Chapter Six
RYDER
“You ready for this?”
I glance over at the man, my man, who made my stomach flutter and my heart skip a beat. Yep, he gave me all those cliché princess movie feelings. He didn’t even bat an eyelash at the idea of accompanying me to a dinner with my parents—a dinner bound to be a disaster.
For one thing, my parents expressly asked me to arrive alone, and for another, I’d be dropping an atomic bomb on their life plan for me.
As soon as I crawled out of bed, I called my family’s chef to inform her I’d be bringing Alex, but managed to convince her to keep the information to herself.
She could avoid any awkward conversations, and I could maintain the element of surprise.
Of course, I now owed her a bottle of her favorite tequila as payment for her silence.
“Yes and no.” I glanced at him, dressed in navy shorts and a light gray polo shirt.
He’d wanted to wear something more formal, but I’d insisted he not change himself into something he thought my parents would approve of.
I’d have been happy for him to wear jeans and a band T-shirt, but he’d flat-out refused.
We compromised on this preppy outfit, which still made him look like a near stranger, since it was fancier than he ever dressed.
I sighed. “I’m ready for it to be over, and the only way for that to happen is to plow through it.”
Alex grunted, his typical response when stressed or processing. The noise made me grin for the first time in hours. “Are you ready for this?”
Dark eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Me? What do you mean? This isn’t about me.
” Before I had the chance to feel the sting of dismissal, he grabbed my hand.
“Wait, I didn’t say that right. It affects you, so it affects me because it affects us.
I just meant I’m not the main character here.
I don’t want you worrying about my feelings in there.
Yours are the ones that matter tonight.”
This man.
“Well, thank you for telling me what to worry about and what not to worry about.”
He frowned, so I bumped his shoulder with mine to let him know I was kidding. “You matter as much here as I do. Tonight and every night. I can’t prevent my parents from saying something that’ll upset you, but I will call them out if, and probably when, they are ugly to you.”
“Ryder…”
“Alex…” I winked.
He stared at me with a solemn expression. “I should be used to it by now, but it still blows my mind.”
“What?”
“The way you always make me feel special and how you put me first. No one’s ever put me first, Ryder.”
“I know.” And it broke my heart all over again every time I was reminded of that fact. Whenever I performed even the slightest gesture of a show of support, he seemed surprised. “It’s one of the reasons I love being here for you.” One of the reasons I loved spoiling him.
“But tonight, I was supposed to be here for you, for once.”
I laughed out loud. “Babe, have you lost your mind? You are always here for me. God, you’ve done more for me and had my back more than anyone in my life. The past few months have been insane, and the only reason I’ve gotten through them is you.”
His cheeks turned pink, the way I’ve only seen once or twice before, each time while reminding him what a fantastic man he was. I made a mental note that my new goal was to see that flush on his face more often.
“How about we say tonight is about us, facing this challenge together and supporting each other? Okay?”
He nodded and squeezed my hand. “Yeah. I like that.” Then he took a deep breath and reached his free hand between us to fondle my soft cock. “Now, let’s get this shit over with so I can take you home and fuck you stupid again.”
My jaw dropped as my cock let it be known how much it liked that idea.
And then Alex released me and took a step back.
“That was the meanest thing you’ve ever done to me,” I grumbled as I shifted to accommodate the uncomfortable situation below my belt. “Seriously mean. Not only am I going to tell my family I’m done with their billion-dollar corporation, but I’ve gotta do it with a boner. Lovely.”
Alex burst into a loud, unrestrained laugh. The kind he rarely lets fly, and my mood soared to the clouds. Pulling that kind of reaction from him was second only to coming all over him.
“Sorry,” he said between loud guffaws.
“Bullshit.” I tried to give him a severe look, but since I didn’t have a fraction of the ability to scowl that he did, I was pretty sure my lips twitched and gave me away.
Once he’d gotten himself under control, we strode hand in hand up the stone walkway to my parents’ arched front door. Before I could lift a hand to the brass lion’s head knocker, the door opened, and a silver-haired gentleman greeted us with a surprised expression.
“Master Ryder, good evening. It’s lovely to see you back here.” D’Angelo had been my parents’ butler for the past fifteen years. He wore a tuxedo every day like he’d walked straight off a movie set and into my parents’ grand entryway.
“Hey, D’Angelo, have you met Alex yet?”
