“You’re welcome. I’m glad you like them,” I replied as I hugged her tightly.

“Have you been drinking?”

She could smell the bourbon on my breath. “I just had a drink on the way home, that’s all.”

“Bad day?”

“Kind of. I just had to deal with some real assholes today.”

She tightened her arms around me and buried her face in my neck. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. Let’s go change and go to dinner. I want to hear about your day.”

“I was thinking maybe we could order in some Thai food and eat on the patio. It’s such a beautiful night out.” She smiled.

“That’s an excellent idea. I knew there was a reason I loved you so much.” I smiled back as I kissed the tip of her nose.

We placed our order and, as we waited for it to be delivered, Rory grabbed two wine glasses from the cupboard and took them outside. I pulled a bottle of Pinot from the wine cellar, opened it, and took it outside, pouring some into each of our glasses. After our food arrived and we were sitting down and eating dinner, I decided it was the perfect time to tell Rory about our little trip to New York next week.

“We’re going on a trip next week,” I said as I ate my rice.

“We are? Where are we going?”

I looked at her and smiled. “New York. Connor called me today and needs me to fly out there to look at a piece of property for him. I thought we’d turn it into a mini vacation since you’ve never been there.”

Her face lit up and her happy eyes did a little dance. “Ian, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see Connor, Ellery, and Julia again. Plus, I’ve always wanted to visit New York.”

“I knew you’d be excited, sweetheart.”

“When are we going?”

“Thursday, after your visit with Stephen. I’ll go to the office in the morning and I’ll have Joshua drive you to Hudson Rock. We’ll pick you up after and head to the airport.”

“How long are we staying in New York?” she asked with excitement.

“We’ll fly back Sunday night. Sound good?”

“It sounds great,” she replied as she reached over and took hold of my hand, which was on the table.

It felt great to see Rory so happy. She deserved to be happy and there was nothing I wanted more. The sun had set and it was getting dark. Rory excused herself and told me she’d be right back. I poured another glass of wine and stared at the ocean. As I was sipping it, Rory walked out onto the patio in a short, white satin robe. She was sexy and hot as hell.

“Are you ready for bed already?” I smiled.

“On the contrary, Mr. Braxton.” She smiled back.

As she walked over to the pool, she had her back turned to me, and she slowly let the satin robe drop to the cement. She was completely naked and, instantly, I became hard. She climbed down the steps into the pool and went all the way under the water. I leaned back in my chair and watched her as she swam to the edge and looked at me. She held up her finger and motioned for me to come over to her. I got up from my chair, fully erect, and stripped out of my clothes, joining her in the pool as we made love under the moonlight.

Rory

Ian and I were up in the bedroom, packing for New York, when Mandy knocked on the door.

“Mr. Braxton, your father is here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great.” I sighed.

Ian chuckled as he kissed my head. “Be nice, Rory.”

“I’m always nice. I’m going to finish packing and I’ll be down after.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” he said as he walked out of the room.

I’d only seen Richard a couple of times since we’d been back from Paris and, each time, he wasn’t any nicer to me. I wished he wasn’t such an asshole and that we could have some kind of friendship, for Ian’s sake. I finished packing and headed downstairs. Ian and Richard were sitting on the couch, having a drink and laughing.

“Seems like you two are having some fun.” I smiled as I walked into the room.

“Rory,” Richard said as he nodded his head.

“Richard,” I replied.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Ian smiled as he got up from the couch. “I’ll go grab those papers for you, Dad.”

Ian walked out of the room and left me alone with Richard. Talk about an awkward moment. But I was pleasantly surprised when he spoke to me.

“How are you doing, Rory?”

“I’m doing great, Richard. How are you?”

When he got up from the couch, he walked over to the bar and poured himself another drink. “I’m fine, and I owe you an apology for the things I’ve said to you in the past.”

I almost needed to sit down. I couldn’t believe these words were coming out of his mouth. Suddenly, I became frightened. Was this another one of his tricks? Was there some ulterior motive behind his apology?

“Thank you, Richard.”

Just as I was about to say something else, Ian walked back into the room and handed his father some papers.

“Well, I’ll let the two of you get ready for your trip and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“You don’t have to leave, Richard,” I blurted out.

Ian gave me a strange look.

“Thanks, Rory, but I have some things of my own I need to do. Have a safe trip and I’m sorry again, Ian, that I’m already using the plane.”

Ian and his father hugged lightly. “It’s okay, Dad. I’m looking into buying my own company plane anyway.”

“Do me a favor and hold off on that purchase,” Richard said.

“Why?” Ian asked in confusion.

“Because I may be buying a new one and you can have mine. I won’t even charge you.” He winked.

Something odd was going on. Why was Richard being so nice all of a sudden? It was like he became a new man overnight. Richard gave me a small wave and Ian walked him to the door.

“What’s going on with him?” I asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“Because he was being nice. He apologized to me for the things he said in the past.”

Ian walked over to me and picked me up, carrying me up the stairs. “He can be a nice guy and that makes me happy that he apologized to you.”

I kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so happy we leave for New York tomorrow. I can’t wait to see baby Julia. She’s so adorable.”

“Yeah, she’s a pretty cute kid,” Ian mumbled.

I was restless. I could feel it as I was trying to wake from my nightmare.

“Rory, sweetheart, wake up. You’re having a bad dream,” I heard Ian say as his hands gripped my shoulders.

My eyes flew open as I sat up and tried to catch my breath. Ian reached over and turned on the lamp and then turned to me with concern.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he stroked my hair.

“I’m fine. It was only a dream,” I said with bated breath.

“Your dad?” Ian asked.

“Yeah. I’m going to go downstairs and get bottle of water,” I said as I turned to Ian and placed my hand on his cheek.

“Let me go for you.”

“No. I’m going myself,” I snapped. “I’m sorry, baby. I just need some fresh air. I’m sweating.”

“Okay. Go do what you need to do, sweetheart.”

I softly kissed him on the lips and got out of bed. The dreams of Jimmy O’Rourke stayed with me even after I’d woken up. I went downstairs and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I looked over at the bottle of wine sitting on the counter that Ian and I shared earlier and put the water back. I grabbed a new glass from the cupboard and filled it with alcohol. I unlocked the patio door and stepped outside. The wind was light and the air was cool, but I didn’t care. It felt good to breathe fresh air. I headed down towards the sand and stood there, staring at the water.

“You’re worrying me,” Ian’s voice said from behind.

I turned around and smiled at him. He walked up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Hmm, is that wine?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you were going for water.”