17. Bryson
17
Bryson
January passed in a blur. Before I knew it, I found myself in Sausalito, standing on the balcony of the same inn where my grandfather had celebrated his birthday for at least the last ten years.
This time was different, though. This time, I was with Embry.
I turned away from the view of San Francisco, sparkling across the bay against a purple twilight, and grinned at the much better view in front of me. My boyfriend—okay, technically, my husband—was naked and strewn across the bed, snoring softly. We’d torn each other’s clothes off and fucked as soon as we’d arrived, and then he’d taken a shower and claimed he wanted to rest his eyes for five minutes. That was over an hour ago.
As I crossed the room, I ran my gaze all the way up his body, starting at his toes. I lingered on his cock for a moment before sliding up his happy trail and over the scar on his chest—fully appreciating the trust he put in me by allowing himself to be totally naked. Finally, my gaze came to rest on his angelic face. I took a seat on the edge of the bed and gently brushed his hair out of his eyes.
He was beautiful and sexy and so much more than that. He was everything to me, everything I could ever want, and far more than I ever thought I’d find.
It was no wonder I was falling in love with him.
I hadn’t told him that. I was worried he’d think it was too soon to confess my feelings… worried I wouldn’t be able to find the right words… worried he wasn’t in the same place yet.
I was worried that I wasn’t enough for him.
He was so vibrant and fun, so full of life and energy. He made me think of fireworks, gorgeous and bright and colorful, lighting up the world.
No one would ever describe me like that.
Embry stirred and raised his eyelids a fraction of an inch. When he saw me sitting beside him, a drowsy smile spread across his face, and he held out his arms to me. I stretched out beside him and gathered him in an embrace, and he murmured, “You smell good.”
“I smell like I always do.”
“And you always smell good.” I kissed his forehead, and he burrowed deeper into my arms as he mumbled, “Please don’t tell me it’s time to get up, because I don’t want to.”
“There’s still a little time. Cocktail hour with the family is in about forty minutes, but Granddad sent a message asking me to meet him beforehand. He says he has something important to discuss with me.”
“What’s that about?”
“No idea.”
He sat up and knit his brows. “There’s no reason to be worried, right? He couldn’t have discovered the truth… or did he?”
“How could he?”
Embry thought about it before saying, “What if he tracked down one of the women you met up with from the dating app? She could tell him you offered her money to pretend to be your wife. Since that happened just before you and I met, it would definitely make him question our marriage.”
“I don’t see how anyone would be able to find them. I deleted the dating app right after I met you, along with all the emails and text messages, so there’s no trail back to them.”
“Yeah, that sounds pretty impossible.” He climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of briefs as he admitted, “I’ve been worried and anxious about this weekend, but I don’t know why. When we got together with your family at Christmas, we weren’t in a relationship yet, and now we are. That has to mean it’ll be easier this time, because we’re not faking it.”
“You’re right.” I watched him as he found a tank top in his suitcase and put it on. He seemed tense, so I asked, “Is there something else on your mind, Em?”
“I keep feeling like something bad is about to happen, but I know there’s no reason to think that.”
“Come here, baby.” I shifted around so I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he climbed onto my lap. As we wrapped our arms around each other, I told him, “I wish there was something I could say or do to put your mind at ease.”
“Just keep holding me. This is all I need.” He put his head on my shoulder, and after a pause he said, “I feel a lot of pressure when we’re with your family. I’m always so afraid of saying the wrong thing and giving away our secret. If I end up doing something that costs you your inheritance, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Do you want to go home? I can make an excuse, and we can get out of here right now.”
“No, I want to stay. This weekend is important to your grandfather.”
“Okay. But if you change your mind, we can bail out at any time.”
He nuzzled my neck and murmured, “You’re so nice.”
“You come first, Embry. Seriously. And even if my grandfather discovered the truth and decided not to give me the inheritance, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. You and I would still be together, and that’s all that really matters.”
“But you need that money.”
“I need you .”
“You’re going to make me cry.” He kissed me, and then he took a deep breath and climbed off my lap. “Go see what your grandfather wants. The suspense is killing me. Then come back and get me, okay? I don’t want to go to dinner without you.”
“I will.” I put on my shoes and suit jacket and grabbed my phone. “Text me if you need anything at all.” He promised he would.
My thoughts were on Embry as I left the room and made my way downstairs. I had to pause and look around to get my bearings when I stepped outside.
The inn had been built in a French country style, and it was comprised of three two-story buildings surrounding an elegant garden. Two of my cousins were drinking wine near the fountain, and they tried to wave me over. But my grandfather was expecting me, so I gave them a quick wave before hurrying to the main building.
