Here With Me (11 page)

“Yes, I have,” she answered and her mother sighed. “What, Mom?  You sound perturbed.”

“I’m just trying to understand you, Mallory.”

“I’m not that complicated.”

“What do you know about Ryan?”

“Mom, I really don’t want to discuss this.”

“Mallory, I asked a simple question.  What do you know about him?” She pulled her glasses off, which was the signal that she meant business.

“I know that I care about him…a lot.”

“So Cole?  He’s just pushed to the backburner?”

Mallory couldn’t stifle her laughter at her mother’s insinuation.

“He was never on the front burner. 
You’re
the one who wants me to be with him and you can’t get it through your head that that’s not what I want.  I love Cole, but as a friend, and that’s all it will ever be.”

“I don’t think you understand what you’re giving up, Mallory.  Just think of the life he could o
ffer you.  You wouldn’t want for anything.  You’d have the life you always wanted.”

“You mean the life you wanted,” Mallory said and the room grew quiet.

Her mother closed the book and set it and her glasses on the nightstand. 

“I think you just need to think about what you’re willing to give up, and for what?  A man you’ve known for a month?  A man whose job it is to give up his life to protect someone else’s?  A man whose job comes first?  He’ll be gone at the end of the summer.  You’ll never be number one in his life.  You will be in Cole’s.”

Mallory didn’t say anything.  She bit back the tears she could feel forming in her eyes, but she wasn’t going to let her mom see she had affected her.  Instead, she turned around, walked to her room and climbed into bed, trying to push her mother’s words out of her mind.

“Is
Kenna’s artwork as eccentric as she is?” Ryan asked as they walked towards the small gallery in the middle of town.  It was a warm night and the shops were still bustling with tourists.  Ryan held Mallory’s hand as they weaved through the crowds. 

“All I can say regarding
Kenna’s artwork is that you’ve never seen anything like it.” She laughed and he slid his arm around her waist pulling her close to him as they walked, liking the way she felt when she was close to him.  She hadn’t allowed herself to think about what her mom had said that night after dinner.  She’d spent her life worrying about everything and she didn’t want to bother with what ifs when she was enjoying every moment she spent with Ryan. 

The gallery was surprisi
ngly full when they walked in.  It didn’t take long to spot Kenna, with her jet black hair and pink streak.  She stood out from the crowd, looking elegant in a long black dress and she was smiling proudly by one of her paintings, a hodgepodge of colors and textures.

“You’re right, Mal,” Ryan leaned in, whispering in her ear. “I’ve never seen anything like it.  What do you think it is?”

“I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what it is.”

They both laughed quietly, trying to keep a straight face as they did so. 

“C’mon.  We’d better go say hi.”  He took her hand and led her towards Kenna who waved when she saw them.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, pulling Mallory to her in a hug. 

“You know I wouldn’t miss this.”

“And thanks for tagging along, Ryan,” Kenna said, leaning in and hugging him as well.

“I’m glad Mallory invited me.  So, where’s your work?”

“This is my wall,” Kenna said, motioning to the space behind her. 

Mallory scanned the wall, and a surprised smile spread over her face.  It had been a while since she’d seen Kenna’s artwork and aside from the mystery piece they’d seen when they first walked in, it was all genuinely beautiful.  It still had the quirkiness of Kenna, but it was ordered and purposeful.  Mallory turned and put her arm around her best friend.

“Kenna, they’re wonderful!”

“You sound surprised,” Kenna said uneasily.

“It’s just so different than anything I’ve ever seen you do.  I love them.  I really do.”

“Let’s just hope others do as well and that they buy some!” Kenna laughed and she hugged Mallory once more. “Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to mingle if I want to make any money,” she said and then fluttered off into the crowd.

“She’s much better than you led on,” Ryan said once Kenna was gone.

“You saw that first one when we walked in!  Neither one of us could tell what that thing was.  I’m telling you, she must’ve been taking some kind of crazy art classes behind my back, because I’ve never seen anything this good from Kenna, but these are actually really good.  I may just buy one.”

“You should. 
Kenna’s got some real talent.”

“She does,” Mallory agreed as they began perusing over the other pieces. “I think I like this one.” It was a landscape of the seashore called
Lighthouse at Sunset. 
She recognized the lighthouse in the painting and she was surprised by the serenity it exuded.

