So help me, if anything beyond showing her the sights happened, he and I might come to blows. I got up from the desk and paced the floor, trying to remind myself I wasn’t in the ghetto anymore and that Alec had always been trustworthy. As I walked, visions of other things went through my mind followed by plans to take Alec down for stealing my girl from me.

“Hello?” Alec said from the doorway.

I turned, about to race out but then slowed myself down, not wanting her to see me frantic in the least. I smoothed my hair back and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I plastered a smile on my face and walked out into the living room. Alec escorted Sara into the penthouse, and she smiled at me.

“Did you see a bunch of cool stuff?”

“I did,” she said happily. “I need to change my clothes. I’ll be back. Thanks, Alec.”

“No problem,” he said. “I had a good time.”

I watched as Sara walked down the hall and disappeared into her room. When the doors were shut, I casually turned back toward Alec. He looked at me and smiled, and I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the side.

“So help me,” I whispered. “I promise the next opportunity I have, I will cockblock the hell out of you.”

“Calm down, bro.” He chuckled. “I didn’t take your girl out so I could steal her away. I saw the stress going on in this penthouse, and I knew she needed a break from the drama of it all. You are seriously oozing stress right now, man.”

“Do you blame me?” I said, groaning. “Everything is a disaster, and I know how suave you are.”

“I am pretty suave.” He smiled. “I have to admit, she thought I was awesome.”

“Seriously, bro,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I’m messing with you, dude.” He chuckled. “You seriously need to chill. I really like this one, so don’t fuck it up again.”

He slapped me on the shoulder and smiled wide, turning and walking from the penthouse. At least he’d noticed that Sara mattered to me, and it sounded like Sara talked about me to him. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad. I stood there and waited for Sara to come back out.

“Did he leave?” Sara asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “So, tell me about your day.”

“Well, I saw the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square, and a bunch of other places in the city,” she said. “Alec was really great company, and he made me laugh the whole time, so that was good. He’s a really nice guy and a really good friend to you. He showed me all the hidden little gems in New York, so I kind of got the insider tour.”

“Wow,” I said, listening to her gush about Alec and the tour. “Did you see the Statue of Liberty?”

“Just from afar,” she said. “It was too late to actually take the ferry over there.”

“We’ll have to do that before you leave for sure,” I said, trying to calm the jealousy raging inside of me. “So, I was thinking we should go out to dinner somewhere.”

“Oh god,” she said, holding her stomach. “I don’t even think I can think about food. After getting hotdogs in Central Park, he took me to some exclusive restaurant. I don’t know what the name was, but they served food dipped in gold. It was definitely interesting, but now my stomach feels kind of like Fort Knox. We can totally get you something if you’re hungry, but I don’t think I’ll eat anything for a while. I don’t know how you rich people eat this stuff all the time. I feel like I’m going to be over the weight limit to take the flight back home. I seriously didn’t even know you could eat gold, much less ever thought of eating it myself.”

“That place is nuts,” I said, laughing, knowing what restaurant she’d gone to. “I’ve only been there once, and I probably will never go back.”

“Cool once, for sure.” She giggled. “But more than once, no thanks.”

“Well, let’s stay in then,” I said. “If you get hungry later, we can order delivery.”

“Delivery late at night?” she said.

“Uh, yeah, this is New York. You can get anything you want pretty much twenty-four hours a day.” I chuckled. “We’re like our own little country over here, and if you had the money and the want, you could seriously never leave your apartment and just have everything delivered to you. It’s like a hermit’s dream.”

“I wish they had that in Bonanza.” She laughed.

“For all twelve of you?” I joked.

“Hey,” she said, slapping my arm and giving me a warm smile.

“So, you want to watch a movie with me?”

“I don’t know.” She smirked. “From what I hear, you’re swamped with work, trying to catch back up with all of your biggest fans.”

“Biggest fans,” I scoffed with a smile. “You mean nervous investors, crew members, and every media outlet in the world?”

