“What the two of you have is rare,” I said.
“No, it’s not. Two people who truly love each other can have it too. I noticed the way Ian looked at you last night. I saw something in him that I’d never seen before. If it was truly meant to be for the two of you, then it will happen. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to make them see what they’d lose if we were gone.”
“Really?”
“You’ve heard the saying, ‘Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,’ right?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, I’ve heard it.”
“I believe that sometimes people need to open their eyes and see what’s standing in front of them and how it could be gone in an instant.”
“You’re right. Maybe I’ll talk to him tonight. Thanks, Ellery.” I smiled.
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t worry; everything will work out if it’s meant to be. Fate has a strange way of throwing two people together.”
We got in the limo and went back to the house. Ian and Connor were already back from their golf game and were sitting on the patio, having some drinks.
“Well, you’re finally back. Did the two of you have fun?” Connor asked as he got up from his seat, kissed Ellery on the lips, and took Julia from her arms.
“We had a great time.” She smiled.
Ian looked at me and then looked down. I had a headache, so I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of ibuprofen from the cabinet. I shook two pills into my hand and chased them down with a bottle of water. When I walked back out to the patio, Connor and Ellery were gone and Ian was holding Julia. I stopped and stared at him. Seeing him holding a baby was just about as sexy as him being naked.
“She’s adorable. Isn’t she?” I said.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cute.”
“Where are Connor and Ellery?”
“They went down to the beach for a minute. Connor just handed her to me.”
Julia started to fuss and I could tell Ian became nervous. “Here, take her,” he said as he handed her over to me.
I took her and, instantly, she stopped fussing. She looked at me and put her hand on my face. Ian stared at me and with a smile he said, “You’re a natural with babies.”
Connor and Ellery walked back up to the patio and Ellery took Julia inside. Their plane was leaving soon and they had to get back to the hotel and fetch Mason. Ian and Connor shook hands and lightly hugged. Apparently, they had sealed their business deal on the golf course. I hugged Connor and Ellery goodbye, gave Julia a kiss, and they left. Ellery was kind of enough to give me her phone number and told me to call her if I just wanted to talk or if I ever needed anything. I had just made two new friends. Too bad they lived in New York.
I went up to my room and Ian followed me. “I think we need to talk about last night,” he said.
I guessed this was as good a time as any to let it all out. “Yeah, you’re right. We do.”
Ian walked up to me and ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “What’s going on with you lately? You seem distant, like you were when I first brought you here.”
I didn’t know what to say. Actually, I did, but I didn’t know how to say it. My stomach was twisted in knots and I felt like I was going to vomit. This was it. The words I was about to say were going to either make us or break us and I had a feeling it was going to break us.
“I love you, Ian.”
He looked at me and then turned around and ran his hands through his hair. “No, you don’t, Rory. You just think you do.”
“You’re wrong, Ian,” I said as I grabbed his arm. “I’m in love with you.”
“You’re in love with what I’ve done for you, not me.”
Now I was pissed. Who the hell was he to deny me my feelings for him? “No, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, but I’m in love with you, Ian Braxton. I’m in love with you as a person. Sure, you piss me off sometimes, but I still love you. I want us. I want us to be something special to each other.”
He turned around and looked at me. “You’re loving the wrong person because I’m not in love with you.”
Those words. Those six, god awful words. I felt like I’d been stabbed all over again. In fact, the pain I just felt was worse than that.
“I don’t believe you,” I said as a tear fell from my eye. “How can you stand there and say that to me? What are you so afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything. It’s just how I feel. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. It’s the last thing I want to do, but you’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m ridiculous because I told you that I loved you? You saved me and you made me fall in love with you. You took my soul and you stole my heart. I’m a human being and I have feelings.”
Ian looked away from me and slowly shook his head. “Maybe I was the fool for thinking that you wouldn’t fall in love with me. I told you before that this is me. This is how I am and you can either accept it or—”
“Or what, Ian?!” I yelled. “I think this has something to do with your mother leaving you as a child.”
The rage in his eyes grew even more as he turned and looked at me. I could see the fire behind the color. “Don’t you ever bring my mother up again! This has nothing to do with her.”
“Really? Because you want to hear what I think?”
“NO! Actually, I don’t.”
“Well, too bad. I think you’re scared to love anyone. You won’t let anyone in because you’re afraid they’ll leave you, like she did.”
“Bullshit. You know nothing, Rory. So spare me your stupid little insights because you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”
“You’ve let your father poison you all these years with his view of women since your mother left. Did it ever occur to you that she left for a reason?”
“I’m warning you, Rory. Stop right now. Just because I don’t love you, doesn’t mean you have to bring my mother into this,” he said with sadness.
I couldn’t hold it together anymore. Hearing him say that he didn’t love me was a thousand knives through my heart.
“I want the truth. When I woke up after you brought me here, you said that you saved my life and that you did something for me and I would have to do something for you. Is that when you decided you wanted to have sex with me without using a condom? I need the truth, Ian. Tell me the f**king truth!” I yelled.