Granddad was staying in the presidential suite, same as usual. When I knocked, he flung the door open and exclaimed, “Bryson my boy, there you are,” before grabbing me in a hug. I couldn’t recall when exactly it had started, but the hugging thing was fairly new.
I said, “Happy birthday, Granddad,” as he ushered me into the suite.
“Thank you. Where’s Embry?”
“He’s getting dressed for dinner.”
He nodded at that. “I decanted a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon. Take a seat, and I’ll pour you a glass.” Whatever this was about, it didn’t seem like bad news, judging by my grandfather’s upbeat demeanor.
I sat in one of the two club chairs in front of the crackling fireplace and glanced around the room. It looked almost exactly like ours, only bigger, with the same sage green, white, and tan color scheme, complemented by serene landscape paintings and tasteful bric-a-brac. All the rooms in the inn had been remodeled more than once in its hundred-and-twenty-year history, and they managed to retain a vintage feel, despite sneaking in a few modern touches like Jacuzzi-style bathtubs and wet bars.
My grandfather handed me a glass and tapped his to it with a hearty, “Cheers.” Then he sat down facing me, and as I took a sip, he said, “I’m going to cut right to the chase. I know you and Embry were virtual strangers when you got married.”
I choked on my wine and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “How did you know?”
“Producing him out of nowhere and marrying him that quickly raised my suspicions. Plus, at the start of our family get-together at Christmas, it was pretty obvious you two were just getting to know each other.”
I was too overcome with guilt to try to lie my way out of this. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not done yet.” He unfastened the buttons on his suit jacket and leaned back before continuing, “During that same holiday visit, I saw something very real blossoming between the two of you. When I dropped by your house last week, and when we had dinner together the next day, it became clear you two are a genuine couple now.”
“You’re right.”
“I should have just given you your inheritance without making you jump through hoops. I know it was manipulative.” A slightly smug grin appeared. “But I can’t help but point out it worked like a charm. If it wasn’t for my ultimatum, you never would have met Embry.”
“That’s true.” It was hard to keep my voice steady as I said, “I really am sorry for lying. I didn’t want to deceive you, but I felt like I was backed into a corner, and I really needed that money. I got deeply into debt and destroyed my credit when my restaurant failed. I even took out two mortgages on the house, and I’ve been terrified of losing it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your restaurant put you into debt? I would have helped you, Bryson.”
“I was ashamed. You always taught me I needed to be the best at whatever I did. I couldn’t stand the thought of coming to you and telling you how horribly I’d failed. You obviously knew the restaurant went under, but I wanted you to think it was more of a reset, instead of a massive disaster.”
“I shouldn’t have put that kind of pressure on you to succeed. It makes me sad that you didn’t feel you could come to me.”
I’d been hanging my head, but I glanced at him and swallowed my pride. “I know I have no right to ask this, but could you please loan me some money? I owe Embry for his part in all of this, and I really want to be able to keep the house. It would break my heart if I had to sell it.”
My grandfather looked surprised. He picked up a large manilla envelope that was on the table between us and handed it to me as he said, “I’m not withholding your inheritance, son. Just the opposite. I’ve made you wait long enough, so I went ahead and initiated a transfer to your account yesterday. It posted this morning. I asked you to meet with me so I could give you the paperwork.”
I set aside my glass and pulled a packet of financial documents from the envelope. When I saw the huge dollar amount at the top of the page, I whispered, “Oh my god.”
“Obviously, you and your brother are going to inherit my entire estate when I pass. But I decided to give you both an extra sum now, while I’m around to see you enjoy it. That’s why it’s double the amount we’d discussed.”
My voice sounded rough when I whispered, “But I didn’t really meet the conditions of my inheritance.”
“All I wanted was for you to get out there and try to meet someone. And for the record, I planned to give you the money regardless of whether or not you succeeded.”
“That’s not what you said at the time.”
He shrugged and told me, “You needed to be properly motivated,” before taking a sip from his wine glass. Then he added, “By the way, I sent the entire sum as cash for two reasons—so you can easily access it as you build your new restaurant, and because I think it’s important for you to make your own investment decisions with the rest of the money. I’d love to offer you some guidance on putting together a diversified portfolio if you’ll let me. Maybe you can come to my office one day next week, and we can get to work on that.”
I was glad he didn’t want to talk about that now, because I was already completely overwhelmed. “Of course. I’m definitely going to need your help.” He liked hearing that. I returned the sheets to the envelope, and when we both got to our feet, I grabbed him in a hug. “Thank you, Granddad. This is incredibly generous and amazing, and I appreciate it so much.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
Tears stung my eyes as we let go of each other and stepped back. “I need to tell Embry the news,” I said. “He felt terrible about lying to you, by the way. We both did.”
