Grasping his hand, his mother led him into her state-of-the-art kitchen. Recently remodeled to indulge her love of all things culinary, his mother now gave cooking classes. It was her way of establishing her independence and having something for herself, and Ian admired her for it.
He settled onto a barstool while his mother poured iced tea for them both.
“So what brings you by?” she asked.
“Nothing in particular.”
She placed his glass in front of him. “This is your mother you’re talking to. You don’t show up in the middle of the week for no reason.”
He stared at the multicolored granite counter, the wash of colors forming an indistinct blur. He hated it, preferring things in bold colors with stark contrast. Kind of like his life, with distinct rules, everything having its place. Knowing what to expect let him breathe easier. Which explained his need for control, in all things.
“So your sisters tell me you met someone special,” she said softly.
Ian let out a laugh. “They have big mouths.”
“They’re girls! The first thing they each did Sunday night was call me,” she said, laughing. “Olivia thinks it’s a good thing there’s someone who won’t take your crap. Her words,” his mother said, amusement in her voice that he didn’t appreciate.
But he could never be angry with her. The little brats he called his sisters were another story.
“Who is she?” his mother asked.
“Her name is Riley Taylor.” He went on to bring his mother up-to-date on how he’d met Riley and her entanglement with Alex.
“Well, that hits right where you hurt,” she said bluntly, as only a mother could.
“Yeah.” And he still didn’t understand Alex and Riley’s connection.
Yes, they’d grown up as neighbors, but Riley and Alex had an unbreakable bond. Maybe if Ian understood what lay behind it, it would be easier for him to accept.
“Yet she’s worth dealing with them? I mean, you’ve avoided doing so for all these years.” Her eyes lit with questions.
Ian nodded. If there was one person he could confide in, it was his mother. “Yes. She is. And right now she’s ignoring my calls.” And texts.
Emma laughed at his obvious distress.
“Umm… What did you do?”
He raised his eyebrows. Normally with that look, his employees would go running.
His mother merely laughed again.
“What makes you think I did something?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Why would she suddenly ignore you unless you upset her?”
He rolled his shoulders, the tension there painful. “I sent flowers to her hotel room.” And told her to miss him because he sure as f**k missed her.
“And?”
He didn’t want to admit to the next part and let out a frustrated groan. “I might have called and warned her boss to keep his hands to himself on their business trip.”
She’d left him a message while he was in a meeting telling him in no uncertain terms that she was pissed and he’d gone too far. And she wasn’t answering his return calls.
“Ian Carlton Dare, how could you!” his mother asked, wagging her finger in his face as if he were a child.
“You should hear the things he’s said to Olivia! I was just making sure he understood that Riley was mine.”
She shook her head, her blue eyes dancing with undisguised laughter. “Oh my God. You are impossible. First, Olivia and Dylan have history, not that it’s any of your business.”
Ian nearly fell off his stool. “How the hell would I know that?”
“You wouldn’t! Your sisters don’t want you to know anything about their love lives because you scare men away.”
He narrowed his gaze but didn’t touch that remark, mostly because it was true.
“You can’t go around staking your claim like some caveman!” His mother’s shoulders shook from trying to suppress laughter.
“Now you sound like Olivia,” he muttered.
“Because she’s right. I’m sure your Riley would be flattered by your attention if you didn’t insert yourself into her work and diminish her in the eyes of her boss!”
“I didn’t—”
“You did.” A few seconds of silence passed before his mother continued. “Ian, honey, you can’t ensure the people you love won’t leave you. You just have to learn to trust.”
And wasn’t that the crux of all his problems in life, Ian thought wryly.
“Thanks for talking, Mom.”
“Honey, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
He rose and pulled her into a hug. The scent of her perfume brought him back to childhood, evoking warm, pleasant memories. “I hope you and Riley can fix things. I’d like to meet her one day.” Her eyes opened wide. “Are you bringing her to the fundraiser Saturday evening?”
“We’ll see.” He had to get her to talk to him again first.
TEN
Riley’s first day back at work, she was on edge and not only because she’d have to deal with Ian. When she’d played her answering machine at home, she’d had numerous heavy breathing messages. The caller didn’t say anything, but there was no doubt the messages were deliberate, not mistaken calls and hang-ups. They’d continued after her return, waking her in the middle of the night and early in the morning. As she had an unlisted number, yeah, she was rattled, to say the least.
She passed Angie, Dylan’s secretary, and smiled. “Morning.”
“Good morning. Riley, wait. I have a message for you,” she said.
Riley paused at the other woman’s desk. “I thought my calls went directly to voice mail,” she said.
“Not since your promotion. I’m now your official go-to person.” She grinned and handed her a pink message slip.
“Cool.”
“You’re telling me! I’m fairly new, and Dylan’s my first important boss. Now I have you both.” The young woman smiled.
“Well, thanks. I’ll try not to work you too hard,” she said wryly.
Riley continued on to her office and settled in. She placed her Starbucks cup on the desk and glanced at the message.
You owe me. Dad.
Full-blown shivers took over. Riley hadn’t heard from her father in so many years she’d almost convinced herself he no longer existed. Like a bad dream or memory that surfaced occasionally, she’d banished him to the dark corners of her mind as often as she could. Suddenly, the hang-ups at home made sense.