Edge of Love (16 page)

“
Then Ryan can’t be
there.”

“
What
?”

“
You heard me. That’s
fair.”

“
It’s not the same thing
at all.”

“
I think it
is.”

“
Fuck you,
Sean.”

“
Whatever, Scar.” He
turned around walked back to the sofa. “Have a safe trip. I might
be here when you get back.”

“
Are you threatening
me?”

He didn’t say anything.

I opened the door and was about to
walk through when his voice startled me.

“
Scarlet.”

I stopped and turned
around.

He stared at the blank television
screen. He didn’t look at me once. “I love you.”

I took a deep breath. The last thing I
wanted to do was be sentimental. I was too angry to feel any other
emotion but rage. I pressed my lips together then opened them. “I
love you too.”

He nodded. “Bye.”

I didn’t speak. I slammed the door
behind me and walked away.

I left the building and took a cab to
Ryan’s house. Ryan wasn’t home because he was at work, but I knew
Janice would be there. I knocked before I inserted my spare key in
the door and walked inside.

Janice was sitting at the kitchen
table with her computer sitting in front of her. Her smile dropped
when she saw the bags over my shoulder. “This can’t be
good.”

“
I’m going to stay with
you guys for a while.”

“
I assumed.”

I placed my bags in the spare bedroom
then returned to the kitchen. I placed my laptop on the table then
poured myself a cup of coffee.

“
So, are you going to tell
me what’s going on?”

I shook my head. “No.”

She rose from her seat. “I’ll let Ryan
know you’re here.”

“
Isn’t he at
work?”

She raised an eyebrow. “It’s barely
seven in the morning.”

I nodded. “Oh yeah.”

“
I’ll be back. He usually
walks around naked so I don’t want a scarring accident to
happen.”

“
Yes, please tell him I’m
here,” I said quickly. I was thankful that Janice thought about
that.

When she returned, Ryan was following
behind her. He was wearing his basketball shorts and a ripped
shirt. His hair was unleveled and bent at odd angles. It was
obvious he just woke up. “What happened now?”

I drank my coffee.
“Nothing.”

He sighed. “How long are you
staying?”

“
As long as I
want.”

“
I know you’re mad at Sean
but don’t be a brat to me, the man who is putting a roof over your
head.”
“I make more money than you do.”

“
Not right
now.”

I sighed. “I don’t know. A few
weeks.”

Janice’s eyes widened.
“
Weeks
? You
really shouldn’t be away from your fiancé that long. You may as
well break up.”

“
Well, maybe we
should.”

Ryan stared at me. “Don’t talk like
that.”

I glared at him.

“
You don’t mean it and you
know it. Now tell me what happened.”

“
I don’t feel like talking
about it.”

“
Now or ever?” he
asked.

“
Never,” I said. “But
especially right now.”

Ryan nodded. “I expect a full report
when I get home from work.”

I rolled my eyes.
“Whatever.”

He left the kitchen then returned to
his bedroom, getting ready for work. Janice typed on her computer
and avoided my gaze. I knew she was trying to give me my space. If
I didn’t want to talk, I wouldn’t budge.

“
How’s your manuscript?”
she asked.

I sighed. “I haven’t worked on it in
days. I’m falling behind.”

“
I can help.”

“
Nah. I’ll do it
today.”

“
Okay.” She smiled at me
then returned to her work.

Ryan emerged from the hallway then
approached Janice. He grabbed her face and kissed her hard, making
her melt. Normally, I would be uncomfortable with this, but since
I’ve heard them have sex dozens of times, this was
nothing.

‘
I love you, baby,” Ryan
said.

She smiled at him. “I love
you.”

He kissed her again. “I’ll see you
when I get home.”

“
Hurry.”

He smiled. “I’ll try.” He kissed her
on the forehead then looked at me. His sweet voice evaporated. “Are
you going to be okay?”

I nodded. “I got my best friend. I’ll
be fine.”

“
Okay.” He walked away
then disappeared from the apartment. I turned back to my laptop and
became absorbed in my work. Hours passed by and all I thought about
was the novel I was reading. We had lunch while we worked, but
neither one of us spoke. It was amazing how much time passed when I
was working. When the front door opened again, Ryan and Cortland
walked inside. I looked at the clock. It was already
five.

Ryan was dressed in jeans and a blue
sweater, and Cortland was wearing black pants and a green shirt. I
liked it when he wore green because it highlighted his eyes. Ryan
came to the table and kissed Janice just like he did this
morning.

“
What took you so long?”
she asked.

He smiled. “I came as quick as I
could.”

“
It wasn’t quick
enough.”

He pulled away and looked at me. “Are
you feeling better?”

“
I feel the same,” I
answered.

Cortland took the seat next to me.
“Sean and you are still fighting? I felt the tension in the car
last night.”

“
That’s an understatement.
He threatened to slap me.”

“
What?” Ryan stared me
down. His earlier buoyant attitude was replaced with rage almost
immediately.

“
He wouldn’t actually do
it, Ryan. He was just that angry.” I closed my computer and looked
at him. “You can calm down now.”

He sat down in the seat across from me
and looked at me. “Are you ready to tell us what’s going
on?”

I sighed. “I didn’t realize I was
going to have an audience.”

Cortland shrugged. “Ryan would just
tell me anyway.”

I laughed. “Yes, that’s true. He can
have a big mouth.”

Ryan leaned back in his chair. “I
didn’t tell Sean that you fucked Cortland a few times. The guy has
the right to know but I’ve kept it to myself. I think I’m pretty
trustworthy.”

