27. Twenty-Seven #2
My laughter was wan. “I’m well aware what friendship is.”
“I think you’re only fully understanding it now, which is okay. We all come to things in our own time.”
“Sharon always taught me that art couldn’t be a career,” I explained.
I couldn’t look Candy in the eye. She didn’t act as if she was expecting me to.
“She said that I needed to use my looks—she made sure she stressed how pretty I was—to get ahead in life. She’s always believed that the only way to find true happiness is with a man. ”
“And you misunderstood the lessons she was trying to impart when she told you that,” Candy guessed.
I could’ve argued with her, but I was beyond that. “You’re good.” I laughed and finally met her gaze. “I always said that I didn’t want to be my mother. That was the only thing I cared about when I was growing up.”
“So you wouldn’t allow yourself to get too close to a man, I’m guessing,” Candy volunteered.
“I assumed I would always be alone. Recently, however, it’s come to my attention that I was doing it all wrong … and for a long time.”
“How so?”
“I wasn’t looking to find the right guy. I was trying to avoid the wrong guy. Somehow in my head, they all became the wrong guy.”
“And then you met Ronan.”
“Not met,” I said with a half laugh. “I knew him in high school.”
“Okay, you were reintroduced to Ronan.”
“I was. We didn’t like each other to start, though.”
“Are you sure?”
“I…” The thing was, I wasn’t sure. “I guess maybe there was a spark between us right from the start,” I acknowledged. “It doesn’t really matter. Now, we’re pretty happy. I think we can stay happy if we work on it.”
“But Sharon is rearing her ugly head again,” Candy said. “Just when you have finally acknowledged that you’re happy, which is a big step for you, your mother has shown up and you’re worried she’s going to ruin everything for you again.”
I was worried about that. However, Candy was being too simplistic.
“It’s more than that.” I searched for the best way to communicate what was really going on.
She needed to understand. “Ryder Stone is a bad man. My mother is a bad woman. He’s trying to weasel his way back into the hotel, and my mother would like nothing more than to benefit from it if he manages to do so. ”
“So you think they have a plan?”
“I do.”
“Why are you here and not with Olivia if you believe that?”
“Because sometimes I fly off the handle. I thought maybe you could help me talk to Olivia and Zach.”
To my utter shock, Candy smiled. “I would be happy to help you.”
“You would?” I was suspicious.
“If you believe it’s important, I believe it’s important. I’ll call upstairs to see if I can get us a sit-down.”
I smiled, relieved. “Thank you.” Something occurred to me. “I think Ronan needs to be there too.”
“For emotional support?”
“No, because…” I didn’t finish. The last part was not for me to share. That had to be up to Ronan.
“There’s more?” Candy guessed.
“Maybe,” I hedged uncomfortably. “There may be more. I need to talk to Ronan first. Can you get us a meeting with Zach and Olivia in the lounge? Ronan and I both have shifts, and I need to talk to him before we discuss things with them.”
“I can manage that,” Candy said. “Do you want to give me a hint about what else is coming?”
“There is one other potential player. I can’t say more than that just yet, though.”
“Okay.” She didn’t push me. It wasn’t her way. “I’ll get Zach and Olivia down to the lounge, and we’ll go from there.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I meant it. “I’ll see you soon.”
“You will. I promise.”
I CHANGED INTO MY UNIFORM AND headed straight for Ronan when I got to the lounge.
“I did something, and I need you not to be mad,” I announced.
He looked up from where he was sorting his table items. “Uh-oh. What is it?”
“Just … promise me you won’t be mad.”
“I can’t promise that unless I know what you’re talking about.”
He had a point. Any promise he made would be moot without the information.
So I told him about my conversation with Candy.
I added that I thought he should volunteer the information about his father to Zach and Olivia but stressed I hadn’t shared that with the therapist. When I was done, he looked as calm as ever.
“So … are you mad?” I asked, bracing myself.
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because your father could potentially be drawn into this.”
“If my father has done something to help Ryder, he deserves to be drawn into this.” He didn’t look mad. He was good at hiding his emotions sometimes, though.
“So, that’s it? You don’t want to yell at me?”
“No, Tallulah, I don’t want to yell at you. I do think, however, that maybe we should bring my father into this meeting.”
That threw me. “You want to tell him that we’re on to him?”
“I want to give my father the opportunity to explain himself. It’s possible he’s just being a friend to Ryder.”
“But you don’t believe that.”
“I’m not sure what to believe. I’m willing to listen to him.”
“And you’re really not mad at me?”
He broke into a wide grin. “Tallulah, you’ve done nothing to make me angry. I’m glad you felt you could go to Candy. Quite frankly, I think that was a smart move.”
“Because you’re a proponent of therapy,” I teased.
“I am. That will never change.”
“Well, I’m not sorry for doing it. I feel as if a weight has been lifted. If Ryder and Sharon are plotting something, I want to cut them off at the knees.”
“That sounds good to me.”
And because I believed him, even more weight lifted from my shoulders. “This is turning into a good deal,” I said before I realized what was going to come out of my mouth.
His eyes were soft when they locked with mine. “It’s turning into the best deal. For sure.”
And that was the best thing he could’ve ever said to me. I didn’t want to be the thing that dragged him down. I wanted to be the person who lifted him up.
We would finish this. Together.