“Yeah, them.”

“Honestly, sometimes I think if I knew how it would be to start a company, I might have skipped it after selling my apps and just disappeared somewhere warm and tropical for the rest of my days,” I said. “Sometimes, it’s just too much.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, sounding genuine.

“It’s my life,” I said. “But not tonight. Tonight, I would rather be entertaining my houseguest. Work can wait. It’ll be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day. Besides, it should be quitting time for me anyway.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” she said. “Then yes, of course, I’ll watch a movie with you.”

“Awesome,” I said, clapping my hands. “All the movies are on the shelf. I’m going to fix myself a sandwich really fast. Pick out whatever you want.”

“Even a chick flick?” She sent me a sly look.

“Sure, though I think you might have a hard time finding those in my collection.” I laughed. “I keep those in my secret hidden collection where no one ever looks, but I don’t think you’re ready for that just yet.”

“Riiiight,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Good thing I’m not the chick flick kind of gal.”

“I knew you were perfect.” I smiled, walking into the kitchen.

I ate a quick sandwich, and then we snuggled onto the couch and started watching movies. It didn’t take long, though, with the lights down and the warm blanket before Sara’s head started to droop. She’d picked out a couple of superhero movies, which were some of my favorites, but there was no way she was going to make it through it. I reached over and put my arm around her, pulling her close and letting her rest her head on my shoulder. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes again, drifting in and out of sleep. I couldn’t help noticing how amazing it felt to have her in my arms again. She was this amazing rock star of a woman, and my heart fluttered just feeling her skin so close to mine. It was the same feeling I’d had for her the entire time we were together, that feeling that it couldn’t get any better. Life around her couldn’t get any better, and she was the only girl in the world for me. It was obvious my protector persona was shining through.

She had worked herself into total exhaustion all day long. Between the constant emotions and trekking all over the city, she couldn’t keep her eyes open to save her life. It was adorable, and I definitely didn’t mind when she abandoned all attachment to the idea of not seeking comfort in my arms. Slowly, I leaned her back, pulling myself to my feet and bending over, picking her up in my arms. I cradled her, feeling her head against my shoulder, and walked to her room, gently setting her down. She groaned lightly and turned over on her side, bringing her knees up. I pulled the covers up over and leaned in, kissing her on her head.

I had never stared down at something more precious in my life. I felt like her protector, like she was the greatest treasure I would ever come to know. As I stood next to her bed, I had this aching feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to always watch over her and never let anything come in the way of me doing that. I had never felt this way about a woman before, and I couldn’t imagine I would feel this strongly for anyone else. It was her I wanted. It was her who was on my mind, and I would put myself in the fire just to ensure she was okay. It was her who brought these emotions bubbling to the surface at every turn.

I had spent so many years being obsessed with money and status. It had become something that took over my life, my every thought. I wanted to show everyone that the street rat from the ghetto could be someone real one day, so I’d put everything else in life on hold and just ground in, making it happen. When I got here, I never realized the people I thought I needed to impress would become a whole other group, and they would be hard to convince. It had reached a point where I felt like people were just a dime a dozen. Either they respected me for my hard-working mentality, or they turned their nose up because I wasn’t old money. There was no in-between, and there was no apology for it. It was just how it was.

When I met Sara, though, she stuck out like a sore thumb. She was like a ruby buried in the sand, and I felt like she was worth her weight in gold and more. She was special in ways I couldn’t imagine any other woman could match, and then she tied it all together with a strong but sweet demeanor. I never wanted her to lose that. I wanted to protect that part of her for the rest of her life. It was a gift most people were not given, and I was able to see that, even when she couldn’t see it for herself.

Whether her trip that day was with me, holding hands like I imagined, discovering the world, or with my best friend, taking time away, I just wanted her to be happy. She was here and that was what mattered. I was going to keep her safe and make sure she didn’t want to ever be away from me again.