Sandi Lynn - When I Lie With You

“You looked like you were in deep thought,” she said.

I held out my arms to her, motioning for her to come sit on my lap. She smiled as she walked over to me and sat down.

“I was just thinking about some business stuff.” I smiled as I kissed her head.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Everything is fine, sweetheart. It’s just business; nothing for you to worry about.”

Just as I leaned in to kiss her beautiful lips, there was a knock at the door.

“Room service.”

Rory got up and I walked over to the door. I wasn’t wearing anything but my pajama bottoms and the young girl that delivered our food gasped when I opened it. I held the door open as she pushed in the cart.

“Here’s your breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Braxton.”

Instantly, I spoke up. “We’re not married.”

Rory shot me a look and the girl looked at Rory.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I reached in my wallet and pulled out some money for a tip.

She quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Wow, Ian,” Rory said.

“Wow what, sweetheart?”

“That was rude.”

“Well, we’re not married and I don’t want her thinking we are.”

“Of course not, because that would tarnish your playboy reputation,” she said with a big attitude.

“Rory. Stop it and come eat your breakfast.” I sighed. “I’m not going to argue with you over something stupid like that.”

“It’s just the way you said it, Ian. You said it with an authoritative tone. Big deal if she thought we were married. You didn’t have to be so rude about it. Better yet, maybe I should get my own room so people won’t make that mistake again and maybe when we go out, I can walk a few feet behind you so people won’t get the wrong idea.”

I rolled my eyes at her and took in a deep breath. “Sweetheart.”

“No! This is not okay,” she said as she grabbed her tray and stomped off into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Great, now she was eating alone in the bedroom. I was starting to believe that Adalynn’s wedding was getting to her. I walked over to the bedroom and opened the door. She was sitting on the bed with her knees up. I stood in the doorway and stared at her, since she wouldn’t look up at me.

“Can I come in?” I asked.

“No. I just want to be alone right now.”

I knew I needed to apologize to her, but I was afraid it would come out wrong. “Rory, please. I’m coming in, and I don’t want you throwing something at me.”

I saw a small smile grace her face. I walked over and sat down on the bed. “There’s a little bit of a smile. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for what I said and how I said it. I’ll be honest with you, Rory, I didn’t realize it came out that way. Please forgive me, sweetheart.”

She looked up at me with her sad eyes and nodded her head. I let out a deep breath and wrapped my arms around her. “For the record, you’re not staying in another room and you’re not walking behind me. Now let’s eat breakfast and then head to Connor’s and Ellery’s place.”

* * *

“Ellery, you’re looking as beautiful as ever.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek.

“Ian, good to see you, buddy,” Connor said as we shook hands.

Ellery grabbed Rory and dragged her upstairs. Connor grabbed his coat and we climbed into the limo to go look at the property he was interested in. Once we arrived, I looked at the empty field.

“This is it?” I asked.

“Yep, this is it. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a field, Connor.” I chuckled.

“Good eye.” He winked. “Look beyond the field, Ian. I want to build one of the largest art galleries in New York, and this is the place to do it.”

I stood there with my hands in my pockets, nodding my head. “For Ellery?”

Connor looked over at me and smiled. “Yeah, for Ellery.”

I started walking forward towards the field. “You two are a perfect couple. You give me hope,” I said.

“Hope is what Rory should be giving you, Ian. She’s an amazing woman.”

“Yes. She is an amazing woman.”

Connor walked up and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Relationships aren’t easy. I almost lost Ellery a few times over things I never should have done. She’s my first and last love. Me and you aren’t that different, Ian. From what I can see, she’s completely changed you as Ellery did me.”

I laughed softly. “She’s changed my views on a lot of things and she’s changed my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done if she hadn’t come back with me from Paris.”

Connor sighed. “Yep, I know what you mean. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Ellery hadn’t come back with me from California.”

“I guess we’re lucky.” I smiled.

“We sure are. Now, what do you think about the property?”

“It’s a field, Connor. It’s really not property yet. But I’ll turn it into a property and you can go and build Ellery the biggest art gallery in New York.” I smiled.

“Thank you, friend,” he said as he patted me on the back.

Rory

“Would you like to feed her?” Ellery asked.

“Really? I would love to feed her.”

Ellery handed the baby to me and I laid her in my arms and put the bottle in her mouth. She grabbed hold of my finger and stared up at me with her beautiful blue eyes.

“She’s so beautiful, Ellery. You and Connor make amazing babies.” I smiled.

“You and Ian will make beautiful babies too. You’re drop dead gorgeous, and Ian, well, look at him.”

“Thank you, but, I don’t think Ian ever wants children. Hell, he gets pissed off when you mention the word marriage.”

Ellery cocked her head and looked at me. “Why?”

“I don’t know. He’s totally anti-marriage. He wants nothing to do with it and we got into an argument this morning in the hotel room because the girl that brought up our breakfast thought we were married and Ian snapped at her. He was totally out of line and he saw nothing wrong with it.”

“Are you two okay now?” she asked.

“Yeah. He apologized after I yelled at him and locked myself in the bedroom.”

Ellery laughed. “Sounds like something I would do.”

