Work of Art (29 page)

“Hi Trish.
You look very nice,” he said, showcasing the manners I knew he had.

“Thank you.” Then she turned to Harper. “Hi, I’m
Trisha Spencer, Ryan’s fiancé.”

It was then that I saw the briefest of reactions cross Harper’s face as Trish introduced herself as my fiancé, and I’m not sure what I was hoping to feel, but her reaction didn’t exactly make me feel great.

“I’m Harper Connelly, Brandon’s date,” Harper said, sticking her hand out for Trish to shake. I noticed the edge of one of her butterfly tattoos when the sleeve of her dress inched up.

“Harper’s the girl I ran into in the deli that day we
were having lunch,” I reminded her, trying to be forthcoming.

“Oh, your high school girlfriend,” Trish said, shaking her head. “You look so different.”

Harper smiled. “I clean up well,” she joked, and I didn’t like that she felt like she had to say that.

“I like your dress,” Trish said, and I was glad she
was being so friendly.

“Thank you,” Harper said graciously.

“Wait, did you say your name was Harper Connelly?”

Harper nodded. “Yes
, I did.”

“Are you an artist?”

Harper smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh wow! It’s so amazing to meet you. I love your work.”

“Oh, thank you,” Harper said, taken aback by the turn the conversation had taken.

“No, really,” Trish gushed. “I’ve bought three of your paintings in the past six months. You are so talented.” Then she turned to me. “Ryan, you know the painting of
Carmel in the living room and the abstract in the sitting room and the bright colored piece in the dining room?”

I nodded, feigning ignorance. I knew exactly which pieces Harper had painted since I’d studied them for the past month, ever since I found out they were hers.

“I love those paintings,” I told her.

“Did you know Harper painted them?”

I shook my head. “I had no idea,” I said honestly
, because at the time Trish had purchased them, I didn’t know.

I c
ould feel Harper watching me with curiosity, and I think she was wondering why I hadn’t told her I had her work in my apartment.

“Well, she did, and she’s amazing! And I can’t believe you know her. I think we should get a friends and family discount in the future.” I watched her playful gaze go to Harper.

“Absolutely,” Harper said good-naturedly.

“Y
ou really are amazing,” Trish gushed, reaching out hug Harper and completely catching her by surprise.

“Trish!” Katherine said, suddenly coming up behind her, eyes alight. She leaned over and whispered in Trish’s ear, and Trish giggled.

Then she turned to me. “Dinner is in five minutes, so we’re going to hit the ladies room,” she said, smiling at me.

“Have fun,” I told her as Katherine dragged her away.

“She’s adorable, Ryan,” Harper said honestly, and Brandon snorted. I saw her elbow him. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you
,” I said, gazing at her and wondering what she was thinking. I decided not to go there. “Did you get any good shots earlier?”

I noticed she hadn’t brought her camera into the dinner.

She nodded, the hint of a smile on her lips. “I think I did.”

Across the room, I noticed my mother glaring at me, so I figured I’d put some distance between Harper, Brandon and myself. No need to add any fuel to the fire. I’d do that later.

“I think I’m going to go get another drink,” I told them.

“Looking forward to
later tonight,” Brandon jeered as I walked away and ignored him.

I made it halfway across the room before Lisa grabbed my arm and dragged me outside of the banquet room.

“What?” I demanded through clenched teeth.

“What the hell is Harper Connelly doing here?”
she demanded

“She’s Brandon’s date.”

“Seriously?”

I nodded.

“I saw you talking with her. Are you two friends or something?” Lisa asked, the panic in her voice apparent.

“Yeah, we are.”

Lisa tried to hide the horror she must have been feeling, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it. I smiled, just because I knew it would freak her out.

“And I know all abou
t your little confrontation ten years ago and how you called her a whore,” I said in my nicest, quietest voice so no one nearby would expect anything was amiss. “And if I find out it was you who forged my name and gave up my rights to my son, we’re done.”

“It was Mom
and Dad and Maura Connelly. It was their idea. I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Lisa said quickly, and my eyebrows shot up.

“Harper’s mother was involved?”

My hands balled into fists by my sides. Harper and I never suspected her mother had any part in what we’d assumed happened. She was going to flip out. I shook my head, figuring I’d deal with that later. I had more pressing issues in front of me.

“Yes, she was,” Lisa said, looking like she was in pain. “
Mom and Dad paid her fifty thousand dollars to make sure Harper was out of the picture.”

My eyes narrowed, and I clenched my fists even tighter. Harper’s mom had sold her out for fifty thousand dollars. Unbelievable.

“I can’t believe you would do that to me, Lisa,” I hissed.

“I didn’t!” she insisted. “I just told them, and then they did everything else. I didn’t have anything do with it. I swear, Ryan. I told them they shouldn’t contact their lawyer, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“Yeah, but you knew about it. You knew Harper kept the baby
.” Lisa didn’t say anything. She just looked at me, her eyes filling with tears. “You fucking knew. And after you saw how upset I was when I thought she had an abortion, you found out it was a lie, and you didn’t tell me. You didn’t tell me that I had a son, and you knew I had no idea,” I hissed, sure my face was turning red, but I didn’t care.

Lisa nodded her head quickly. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have
done it, but Mom told me it was best for you not to know. She said they were doing it for you.”

“
Like hell they were!” I growled.

“They were,” Lisa insisted. “Mom knew your life would be harder if
you had a kid, so she and Dad came up with the whole fake email thing to make sure Harper didn’t have the baby.”

