“Yes, but please tell me some more.” He smiled.

Ian broke our embrace and grabbed our wine glasses. “Come on; let’s go down by the water,” he said as he held out his arm.

I smiled as I looped my arm in his and we walked down to the beach. As we were sitting in the sand, Ian told me about his golf date with Andrew tomorrow. As much as I didn’t want him to go, I didn’t dare tell him that. I didn’t like Andrew and I didn’t like Ian hanging out with him.

“Oh, by the way, I have an event dinner to go to next week and you’ll be joining me. I want you to go shopping and find a nice dress to wear. But nothing too sexy, understand?”

“Yeah, whatever, Ian.”

“No whatever, sweetheart; nothing sexy.”

I was silently laughing to myself. If he didn’t want sexy, then he’d get frumpy. That would teach him to tell me what I could and couldn’t wear.

“Okay, my love. Nothing sexy.”

“Thank you.” He smiled as he kissed my head.

Another restless night between thinking about my father, and Ian’s command about not wearing a sexy dress to the event we were going to. Ian was already in the bathroom, getting ready for his golf day with Andrew. I got up, walked into the bathroom, and wrapped my arms around him, laying my head against his bare back as he shaved.

“Good morning, sweetheart. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Good morning, and no, you didn’t.”

I gave him a soft kiss on his back and then went downstairs for some coffee. Since it was Sunday, Charles had the day off, so I made a pot of coffee. As I was waiting for it to brew, Ian walked into the kitchen.

“What are you doing today?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I really hadn’t thought about it.”

The coffee finished brewing and Andrew walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, all.” He smiled.

“Andrew.” I nodded.

“Look at you, Rory. Looking sexy, even with the ‘I just rolled out of bed’ look.”

“Would you like a cup of coffee, Andrew?” I asked because I wanted nothing more than to throw it in his face.

“Nope. Ian, let’s go. We can stop on the way and grab some breakfast.”

“Sounds good, man. Bye, sweetheart. Have a good day and I’ll be home later,” Ian said as he gave me a kiss goodbye.

“Have fun.”

I ran up the stairs to get dressed and to give Mandy a call.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Mandy, it’s Rory. I was wondering if you and Molly would like to come over today and go swimming. Ian is out with Andrew for the day and I thought it would be fun to hang out.”

“That sounds like fun, Rory. Molly and I would love to come over. Thank you for the invite.”

“You’re welcome and I’ll see you later.”

I was excited. I really liked Mandy and it was going to be nice to visit with her as friends and not on work time. I decided that we needed a treat. I went through the cupboards and gathered all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. As soon as the first batch came out of the oven, Mandy arrived with Molly.

“Oh my gosh, Rory, it smells so good in here.” She smiled.

I smiled back and looked at Molly. “She’s beautiful, Mandy.”

“Thank you, Rory.”

“Come on; let’s go out to the pool.”

Mandy climbed in with Molly and I followed behind. The sun was shining, and it was overall, a perfect day.

“So Mr. Braxton is with his friend?” she asked.

“Yeah, he’s with douchebag Andrew. I can’t stand him and I wish Ian wouldn’t see him anymore.”

We had Molly in a baby float that Mandy brought over and I pulled her around the pool. She was laughing and splashing her little hands in the water. Mandy confided in me that she was seeing someone and that he was really good with Molly.

“What’s going on here?” Ian asked as he stood by the pool.

“Ian, you’re home already?” I asked.

“Hi, Mr. Braxton.”

He looked at Mandy and said hi. “I’ve been gone four hours, Rory,” he said with an attitude.

Now I was pissed. There was no reason for him to come home the way he did with an attitude.

Mandy and I climbed out of the pool and I took Molly from her float and held her on my hip. “Ian, meet Molly, Mandy’s daughter.” I smiled.

He stared at me with a not-so-pleased look. “I said, meet Molly,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

“Hey there,” he said as he looked at her.

“Let me take Molly inside and get her changed,” Mandy said as she took her.

I took the towel from the chair and began drying myself off. It seemed that Ian thought it was a good idea to start with me.

“What the hell are you doing, Rory?”

“Having a lovely afternoon with my friend,” I replied.

“Mandy is the staff, not your friend.”

As I stared into his serious eyes, anger began to brew inside me. “So let me get this straight. Because she works for you, I can’t be friends with her? So now you’re choosing my friends?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart.”

“The only one being ridiculous here is you, Ian. I don’t care if she works for you or if she’s homeless. She’s my friend and we’re hanging out whether you like it not,” I snapped and stormed into the house.

Mandy changed Molly back into her clothes and, before they left, I gave them a hug goodbye. Ian walked over to the plate of chocolate chip cookies and, as he grabbed one, I snatched it out of his hand and threw all the cookies in the garbage.

“What the fuck, Rory!”

“You don’t deserve one of my cookies. You’re rude and I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“How the hell am I rude?” he asked as he threw his hands up in the air.

“Mandy may be your employee, but she’s also a human being and she’s my friend, and if I want her to come over on her day off to hang out, then I’ll have her over. I don’t know if she really has many friends, considering she puts in long hours working for your ass and then going home and taking care of her daughter.”

He stood there and stared at me. “I’m going to take a shower and then I think I’ll go to dinner with Andrew.”

“Go to dinner with Andrew, Ian. I don’t fucking care.”

He shook his head and walked upstairs. I wanted to tell him so bad what Andrew said to me on Thanksgiving, but somehow, I didn’t think he’d believe me. I sat down at the piano and began to play. After a short while, Ian walked into the living room.

“I’ll be home later,” he growled.

I didn’t even look up at him. I couldn’t bring myself to. He walked out of the room and out the front door. I slammed my hands down on the keys as hard as I could and tears began to fall from my eyes. As I lightly pressed the keys, one at a time, I thought about what Ian said about my father. I ran upstairs to change, grabbed my keys, and drove away.

Rory

I stood outside and looked up at the sign that read “Piano Bar.” My stomach was twisted in knots as I pulled the door open and stepped inside. I looked around at the people that were gathered at the table; talking, laughing, and having a good time. A man was playing the piano that sat in the corner of the room. As I walked over and took a seat at the bar, a red-haired woman came over and set a napkin down in front of me.

“Welcome to the Piano Bar. What can I get for you, honey?”

“I’ll have a cosmopolitan please,” I replied.

“One cosmo coming right up.”

The bar was simple. Nothing fancy and certainly not uptight.

“Here you go. Enjoy.” The bartender smiled as she set down the drink in front of me.

I gave a polite smile as I picked up the drink and sipped it. As I reached in my purse to pull out my phone, I heard a man say, “Rosie makes the best cosmos in the world. You’re lucky she’s working tonight.”

I looked up at the man and gasped. He looked exactly like Stephen; almost a spitting image of him. I gulped and forced a small smile. My heart was racing and my skin started to sweat. It was him; my father. I knew it. I could feel it. I needed to know for sure.