Page 18 of Free to Dream
“Are you out of your damn mind, Caleb? What in the hell were you thinking? No wait, I can answer that. You weren’t. Not with the brain on your fucking shoulders,” Ry rails at me.
What the hell?
My brother is stalking around the coffee table, waving his hands in the air. I risk a glance at Jared, but he merely shakes his head. Shit, no help there.
“What’s your problem, Ry? You wanted me to find out if she was professional enough. I did. Admirably, if I do say so myself.” I mentally congratulate myself.
“You were there to find out if she could take you on and what? Give in like every other insipid woman you meet does? So, you decided to humiliate her, Caleb? Because that’s damn well what you did. You humiliated a woman for nothing more than what? Revenge for what you think happened between me, her brother, and her brother-in-law?” Ryan snaps.
Leaning forward, I put the tumbler on the table. “What if I did, Ry? Reading between the lines over multiple Skype calls, one of which almost got me shot, Jason humiliated you.” Ryan’s face pales and he rears back at my verbal attack. Jason didn’t humiliate Ry, but it was time my brother manned up and told me that. “You two”—pointing at Ry and Jared—“are about to drop a whack to him indirectly. Why in the fuck would you do that?”
Ryan’s shoulders slump. “I told you—”
I hold up my hand, cutting him off. “I know what you said about the company, and now that I’ve met with them, I agree with you. I still don’t get it though. Why them? We can afford anyone, and you turn over several million dollars to plan your wedding to the family of your ex-fiancé? Are you trying to make him jealous? Don’t you think that deserves more than the average push on a new employee interview?”
Ryan starts trembling and turns to look at Jared who holds out his hand. Ryan walks away from me and resumes his seat next to his fiancé, his chest heaving.
I reach for the Scotch and hold it up to the two men in front of me before relaxing back in my chair. After receiving nods and topping off their glasses, I lean back and say one word. “Explain.”
Silence.
“Now!” I bark out.
Ry takes a deep breath and says, “I was never engaged to Jason Ross, Caleb.”
I raise an eyebrow, but don’t say anything. I tip my glass at him to continue.
“Jason was my savior, my protector, and my best friend. God, I was so lost, so hurt, so alone. He found me one night after…and well, he saved me. During the time we lived together, he gave me so much.” Ry looks at Jared, his cheeks flushing. “I don’t know when my feelings for him started to change, but they did. Call it gratitude or hero worship. I’m sure there are a half a dozen names for it.”
I don’t let my facial expression change, willing him to get to the point where I can ask questions.
“It was long after we were living together when Jason and I went to Candlewood Lake one day. The Freemans were there. I don’t know how we’d never ran into them before. As you know, they’re all beautiful,” he muses, lost in his own memories. “Together, they’re absolutely stunning.”
While I agree, I need him to move on to what I want to hear.
“Jason had jumped into the water to cool off and was near the docks. I was sitting on the beach, people watching, when I heard a round of laughter from their group, and saw Phil pick up a voluptuous brunette, Corinna, and toss her in the lake. She was able to pull him in with her, where he practically landed on top of Jason. And that’s how they met. A completely random act.”
Ryan takes a pull from his Scotch. “After Phil offered Jason a hand out of the water and apologized, Jason followed them back over to their blanket. He’d forgotten about me completely. He was immediately enraptured, and now, I know how he felt.”
I lean forward and reach for the bottle, but Ryan shakes his head for me not to fill his cup. As I start to move back, Ryan grabs my wrist.
“I blew up at Jason that night, Caleb. I was a raging lunatic. I can’t even fully remember what I screamed at him. I know I kissed him, and he pushed me away. I felt so hurt, so rejected. In my head, I had built up the engagement for my safety to be real, and my fiancé had just turned me away.” Ryan flushes, ashamed at his behavior that day so long ago.
And there’s the opening I need, but just as I’m about to ask a question, Ry continues. “I left in the middle of the night with my clothes, journals, and not much else. I was certain by doing it that way, I would hurt Jason the way he had hurt me. I’m sure I did. Fuck, I know I did. He was my best friend. He found me at my worst, bloody in an alley, alone.” At this point, I know my brother doesn’t know what he’s telling me. Jared does, and his eyes cut to me, warning me not to interrupt. This needs to come out. It’s been festering way too long. “Jason gave me a second chance at life. He gave me the chance to find true love, and I did.” Ryan now has tears trickling down his face. Jared leans forward and kisses him softly, obviously knowing the story I’m hearing for the first time, but read about a few days ago courtesy of the file Charlie kept up to date with.
My jaw tics as I bite back the questions I need his answers to.
“I repaid that by being a shit, Caleb. A bratty, self-entitled shit. So, Jared and I attended a few events where I knew my name would end up in the paper. I wanted Jason to know I hadn’t offed myself in a back alley somewhere—a very real possibility when he first met me, and that I had moved on. After we got engaged, I discussed the possibility of reaching out to Jason with Jared. He already knew everything else.”
At this point, I stand and start to prowl around. Ryan shifts anxiously before continuing.
“I already knew Amaryllis Events’ reputation. I figured that if we hired them, I could atone for what I did to Jason. It was so wrong of me, Caleb. God, he never deserved that. I also thought I would have a chance to apologize…” Ry trails off, staring out across the city lights.
“Several of our friends used them for other events. Cassidy Freeman is reputed to be able shut to down the devil and to talk him into her bidding at the same time. The rest of the Freeman family are amazing artists, true, but she could take over corporations. I knew she could handle our—”
“Don’t say the word. If you call that cunt our mother one more time, I don’t know what kind of reaction I’ll have,” I caution with pure ice in my voice.
One second passes. Two…