“And you can get it for a steal at only $150,” Ryan said, pointing to the price tag.

“$150?” she exclaimed quietly. “That’s a little higher than I expected.”

“Art isn’t cheap,” he laughed.

“What the hell?  She’s my best friend and I love it.  I’m buying it,” she said adamantly, turning to find out how to make a purchase, stopping suddenly when she saw Cole in the crowd with a girl she didn’t recognize.  She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since that night at Mabel’s.  It was as if he’d fallen off the face of the earth.  She wasn’t ready to see him yet either and had no clue what she would say to him. 

“What is it?” Ryan asked, noticing her apprehension and when he saw where she was looking, he nodded.

“I don’t want to talk to him,” she said, quickly turning, hoping Cole wouldn’t see her.

“Sorry to break it you, Mal, but I don’t think you can avoid him,” Ryan said, taking her hand.

“Well, I’m sure as hell gonna try.  I haven’t forgiven him for the way he treated you.”

“Mallory,” Ryan said, leaning in and gently kissing her lips before continuing. “You and Cole have been friends forever.  I don’t want to come between you guys.”

Sighing, she rested her head on his chest, wishing he could wrap her in his arms and whisk her away.

“It’s not you,” she said when she’d pulled back, staring up into his eyes. “This has been going on almost as long as I’ve known him.  You’re just the scapegoat.”

“Lucky me,” he said, kissing her again. “Let’s go look around.  You’re avoidance tactics are pretty obvious.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Definitely.  As a trained professional, I would know.”

Laughing, she
took his arm as they walked back into the crowd.  She wasn’t sure if Cole was avoiding her too, but somehow they always managed to stay on opposite ends of the room. 

The rest of the featured artists were good, but Mallory had to admit, Kenna stood out and she watched as her friend’s artwork seemed to be garnering a lot of attention.  Each time she looked over, there was a decent s
ized crowd in her section.  Mallory decided she had better find the gallery owner and purchase
Lighthouse at Sunset
before someone else did.  Luckily it was still available and she handed over her credit card. 

“I think I’m ready to go, what about you?” she asked once she had her wrapped painting in hand.

“If you’re ready, I’m ready.”

“Let’s just say goodbye to Kenna first,” Mallory said, scanning the room and then cringed when she spotted her friend.  She was talking to Cole and the girl he was with. “Let’s just go.”

“You can’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“Yes, I can.”

“Stop acting like a brat,” he laughed. “Now, let’s just go and say goodbye and you can go back to pretending Cole doesn’t exist.”  He took her by the arm and as they got closer to Kenna and Cole, she grew more nervous. 

Kenna stopped talking to Cole when she saw
Mallory and Ryan approaching, smiling warmly at them, completely unaware of the tension.  Mallory hadn’t had the chance to fill her in on the events of dinner.

“We just want
ed to say goodbye.  We’re going to head out,” Mallory said.

“Thank you guys so much for coming.”

“It seems to be going really well.  I’m so happy for you, Kenna.”

“It does seem to be going good.  You bought something?” Kenna asked
, looking at the package tucked under Mallory’s arm.

“I did.  I saw
Lighthouse at Sunset
and had to have it.”

“Well, thank you.  You didn’t need to do that
, but I appreciate it.  Now two of my friends own one of my paintings.” She was looking at Cole and he nodded, but didn’t make eye contact with Mallory or Ryan.

“Hi, Cole,” Ryan said, forcing Cole to acknowledge them.

“Ryan,” he nodded and then looked at Mallory. “Mal.”

“So, which painting did you buy?” she asked, not bothering with an actual greeting.

“That one.” He pointed at the large abstract piece they’d notice when they’d walked in and Mallory recalled its price tag: $700.  She thought she’d been generous by buying the $150 one, but of course, Cole had to flaunt that money was no worry to him. 

“Nice choice,” Mallory said and then Kenna began looking between them suspiciously.

“Are you guys alright?”

“We’re fine,” Cole said
cooly and then gestured to the pretty blonde next to him. “Where are my manners?  Mallory, this is Veronica.  She’s a friend from Harvard.”