I looked down at Julia as she was drinking her bottle. It felt so good to hold her and so natural. “Ian still has a lot of issues, and a lot of them have to do with his mom. He feels betrayed and I think she just really left her mark as far as he’s concerned with relationships.”

“Help him work it out. Connor was a hot mess before I stepped into his life. You need to peel away the layers until you find the man Ian truly is.”

I smiled at Ellery. “Thank you.”

The elevator doors opened and Ian and Connor walked into the living room. Ian stopped and looked at me as I was holding Julia. Connor and Ellery went upstairs for a moment to freshen up before we headed out. Julia finished her bottle and I sat her up to burp her.

“Aren’t you going to say hi to Julia, Ian?”

He gave me a small smile and sat down next to me. He looked at Julia and smiled.

“Hey, Julia.”

She screeched and laughed at the same time. “Do you want to hold her?” I asked.

“No. You keep holding her. She’s happy with you.”

“Here, just take her,” I said as I started to hand Julia to him.

“No, Rory. I don’t want to hold her. I’m not a fan of children.”

His words startled me. I sort of knew that already, but to hear him say it made it very real. “How can you not like children?” I asked.

“I don’t want to discuss this now, sweetheart.”

I sat there and stared at him in disbelief.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

I couldn’t say a word to him. His issues were on a deep, unreachable level. I looked down at Julia, because at that moment, I couldn’t look at the man I deeply loved.

“Rory, please. We’re going to have a great night with Connor and Ellery. Please, don’t be upset with me right now. I promise, you can punish me later.” He smiled as he reached over and lifted my chin with his finger.

He was right; we were going to have a great night with great friends and I didn’t want anything to ruin it. His issues were something that I was going to have to forget about for tonight and deal with later. I gave him a small smile as the elevator doors opened and Mason stepped out.

“There’s my princess. Come to Uncle Mason, sweetie.” He smiled as he walked over to me. “Hi, Rory, Ian. It’s good to see you.”

“Hi, Mason. It’s good to see you too.” I smiled as I stood up and handed Julia over to him.

Ian said hello and he got up and lightly shook Mason’s hand. Connor and Ellery walked back into the room and asked if we were ready to leave. I kissed Julia’s head and stepped onto the elevator as we took it down to the parking garage where the limo was waiting for us.

“Ellery really wants to take Rory to Times Square, since she’s never been to New York,” Connor said.

“She’d love that. Wouldn’t you, sweetheart?” Ian asked with a smile.

“Yes, I’ve always wanted to see Times Square.” I smiled at Connor and Ellery.

“Great! You’re going to love it, Rory!” Ellery exclaimed.

We walked around the streets of Times Square, and I was in awe. The crowds of people, the street vendors, and the variety of things to do amazed me. Being from a very small town, this was something I wasn’t used to. Ian and I held hands and, every time he looked over at me, he smiled. The words he had said earlier about children and how he wouldn’t hold Julia still consumed my mind. Connor didn’t make dinner reservations because Ellery said she just wanted to go eat somewhere that was unplanned. I really liked her. She was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl and I admired her. As we were walking across the street, Ellery saw Ellen’s Stardust Diner and told Connor and Ian that was where we were eating.

“Elle, are you sure?” Connor asked with a look on his face.

“Of course I’m sure. Rory is going to love it! The wait staff sings!” She smiled as she grabbed my hand and we walked ahead of the guys.

“I thought maybe we could go somewhere a little more quiet and—”

“And what, Connor? Classy? No, not tonight, babe. I’m sure Rory gets enough class in Malibu. Tonight, she’s going to experience New York City at its best!”

“Okay.” Connor sighed.

The line was long and the hostess told us there was about an hour wait. Ian and Connor both reached in their pockets and Ellery grabbed their hands.

“Oh no you don’t, you two. No trying to buy our way in. We’re going to wait in this line like everyone else.”

“But, Ellery, I really need a drink and I’m hungry,” Connor said.

“There’s a bar right there. You and Ian go and have a drink and Rory and I will wait in line.”

“No. We aren’t leaving the two of you here alone. We’ll wait.”

Ellery looked over at me. “Connor has safety issues,” she said.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I looked at Connor and smiled as he rolled his eyes. As we were waiting in line, there were two women standing behind Ian and Connor and they were whispering. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but I did hear the words “sexy and hot.” I leaned over and whispered to Ellery what I heard.

“I think those two are talking about our guys,” I said.

Ian and Connor were oblivious to it all because they were too busy talking about stocks. “I’m sure they are. Women hit on Connor all the time and I’m sure Ian gets it too. I mean, look at them.” She laughed.

I turned around and saw the one woman with the long, blonde hair tap Ian on the shoulder.

“Excuse me. Could you please take a picture of me and my friend?” she asked.

“Sure, no problem.” Ian smiled.

I watched him take her phone as the two women smiled and he took their picture.

“Thank you so much.” She giggled.

She took her phone back and I thought she pulled up the picture to look at it. She smiled and turned her phone around for Ian and Connor to see.

“You take great pictures,” she said as she showed them a picture of her tits.

Connor and Ian both smiled. “I don’t think we took that picture,” Connor said.

“Oops, wrong one. Sorry.” She smiled.

Ellery and I both smacked Connor and Ian on the arm. “What a whore,” I said.

The blonde looked at me. “Excuse me? Who are you calling a whore?”