“I’ve not had the pleasure, sir.”
The two other times Alex had been here, I’d let us in through the family entrance in the garage. Tonight, I thought it better to take a more formal route. “Alex, this is D’Angelo. He’s worked here for too freaking long. D’Angelo, this is Alex, my boyfriend.”
“Welcome, Alex. It’s very nice to meet you, sir. I’ve been looking forward to it.” D’Angelo stuck his hand out, white glove and all.
Alex’s eyes widened to the size of semi-truck tires. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Um, yeah. Yes. Nice to meet you, uh, as well.”
I snorted and earned myself an epic glare. “Sorry,” I mouthed, failing to hide my smirk. Alex, flustered by my family’s wealth, was too adorable. He was tough and could handle just about any situation like a pro, but put him in an extravagant setting, and he flopped around like a fish out of water.
“I do apologize for my surprise,” D’Angelo said as they shook hands. “I was not aware you were bringing a guest.”
“No one is, D,” I said with a wink. “Well, I told Chef, but only because I didn’t want her to come after me. She can snap that damn dish towel like no one else. Pretty sure I still have a scar on my ass from where she got me that one time she caught me sticking my fingers in her cake batter.”
D’Angelo raised an eyebrow. “One time?”
Alex snorted.
I threw a sheepish grin their way as I shrugged. “Maybe twice.”
D’Angelo’s eyes sparkled as he shook his head. “Your parents are waiting for you in the garden room. Would you prefer I escort you or shall you make your way on your own?”
“Garden room?” Alex mouthed, making me snicker.
“Thank you, D, but I’m pretty sure I remember the way.”
“Very well. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen. Alex, pleasure to meet you.”
“Same,” Alex said with a polite nod. As soon as D’Angelo strode from the entryway, Alex turned to me. “What the hell is a garden room?” he whispered.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a room with a lot of windows that overlook the gardens. It’s no big deal.”
“No big deal,” he muttered with a wry grin. “There are a bunch of overgrown dandelions out my bedroom window because I’m behind in mowing the lawn. Should I start calling it my garden room?”
I frowned. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t had time to get to the lawn.” I should have, though. Between his class schedule, family obligations, work hours, and well, me, he barely had a free second to sneeze.
His eyes narrowed, and he pointed at my face. “No. Don’t even think about it.”
“What?” I said, trying for the same innocent look I gave the chef when she caught me sneaking the cookie batter. It didn’t work then, either.
“What?” he said in a horrendous imitation of my voice that had me laughing. “I know you, Ryder. Before we make it to the garden room, you’ll have somehow sent an entire team of landscapers to my house.”
“Alex,” I said in a placating tone as I took his hand in mine again and started toward the garden room. “Be reasonable. There’s no way I could set that in motion before we make it down this hallway.” But it was happening, and I’d find a way to arrange it before we left here tonight.
He stopped walking and tugged on my arm, causing me to spin his way and plow into his chest. “Wha—” I managed right before he grabbed my chin and placed a hard kiss on my lips.
I blinked, and he released me before my brain could process the move, but as usual, my dick was ahead of my thinker and well on its way to embarrassing me in front of my parents.
“Um…” I swallowed as my head spun from the quick southward departure of blood. “What was that for?”
“It’s because I love you, Ryder. Now let’s get this shit show over with so we can go home, and I can show you how much I love you.” He took my hand and pulled me along to the garden room.
My mouth dropped, but no sound came out, probably because I stopped breathing.
He loved me.
Alex loved me.
Holy fucking shit, Alex loved me!
And he’d told me without a chance for me to reciprocate. A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up from low in my gut. What an Alex way to do things. No muss, no fuss, just drop the bomb straight-faced and without fanfare. I grinned as giddiness found its way into my bloodstream.
Alex loved me.
Now I could do damn near anything.
Side-by-side, hand-in-hand, we reached the garden room to find my parents seated next to each other on a hideous, large-print floral couch, sipping cocktails.
My father’s walker rested nearby, a reminder he still had a road of recovery ahead of him.
He sipped his drink with his left, nondominant hand because his right still had significant weakness and limited function.
Hence, a specialized attachment on his walker was used to enhance his grip.
His face, smooth due to bimonthly facials and years of Botox, drooped slightly on the right, but nowhere near what it had been months ago when he’d been hospitalized for a massive stroke.