“Nice to meet you.
  This is Ryan,” she said to Veronica, whose smile seemed forced.  She looked like the type of girl who would fit perfectly in Cole’s world.  Probably born into money and never had to work a day in her life for anything.  Her face did nothing to hide the fact she didn’t want to be at Kenna’s art show. 

“Likewise,” Veronica muttered.

“Veronica’s never been to Kennebunkport so I invited her up to see our little town,” Cole told them.

“And what do you think of it?” Kenna asked.

“It’s cute.”

“And where are you from?” Mallory asked.

“Manhattan,” Veronica replied and Mallory wasn’t surprised.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Veronica, but we’re going to head off. 
Awesome job tonight, Kenna.”

M
allory leaned in and hugged Kenna and Ryan shook her hand.  She wasn’t going to say anything else to Cole, but decided that would be too obvious.  Kenna would hound her until she found out what was going on and Mallory didn’t want to waste any more time on the Cole drama. 

“I’ll see you later, Cole,” she said and as she looked up at him, he was looking away until finally meeting her eyes.  There was still a trace of hurt in them, but she couldn’t worry about that right now. 
Taking Ryan’s hand, they left the gallery.

****

She wasn’t going to let the run in with Cole affect the rest of her evening with Ryan.  Every moment she spent with him felt better than the last and she’d never enjoyed being with someone as much as she enjoyed being with him.  She didn’t know where the future would take them, and she did her best not to think about that.  It was difficult though because it was always there, lingering in the back of her mind.  Her mother’s words crept into her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay.  The rift with Cole didn’t help either because he sang her mother’s sentiments.  They were convinced Ryan was a waste of her time, but as she sat on the end of the couch, watching him, she refused to believe that.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Ryan said suddenly.

Normally, she’d be embarrassed, but she wasn’t.

“I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” he asked, turning to face her.  She scooted closer to him and took his hands.

“Just us.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I was just thinking about tonight.”

“Is the matter with Cole still bothering you?”

“Well, yeah, it is, but that’s not what I’m thinking about.”

“What is it then?”

“I’m just thinking about where this is all going.”

“I thought we weren’t going to think about it until we had to,” he said and she saw his lips curl into a frown.

“I try not to, but you can’t tell me you don’t think about it.”

“Well, of course I think about it.”

“And what do you think of us?”

“I think I’m happy with you just sitting here with me right now.”

“So am I, but I wonder if it’s real.”

Ryan shifted uncomfortably and then he lifted her hand and kissed it.

“Of course it’s real.”

“For now,” she said and he looked at her questioningly. “What I mean is, this isn’t real, not in the way it will be after you’re healed.  This is like summer vacation.  Your real life is on hold.  But, what will happen when you go back to work and it becomes your everything again?”

Ryan breathed out deeply and ran his hand through his hair.  She knew he was thinking what he should say.

“You’re right, Mal,” he said quietly. “This isn’t my real life.  For the past nine years, my life has been non-stop, when I was in the Navy and now in the Secret Service, I haven’t had a chance to enjoy life.  Everyone’s always told me what to do and where to go, and I was okay with it.  I never had to think for myself and I was okay with that because I loved what I was doing.  I loved the action, I loved the danger.  I haven’t had a chance in almost a decade to sit back and enjoy life, but I am now and I want to enjoy it with you for as long as I can.”  He paused for a moment, looking away, before bringing his eyes back to meet hers and continuing. “Believe me, Mallory, this was never in the cards.  I was never supposed to meet someone who makes me question my life and every choice I’ve ever made.  I wasn’t supposed to meet someone who makes me rethink the future I always thought I’d have.  I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.”

She froze as his words washed over her.  He held her gaze and she was certain he could see the look of shock plastered on her face.

“I’m sorry, Mallory.  I shouldn’t have said that.”  He looked nervous, but Ryan Scott was never nervous.

“Do you mean it?” she finally
asked, her voice no higher than a whisper.

“Yes, I think I do.
”  His voice was low and soft and she’d never seen him look so vulnerable.  Reaching up, she stroked his cheek with her fingertips.  He gently took her hand and held it to his lips.

“Then don’t be sorry.” She found herself reaching for him and he seemed just as eager for her as well.  His lips were warm and soft, but his kiss was anxious.