While Rebecca continued reprimanding Ricky, I made my way into the cool house. The silence meant they were all outside. Sure enough, my father and Marco entertained Antonio in the pool, my mom held Liliana on a shaded lounge chair, and Riana sat smiling while sipping what appeared to be a glass of lemonade.
“What the hell?” I asked when it registered Riana was indeed there.
“Surprise!” She immediately got up to hug me. “I hope you don’t mind. Rebecca invited me down.”
“Not at all.” I squeezed her tightly, having missed her more than I’d thought possible. Pulling back, I took both her hands in mine. “When did you get here?”
“A few hours ago. We only planned it yesterday… all spur of the moment.”
“Well, I’m so glad you came.” When Ricky came into view beyond her shoulder, I called out to him, forcing him to come closer. Once he reached my side, I released one of her hands to place on his shoulder. “Ree, this is Ricky Burrows. Ricky, this is Riana Carter.”
Riana threw her arms around him in an embrace that mirrored the one she’d given me. “I am so happy to finally meet you.”
“Same here,” he said with apprehensive eyes pinned to mine. But when I mouthed to be nice, something seemed to snap within him as he rolled his eyes in response. Taking her hand and leading her toward the farthest corner of the yard, he added loud enough for me to hear, “There is so much I want to ask you.” And just like that, he gained the upper hand yet again.
When my parents left this morning, I drove them to the airport. Between having to leave her precious grandchildren and my recent revelation, Mom’s tears fell harder than usual. In between sobs, she reminded me of their support and love. I made them promise to keep it to themselves, and she offered help whenever I did decide to let my siblings know. It wasn’t Janis or Griffin I worried about. It was the conversation with Sam that weighed heavily on my mind.
That afternoon, Ricky and I took Riana to see Bella Viaggi while it was docked between journeys. The vessel was empty, all guests having disembarked already, and the crew was busy preparing for the next voyage.
It was adorable how her mouth gaped open during the tour, or how she beamed at me whenever she caught my eye. Ricky also arranged for us to have a late lunch on deck, complete with fresh sea scallops, sweet corn risotto, and herb-grilled vegetables.
“I can’t believe all this,” Riana said before taking a sip of her third lemon-drop martini. “People actually live like this.” It wasn’t a question. Riana wasn’t a materialistic person at all, but it was hard not to be impressed by the multimillion-dollar luxury that surrounded us.
“You’ll need to book a week, or even two. You need back-to-back cruises to get the full experience of our itinerary.” Riana scoffed and shook her head, forcing Ricky to rush on and say, “On me. Just say the word.”
“Oh my God, Ricky. I can’t accept that.”
“Of course you can. I own it.” He then glanced at me and winked, sending a jolt of affection through me. Whenever he did things like that, I would be reminded of Dr. Vaughn’s words.
“Perhaps you don’t see gender when you begin to connect to another person, and what attracts you is their kindness, their personality traits. Some identify that as being pansexual. It could very well be that this man calls to you on a deeper level.”
That comment had caused me to call him a prick on live radio… and I’d gotten busted when Ricky heard it. But now that I knew Ricky as I did, I had to agree. Even then, I must have sensed something there, deeper than a physical attraction.
His generosity was just one of the many things I found attractive about him. It was in his nature. From ensuring my sister had an equal share of RMR, even when her contribution had been minuscule compared to Marco’s and Ricky’s. From learning he’d helped fund his cousin Damon’s bar. From that ridiculous giant giraffe that he’d spent a small fortune on because he’d known it would bring a smile to Liliana’s face one day… okay, and also because it would drive my sister nuts. All of it came from a place of profound generosity.
I also loved his dry humor. When Ricky had seen Rebecca wasn’t kidding about putting the toy in the garage to keep from hearing it humming at all hours of the day, he’d retaliated by having a giant pink elephant delivered the next day, making the giraffe look tame. Laughing my ass off when Marco dragged that monstrosity through the house had earned a punch to my biceps from Rebecca. They’d come to an understanding—Rebecca wouldn’t put his gifts to the curb provided he deleted the app off his phone.
Meanwhile, Ricky and Riana had meshed perfectly. As they chatted like long-lost friends, I tried to appear indifferent and failed fantastically. Especially when he used the opportunity to siphon every bit of information out of her that he could get. From silly things like the fact that I despised sweet potatoes, to more personal tidbits such as how much I loved massages.
Having Riana there had made me realize there was a lot about Ricky that I didn’t know. And after dropping her off at my sister’s house before heading to his condo, I said as much. “I need one of your friends from home to come visit so I can pick their brain like you did to Riana. Or maybe I have a long chat with Damon.” Ricky sliced his focus away from the road to look at me. “What?” I asked.
“I was planning on paying my mother a surprise visit.” His knuckles gripped the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead and asked, “Would you like to come?” My silence caused him to backpedal a bit. “You know what? Bad idea. I know I had already invited you, but I understand if you feel it’s too soon. She’s your mom on steroids when it comes to her nosiness. I just thought maybe—”
“Shut up.”
“Shut up?” His brows rose challengingly.
“Yeah. You talk too much. I would love to come home with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cooper
In the weeks that followed Liliana’s birth, we all seemed to fall into a comfortable routine. And then, I woke up and it was July.
During the day, Ricky would come over, and we’d entertain Antonio in the pool or take him to the beach to give Rebecca and Marco a break. Watching Ricky interact with a toddler was hilarious. He spoke to him no differently than he did to an adult, and more times than not Antonio would stare at him and then look to me for guidance.
But come the evenings, we preferred to be at Ricky’s place in quiet solitude. Sometimes we’d bring dinner in, sometimes we’d cook, and most nights we’d sit on his balcony enjoying the ocean breeze. While he flicked through news channels and stock reports on his laptop, I’d read. Even with the lack of conversation, I felt this unexplainable connection to him.
What we did do every night was get each other off. It was more of the same, but if at all possible, each time he made me come was more intense than the last. Stranger still, returning the favor never failed to turn me on as well. We had yet to “take it to the next level,” and I was the one itching to.
The more he dragged this on, the more I wanted it over with. Like a virgin knowing the first time wouldn’t be pleasurable, the need to get past that and on to the good stuff consumed me. Especially when he taunted how much better it could get. But Ricky had the patience of a fucking saint… and I didn’t doubt he enjoyed tormenting me.