Page 80 of Until

“Wow, so if you were twenty, then when you and Alex had that lunch at John’s, that would’ve made me five,” I say.

“Shhh, I try not to think about our age difference.”

“Why not, old man?” I ask with a big grin.

“That’s exactly why.” He laughs. “A fifteen-year difference is a big gap. I think even your mother is younger than me.”

“No, don’t be silly. She’s not that young. My grandmother is younger than you, though. She’s been twenty-nine for as long as I can remember.”

“Can we talk about your mom?” he asks.

“Do we have to? She’s someone I really don’t want to talk about.” I’m quiet as I try to come up with an excuse for her being at Alex’s.

Did she follow me? If she did, then why?

“I just don’t get it,” I say. “Why was she at Alex’s?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about her.”

“I don’t,” I say as my phone buzzes, and I see another call from my mother coming through. “But I think I need to. It’s sad, but I don’t think I can trust her. Correction, I know I can’t trust her.” I sigh and push her out of my mind.

“Well, before you completely push her out, you should know that she tried blackmailing me about a month ago.”

“What?! Are you sure it was her?”

“Positive. She was trying to get me to pay her to not tell you I’m a billionaire. She recognized me from the newspaper.”

“Just like Grandma. She said she recognized your picture in the paper but didn’t say anything to me. I didn’t think anyone read newspapers anymore. Maybe I need to start paying attention to those old rags.”

“Don’t, you’re better off this way,” he says with a laugh.

“So why do you think Alex felt that way about John’s?”

“You’ll have to ask him. I really don’t know. I remember him talking about it that day, but I don’t remember if he said why. I assumed he was just talking, and it didn’t mean anything. You know, dreams you tell someone else that you never expect will happen.”

He smiles sheepishly.

“What? What are you thinking about?”

“That’s you. You’re the dream I never expected to happen.” He leans over and kisses me. “I used sometimes think I set myself up to fail with the whole masquerade thing. But here you are.”

“It doesn’t bother you how I ended up here? Because of Alex?”

“In the very near future, all I’m going to say is that my brother introduced me to the woman of my dreams.”

I stare at him for a moment, trying to gauge if he’s being sincere or not, and he is.

“I know it’s probably not the norm for a man to say things like that. Maybe it’s because I lost my mom at such a young age or because of how my father raised us. Whatever it is, it’s why I knew I needed to be careful about what women I let into my life. I’m a romantic.”

“And that’s why you came up with the idea of a masquerade ball.”

“Yes, it was the only way I could meet women without having to worry about them knowing who I am. On the day the will was read, my father also released a long statement declaring that not only was I single, but that I needed to get married in order for me not to lose my inheritance.”

“No, he really did that to you? From the grave?”

Ryan nods. “From the grave. He’s been dead for five years, and he’s still running my life.”

“That’s a shame. Sounds like you owe a lot to your brother though. It sounds like he was always a good brother to you. Even when you were younger."

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