“He’s a dear boy, and I’m glad you found him.”
“Me, too.” As he walked me to the door, I asked, “Have you told Fallon he’s getting another portion of his inheritance?”
“Not yet. I’m planning to pull him aside after dinner.”
He held the door for me, and after I stepped into the hall, I turned back to him. “That night last week, when you dropped by unannounced with two bottles of wine—was that a test to see if Embry and I really are a couple?”
He grinned at me. “I suppose you could call it that. I wanted to see what the two of you were like when you weren’t expecting to see me. It showed me you two aren’t just dating, you’re in a very solid relationship.”
“Yeah. We are.”
“You looked adorable, too. I wasn’t expecting the footie pajamas.”
“Oh, god.”
He chuckled, and then he gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze as he said, “See you at dinner.” I nodded and wandered down the hall in a daze.
When I got outside, I paused and took a deep breath. Then I tucked the envelope under my arm, pulled the phone from my pocket, and accessed my banking app. The giant available balance in my account made me woozy. I closed the app and sank onto a nearby bench.
I felt utterly overwhelmed. Where should I start? I thought I’d have a year to plan the new restaurant… and, okay, I should still take all the time I needed. But it made sense to purchase a building as soon as possible, because real estate prices in the city were only going up.
Why did I feel nauseous?
A door swung open nearby, and a moment later a familiar, irritated voice said, “Damn it, Bryson.” I turned my head and watched my brother approaching. When he reached me, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his tailored suit and waved it around. “I totally had you, and then you had to go and fall in love.”
“What are you talking about?”
Fallon jabbed the screen a few times, and an audio recording of Embry’s muffled voice started to play. He was saying, “When we got together with your family at Christmas, we weren’t in a relationship yet, and now we are.”
I leapt to my feet and demanded, “Where did you get that?”
“I’m staying in the room right next to yours. Did you forget these walls are paper thin, and that the vents are basically sound amplifiers?”
I had, actually. Then something occurred to me, and I growled, “Does that mean you were listening when Embry and I had sex?”
“Ew, no! I would have left the room. Like I want to hear you doing it.” He shuddered and added, “I only got here about an hour ago, but that was plenty of time to have all my suspicions confirmed.”
I frowned at him and asked, “So, what are you going to do now, run to Granddad with the evidence?” It was going to be incredibly fun to tell him he was too late.
“That’s exactly what I planned to do. But then you two kept talking, and it’s obvious you really care about each other.”
“And that changes something, as far as you’re concerned?”
“Yeah, it does. I can’t fucking do it, because I like Embry, and I don’t want to get him blackballed from the family. I hate myself for being so sentimental.” He held up his phone and showed me as he deleted the recording. Then he grumbled, “So, you win. Enjoy your inheritance and your awesome relationship and your perfect life.”
I grabbed him in a hug, and he went as rigid as a mannequin as he asked, “What are you doing?”
“Hugging you. Just go with it.”
“Stop it.”
I let go of him and said, “I always knew you were a good guy, Fallon.”
“I completely regret deleting that recording.”
“No, you don’t. You know you did the right thing, and I hope this can be a fresh start for you and me. If you ever need anything, I’m here for you, brother.”
I could tell I was getting through to him, even though he tried to brush it off. “Whatever. I’m going to go get drunk now. For the love of god, please don’t bone for the rest of the weekend, because I don’t want to hear it. My therapist already has his hands full without adding that trauma to the mix.”
As he started to walk away, I called after him, “You earned yourself some major karma points, Fallon. Just watch. I’ll bet something good is headed your way.”
He muttered, “Yeah, right,” before disappearing into the main building, and I grinned. I was going to be proven right very soon, but he didn’t know what our grandfather planned to tell him after dinner.
I hurried back to our room to tell Embry the news. He’d put on the pale pink suit he’d bought secondhand and had tailored for this weekend, along with a white dress shirt and a pair of sneakers. I murmured, “Wow, you look gorgeous.” Then I swept him off his feet and spun around in a circle, which made him laugh.
“I guess whatever your grandfather wanted to talk to you about was good news,” he said, as he draped his arms over my shoulders.
“You won’t believe it.”
I took a seat on the small sofa with him on my lap and told him everything that had happened with both Granddad and Fallon. When I finished, Embry looked stunned. He took a few moments to process it, and finally, he asked, “So, what happens now?”