Cortland nodded. “He has a
point.”

I sighed. “Well, this is the abridged
version. Sean wants to get married in Connecticut with a bunch of
people I don’t even know. They are going to be gossiping about my
plane incident, and I’m going to have to make small talk at my own
wedding. And I don’t have a dad to walk me down the aisle or a mom
to be there for me. It’s just embarrassing. I really don’t want to
do it.”

Ryan was quiet for a moment. “I’ll
walk you down the aisle, Scarlet.”

I smiled. “I know, but it’s just
embarrassing that our mother is crazy. And our wedding announcement
is going to be everywhere. Mom will probably hear about it and come
to crash it since we took her money. I just don’t want to deal with
all the bullshit. It pisses me off that Sean expects me to do
this.”

“
What did he say?” Ryan
asked.

“
That it’s important to
him and his family.”

Ryan nodded. “I can understand that.
Then what do you want, Scar?”

“
I just want to get
married here with the six of us.”

Cortland leaned back. “What about
Sean’s parents?”

“
I don’t want them there,
but I would let them come if Sean wanted them to.”

Ryan looked at me. “What about his
friends and other family members?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t want them there. I want it just to be us.
It’s a celebration of me and Sean. I don’t want to deal with
anything else.”

Ryan sighed. “Scar, I’m sorry but
you’re the wrong one.”

“
What?” I asked
incredulously. “After the horrible weekend we had, I can’t believe
he would expect this of me.”

“
Did you tell him why?” he
asked.

“
Yes.”

“
And you told him how you
feel about mom?”

“
Well, no. But I shouldn’t
have to. I have a plethora of reasons.”

Ryan shook his head. “If the situation
was reversed, you would leave him, Scar. I’m surprised he’s putting
up with you right now. His family is rich and famous. He can’t just
get hitched.”

Cortland nodded. “I agree, Scar.
You’re wrong. I vote for Sean.”

I glared at him. “This isn’t a
vote.”

Janice shifted her weight in her
chair. “I agree with Ryan.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it’s a good
thing it wasn’t a vote.”

Ryan looked at me. “Cool off tonight,
but go back home tomorrow. This is a stupid argument anyway. You
just need to compromise.”

“
No,” I said. “That’s not
how I want to spend my wedding day.”

“
Talk to him,” Ryan said.
“And work something out. Maybe you can have it there but reduce the
number of people. Or bring his closest friends here. Or better yet,
have two weddings. Whatever it is. But talk to him, Scar. You can’t
just run away every time you’re pissed at him. In fact, I’m
surprised he didn’t kick you out. You’re being a total brat right
now.”

I rose from my chair, grabbed my
laptop, and walked into my bedroom. I didn’t want to hear their
opinion anymore. I knew I was right. Sean was being insensitive to
my feelings. I didn’t do anything wrong.

12

Sean and I hadn’t spoken in three
days. He never called me, texted me, or called Ryan—as far as I
knew. I thought it was odd. I assumed he would have apologized by
now, but he was being as stubborn as I was.

By the third day, I started to miss
him. I was furious with him but I missed talking to him. I wanted
to vent my feelings to him, but I knew I couldn’t since he was the
one I was pissed at. And I missed being with him. Since we made
love every day, at least twice a day, I felt the withdrawals coming
along. I thought about calling him a few times, but I always
stopped myself from making the call.

I distracted myself with editing,
falling into the world of the story. Ryan didn’t bring up Sean
again and I was thankful for it. The four of us played basketball
when the weather would permit it, and Cortland came into my room a
few times to see how I was doing. He never directly asked about
Sean, but I knew he was concerned.

By the time I went to sleep that
night, I was totally miserable. I missed Sean like crazy. I wished
he would just apologize and give me what I wanted. Why was he being
so stubborn? I refused to give in until he gave me what I wanted. I
wasn’t getting married in Connecticut. It wasn’t going to
happen.

I rolled over in bed and looked out
the window. The rain drops were pelting the glass and thudding
against the walls. I loved the sound of the rain. Listening to it
always made me feel relaxed. I loved waking up in Sean’s warm arms
while we listened to the sound of the rain on the rooftop. Those
were days we never left the bedroom, choosing to make love and nap
all day.

I heard my phone vibrate on the
nightstand. I wondered who would be texting me at this hour. There
was only one person I could think of and my heart leapt at the
thought. When I looked at the screen, I saw the text message from
Sean.

I’m at the front
door
.

My heart raced in my chest. It was
past midnight and I knew he had work in the morning. I wondered
what he wanted. I left my bedroom and walked down the hallway. I
heard the quiet rocking of the headboard in my brother’s room. The
sound made me smile. At least he was trying to be quiet. I felt bad
for intruding on my brother’s life. Now that he had Janice I knew
he needed his privacy.

When I reached the door, I opened
it.

Sean’s jacket was soaked, and water
still dripped from the material. Since I hadn’t seen him in three
days, I forgot how beautiful he was. He was the most handsome man
I’ve ever seen. I missed kissing him. My lips burned, and the flesh
between my legs felt like it was on fire. He stared at me for a
long time.

Finally, I spoke. “Why are you
here?”

He shifted his weight and put his
hands in his pockets. “I’m still livid with you, Scarlet. You
really pissed me off and you’re being unreasonable.”

I sighed. “You didn’t have to come all
the way here just to tell me that.”

He stared at me. “I tell you this so
we’re clear about my expectations. I’m still waiting for an
apology.”