Was she listening to herself? Did she hear how crazy that sounded?

“Lisa, that’s ridiculous. You’re making it sound like they meddled in some insignificant thing, but it wasn’t insignificant. This was a girl I loved, who I planned to marry, and it was
my child
! And they sabotaged everything. All these years you all knew I had a kid out there, and none of you told me. That’s sick and twisted, and you know it.”

I was fuming mad and inching closer to her with every word I spoke, and she was leaning away from me.

“Ryan, they had a point. It would have been really hard for you and Harper to make it, and I know you’re looking back now and thinking that it would have been great, but having kids is really hard, and it puts a strain on your relationship. You have no idea what it’s like, and I did. I’d just had Maddie a few months before I saw Harper, and James and I had been fighting a lot, and we were talking about getting divorced, and I kept thinking that marrying him and having a baby was a mistake, and I didn’t want you to make that same mistake. I was trying to protect you.”

“But it was
my
mistake to make, and if Harper and I didn’t make it, then that was on us. It wasn’t a family decision. I’d already made the choice to raise my baby with Harper, and you and Mom and Dad took that option away from me!”

“Ryan,” she whined, but
I knew she was out of ammunition. And I was pretty sure she was finally seeing the light, but I wasn’t done.

“Lisa, I know it was hard for you when
Maddie was first born. She was colicky, and you didn’t get a lot of sleep, and I’m sorry, but James is an ass. I know he’s your husband, but he kind of sucks at it, and he wasn’t exactly supportive back then. But that doesn’t mean it would have been that way for Harper and me. I loved her
so
much. You can’t think that what you did is right.”

She shook her head, her shoulders dropping. “I know. I know that now, and I realize how emotional I was that day, and there have been so many times over the years that I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. How was I supposed to tell you that I’d kept such a huge secret from you? And after a while, it just seemed like too much time had passed. I knew you’d hate me if you ever found out.”

Yeah, that was pretty spot on.

“
You should have told me,” I said firmly. “Come on, Lisa, you have kids. You know how it is. How would you feel if no one told you that Maddie was yours, and then you found out a decade later that she died of a heart condition when she was three and you never even knew she was sick because your family kept her existence a secret from you? Huh? And you never got to hold her and tell her you loved her, because your family thought that was best. How fucked up is that, Lisa?”

She gasped in a breath and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes going wide at my revelation.

“That’s right,” I confirmed. “My son, who I never wanted to give up, died when he was a little boy, and I never got the chance to know him. So fuck you and fuck Mom and Dad for being selfish. You’re right, I do hate you. I’m done. Don’t call me, don’t talk to me, and don’t even look in my direction. You are no longer my family.”

I walked away before she could respond, storming toward the men’s room so I could get my shit together and go back to the party. But I was fuming. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel when I confronted my family about what they’d done, but a part of me thought I’d feel relief. But I didn’t. I felt worse, because now I knew their betrayal had been legitimate, and I fucking hated every last one of them for ripping away something that was mine.

“Ryan?” Trish called into the men’s room after I’d been in there for five minutes.

“Yeah,” I said, hav
ing calmed down tremendously, but I still wasn’t ready to rejoin the party.

“Everyone’s sitting down. They’re about to serve the salads.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, concern lacing her tone.
She probably thought I had cold feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, adding false cheer to my voice, because I didn’t want her to worry.

I took a deep breath and emerged from the bathroom with a forced smile on my face. She smiled up at me.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi,” I said, leaning down to kiss her and feeling comfort in just having her there with me. I looped my arms around her waist and looked down at her. “So how are you feeling about tomorrow?”

She smiled nervously. “Anxious.
Excited. Afraid I’ll trip as I’m walking up the aisle.”

I laughed, and it felt awkward but good to do so. All I had to do was exercise mind over matter, and I’d be able to get through the weekend. And then I never had to see my
parents or my sister again. And I needed to tell John what they’d done, because quite frankly, if they did something that heinous to me, they could do it to him too.

“You won’t trip,” I assured Trish,
looking down into her sparkling blue eyes.

She smiled at me, and I knew she was putting her future happiness in my hands.
I could see the excitement and loyalty and love she felt for me written all over her face, and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to make her happy. I just hoped I wouldn’t let her down.

* * *

Four hours later, dinner ended, Trish kissed me goodbye, told me she’d see me at the altar, and I was able to escape back up to my room. I wanted to have a drink and go to bed. But before I could get there, I was ambushed by two very drunk people who dragged me into their room and unceremoniously shoved me down onto their couch.

Harper fell next to me, her long hair sweeping over her shoulder and her strawberry scented shampoo assaulting me.

“Hi Ry,” she giggled. “How are you? Did you have a nice night?”

God,
I loved when she called me Ry.

“Sure, it was great.”

“Oh, you are no fun. Bartender, get this man a shot!” she called out to Brandon who appeared with a bottle of tequila.

“Head back, Ry
an,” he commanded, and I tilted my head back and opened my mouth, hoping I might be able to get numb with enough alcohol. Then I might not feel anything, and that would be preferable to the hell I was going through at the moment.

I swallowed the
cold liquid he poured down my throat, and while it was still burning my esophagus, I said, “Again.”

“Yea!”
Harper cheered. “Let’s get the groom drunk.”

“Yes, let’s,” I said, opening my mouth for Brandon to pour another shot down my throat.