Chapter 24
Koen~
“C’mon, man,” Ivan drawled out. “When are we going to finally meet her?”
Since I was officially obsessed with Rya, when I wasn’t working, I was with her, and so I’d been missing in action on the friend front, and though Ivan understood when you considered how he felt about his wife, that wasn’t stopping him from giving me shit for it.
“She’s not ready for that,” I told him truthfully. “In fact, I’m not sure if she’ll ever be ready for that.”
“Trust me, no way would Teddy or any of them be invited,” he assured me, and while I appreciated the sentiment, I was determined to do this at Rya’s pace.
Now, when I’d first told Ivan that I was dating Rya, I’d told him everything about when I’d first met her, including how Teddy had been a complete asshole to her.
I’d also told him that he’d have to choose between me and Teddy in any social settings, though that might not have been fair to him.
Nevertheless, I hadn’t cared, and I still didn’t.
Not only was Teddy just an asshole, but I’d never knowingly do something like that to Rya.
Whether she cared about his opinion or not, I care that he’d been rude to her, and that was enough for me.
Of course, being the best friend that he was, he’d been quick to agree to my terms, but I still had him on hold because officially meeting him might not be a pleasant thing for her. Though we’d come a long way these past few weeks, I was still wary about scaring Rya away.
“Besides, Nitti is dying to meet the girl that has finally tamed the one and only Koen Wilder,” he joked.
“Well, when you consider that there wasn’t much to tame, that’s hardly a feat worth writing home about,” I snorted. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a workaholic.”
Getting serious, he said, “Look, it can be just a quiet dinner for four at our place. No one else, and I’ll even let you pick what to make.”
I grinned before taking a drink of my beer. “How generous of you.”
When Ivan had come barging into my office this morning to harass me about Rya, I had agreed to a quick beer after work, but we were officially on our third drink, and it was actually nice to catch up.
Though we saw each other constantly at work, this was something different.
This was when we could actually talk about the things that really mattered to us.
“C’mon, man,” he whined. “Don’t make me have to tell Nitti that I couldn’t get you guys to dinner. I mean, now that you’re in love, surely you can sympathize with me not wanting to disappoint the woman that I love.”
That got a laugh out of me. “Touché.”
“Just ask her,” he said, refusing to give up, which made him great at his job. “It won’t hurt to ask.”
After a few seconds, I said, “Okay, I’ll ask.”
“That’s-”
“Only because she’s the one, Ivan,” I told him honestly. “She’s the one, and I want her to be comfortable in all aspects of my life, which includes you.”
“Awe, I feel special,” he cooed before taking a drink of his beer.
“Fuck off,” I chuckled as I flipped him off.
“Seriously, I’m glad that you’re happy,” he said, getting serious again. “I was certain you were going to get stuck with one of those gold-diggers that always seemed to be hanging around you.”
I laughed at that. “Well, that’s one thing that I don’t have to worry about with Rya. She’s definitely not with me for my money.”
Because Ivan knew me well, he said, “C’mon, it’ll all be alright. If nothing else, you’ll save a lot of money being with her.”
“Which sucks when all I want to do is give her the world,” I retorted before taking a long draw of my beer this time.
“How do you know that you already haven’t?” he asked, making me shoot him a look.
“What are you talking about?”
Ivan just shrugged. “Maybe her definition of having the entire world in her palm is just simply having a man who loves her for her. Instead of focusing on what you can afford to buy her, you just give her what she asks for, and from what you’ve told me, all she seems to want is you.”
“I just really don’t want to fuck this up,” I replied. “Honestly, it’d be less stressful if she was with me for my money. It’d be so much simpler that way.”
Ivan just laughed at that. “You’d hate yourself every morning and every night.
He wasn’t wrong.
I looked over at him, finally voicing my real concern. “She hasn’t introduced me to her father yet, and it’s been a month, Ivan.”
He automatically winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, ouch,” I drawled out. “He’s the single most important person in her life, and I’ve yet to meet him. Hell, if you want to know the truth, I haven’t even officially met her friends yet, and it’s fucking driving me up the wall.”
“Okay, I can see how that could be concerning,” he muttered, not sounding encouraging at all.
“But...I mean, in all actuality, that’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?
I mean, when you introduce someone to the people in your life, then you’re inviting them into their lives also, and if you’re wrong, then you’ve just forced everyone to have to deal with the fallout.
” He shrugged as he took another drink of his beer.
“Only important people should be introduced to the important people in your life.”
“Which makes my point, jackass,” I grumbled. “Until she introduces me to her father, I can’t assume that she’s as serious about me as I am her.”
“Since when does Koen Wilder do scared?” he asked pointedly.
“Since I met someone who’s become more important to me than my life,” I replied seriously. “What would you do if Nitti ever threatened to leave you?”
“Tie her to the fucking bed and keep her there forever,” he replied without blinking, and I didn’t doubt him.
“If Rya didn’t love her job so much, I’d seriously consider doing that right now,” I huffed.
Ivan just grinned. “Has the poor girl met this Koen Wilder yet?”
I shot him a look. “There’s only one me.”
“I beg to differ, friend,” he chuckled. “I’ve seen you in the boardroom during negotiations. There are more sides to you than you know or are willing to admit.”
“Well, she can meet that asshole once I’m confident that she won’t bolt,” I drawled out. “For right now, I’m doing everything that I can to make her fall in love with my good qualities.”
“You mean that you have more than one?” he quipped.
I just flipped him off again.
Just then, my phone chimed, and because I was like a love-sick puppy, I immediately pulled it out of my pocket, and I couldn’t stop how my chest tightened when I saw that it was Rya.
Babe: Tacos 2nite?
“Have you ever had tacos at the taco truck on Shrader Street?” I asked as I texted her back.
Me: Sounds perfect
“Guillermo’s?” he asked. “Sure. They’re the best taco truck in town. Well...I mean, I haven’t tried every taco truck in the city, but they have to be in the top three at least.”
Babe: Great. C u after work
Me: I’ll meet u at ur place
Babe: Ok...c u then
“Why are you asking?” he asked before his blue eyes widened. “Is that where you’re going for dinner tonight? Dude...invite us. Like, I’m begging.”
Me: What do u say 2 Ivan & Nitti joining us?
Babe: Sounds good (thumbs up emoji)
Then, just like that, things started looking up again.