“Well, first I’m going to pay off all my debts, including both mortgages on the house. Then I guess I’ll contact a commercial real estate agent and start shopping for a building to house my restaurant. Even though I still have a ton of planning to do, it makes sense to secure a location, and?—”
“No… I mean, what happens with us? Do we annul the marriage, and do we keep living together?”
That caught me off guard. “Nothing has to change, does it? Living with you has been wonderful, and I want to keep doing that—assuming that’s what you want, too.”
But maybe he didn’t want that at all. Maybe he wanted to move back into the house he’d loved with all his friends, instead of staying with someone he’d only been dating a few weeks. I was afraid of what he might say, so I barreled ahead with, “And, obviously, I’m going to write you a check as soon as we get home. It’ll be for double the amount we agreed on. I got more than I was expecting, and you should, too.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want any money.”
“What do you mean?”
“We said I’d get paid if we fooled your family, but your grandfather knew we were faking it. Also, the agreement was that we’d keep this going for a year, but it’s only been a month. There’s no way I’d take a huge payout for any of that.”
“But I really want you to have the money, so you can get your cake business off the ground.”
“You already gave me everything I need to launch my business,” he said. “And I’m serious. I didn’t earn it, and taking it would feel wrong.” I started to protest, but he gently pressed a finger to my lips. “Your family is expecting us for cocktails and dinner. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
He was right to shift our focus. We really couldn’t begin to tackle any of this today, or even this weekend. There was too much to sort out, too many decisions to be made. And the money thing was going to turn into an argument, I just knew it. I was going to insist that he take it, and he’d probably dig his heels in and keep refusing. But the fact that this hadn’t exactly gone to plan wasn’t his fault.
We both got up, and I kissed his forehead and said, “To be continued.”
Then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror over the dresser, which made me frown and go in search of a comb. I hadn’t checked my appearance before I went to meet with my grandfather, and I was a mess. My family was probably used to it, but I needed to step up my game. Before long, I was going to be running a restaurant again. My staff would be looking to me for leadership. It would be important to project an air of confidence and competence.
And there was that nauseous feeling again….
Embry and I finished getting ready and left our room hand-in-hand. On our way to the stairs, he said, “It’s creepy that Fallon recorded our conversation.”
“It was. I think he knew that, too. That might have been the real reason he didn’t take the recording to our grandfather. It would have made him look really bad.”
“We’ll have to spend the rest of the weekend whispering or passing notes, and no more sex until we get home.” Embry glanced at my profile. “I’m glad his room was empty at the time, but do you think anyone else heard us doing it?”
“I doubt it, since we’re on a corner and only Fallon’s room shares a wall. And we can still have sex,” I said, as I grinned at him. “We just have to be quiet.”
We started down the stairs, and a few seconds later, Embry slipped and started to fall. I tightened my grip on his hand and pulled him back up, and he grabbed on to me and swore under his breath. A moment later, he murmured, “Sorry,” and started down the stairs again, this time clutching the handrail.
Somehow, that was the start of several accidents that evening. When he tried to take a glass of champagne, he ended up knocking over the rest of the glasses on the tray. At dinner, he knocked over his water glass. Then he bumped into a server when he quickly pushed his chair back to escape the spill, causing her to drop the salads she was carrying.
After each incident, Embry apologized profusely and looked absolutely mortified. It broke my heart to watch him shrink into himself as his confidence slipped away. The only time I’d seen him like that was the first time he came to the house and ended up breaking a bunch of wine glasses. Since then there’d been little accidents here and there, but they hadn’t rattled him the way these did.
He ended up picking at his dinner and only eating a bite or two. Then, as soon as the meal was over, he whispered, “I’m going back to our room, before I cause any more damage.”
I wanted to ask him to stay, but the look in his eyes told me he really needed to get out of there. “Okay. I’ll come with you.”
“No, stay here. I’d feel terrible if I made you miss out on your grandfather’s birthday celebration.”
“It’s fine. We’ll be celebrating all weekend.”
When he insisted, “I want you to stay,” I decided not to argue. He obviously needed some time to himself.
I kissed him and promised to bring him a piece of birthday cake, and he whispered, “Thank you.” Then he hurried from the dining room with his head down and his arms wrapped around himself. It was so hard not to run after him and try to make him feel better.
He’d been called clumsy all his life, and I thought he’d started to reject that label. But these little accidents clearly affected his self-esteem, and they built on each other. The more that went wrong, the more rattled he became, which in turn lead to another accident. It was basically a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I figured it was a short-term thing, and that he’d be able to bounce back once we got home. What I didn’t know at the time was that this was the start of a downward spiral—one that was going to have huge consequences.