Lie Next to Me (24 page)

I bit down on my bottom lip because I was afraid to ask her. She stopped putting on her mascara and looked at me.

“Are you okay?”

“Will you call Ian and put him on speakerphone?”

“What? You’re joking, right?” She asked as she looked at me. “Oh my God, you’re serious.”

“I just want to hear his voice. Just for a minute. Please.”

“Rory, we’re leaving tomorrow. Maybe you should go see him.”

“I’m not going back with you. If it’s okay, I’d like to stay here for a while longer.”

“I don’t like the thought of you being in Paris by yourself.”

“I’m not. I have Andre,” I said as I looked around.

Adalynn sighed and dialed Ian’s number. “I just want you to know that I’m doing this against my will.”

“Hello,” Ian answered.

“Ian, darling, how are you?” Adalynn asked.

“I’m okay. How’s Paris?”

“Paris is fabulous as always. What have you been up to?”

Hearing his voice was music to my ears. As pissed as I was at him, I still found comfort in his voice.

“Not much. I’ve been busy with work.”

Adalynn looked at me and shrugged. “Well, Ian, I just called to say hi and that I’ll be flying home tomorrow. We should have dinner when I get back.”

“Sounds good, Adalynn. Have a safe flight home.”

“Thanks, darling. Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Thank you, Adalynn,” I said as a tear fell from my eye.

She looked at me and cocked her head. “Come here, you poor thing,” she said as she hugged me. “When I get back, I’m going to have a long talk with him.”

“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done
, and I could never be with someone like him. I just have to get over it and move on. That’s why I want to stay here a while longer.”

“Christmas is in a couple of weeks. You’ll be back for Christmas, right?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to be anywhere near Malibu when Christmas comes.”

“Well, you can stay here as long as you want. But
, I don’t want you alone on Christmas.”

“Don’t worry about me and Christmas. I’m a big girl
, and I can take care of myself.”

There was a knock at the door
, and Adalynn and I looked at each other. I walked to the door, looked out the peephole, and saw Andre standing there, holding flowers in front of his face.

“Hello, my beautiful American girl.” He smiled. “I wish I could take credit for these beauties, but they were just lying by the door when I walked up.”

“Thanks, Andre. Come on in.” I smiled.

I took the beautiful red roses from him, cut the stems, and arranged them in a vase. “There isn’t a card. Are you sure these aren’t from you?”

“I swear, Rory. They’re not. They were propped up against the door when I walked up.”

Adalynn walked out from her bedroom and looked at the flowers. “Oh, pretty. Who are they for?”

“We don’t know. There wasn’t a card and Andre said they were propped up against the door when he got here.”

“Andre, I need to have a word with you.”

“Did I do something wrong, Adalynn?” he asked.

“No, of course not. I’m leaving Paris tomorrow, but Rory has decided to stay for a while longer. I need you to keep an eye on her while she’s here.”

“No problem. I will keep my beautiful American girl company every day.”

I rolled my eyes because he was driving me crazy. “I appreciate that, Andre, but I’ll be fine.”

“A beautiful girl should not be alone in Paris, Rory. It’s not safe,” he said.

I sighed as I walked to the kitchen and took the vegetables from the refrigerator.
Since it was Adalynn’s last night in Paris, she wanted to stay in and the three of us cooked an amazing dinner.

Adalynn had been gone two days already and, as promised, Andre hung around. The thing I found a little strange about him was that he didn’t try to hit on me. In fact, he was just being more of a friend than anything. He came over after he closed up the fruit stand and we cooked dinner together. I didn’t have romantic feelings for him. I was s
till not over Ian, and it wasn’t getting easier. Everyone said that time heals all wounds, but this wound wasn’t healing with time. It was just as open as it was when I’d left. I had talked about Ian to Andre. Maybe that was why he wasn’t hitting on me, he didn’t want to push me.

“You know, Rory, you’re always sad. I’ve noticed that about you. You’re terrible at faking happiness.”

“Thanks, Andre,” I said.

“Sorry, my beautiful American girl, but it’s the truth.” He smiled as he touched my chin.

“Have you ever been in love, Andre? I mean really, deep in your bones, you can’t live without the person, love?”

“No, not to that extent. I’ve had many girlfriends, and I have loved some, but not to that extent. I’m still looking for her.” He winked.

I hoped to God that wink wasn’t directed at me. That was the last thing I needed.

“Rory, you came to Paris to forget about that man. So why do you keep focusing on him?”

I set the salad bowl on the table. “I don’t know. We’re connected somehow, and I can’t let go of that connection.”

“You can’t or you don’t want to?” he asked. “There’s a difference. We as humans can do anything we want.”

I pondered what he said as I took the chicken out of the oven. “I’ve been thinking about moving here.”

“What?!” he exclaimed.

“Of course, I’ll need to find a job first and then look for my own apartment. But I think it will be good for me, and then I can look into psychiatric hospitals and move Stephen here.”

“That’s a major decision, Rory.”

“I know it is, and I’ve been thinking about it since I came here.”

“If you need any help finding an apartment, let me know.” He smiled. “What are your plans for Christmas? It’s coming next week.”

“I’m going to stay here, cook myself something, and watch Christmas movies.”

“That’s boring. You’re more than welcome to come with me to Germany and spend the holiday with me and my family.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Andre, but I’m afraid I won’t be good company. I’d rather just stay here.”

“And wallow in self-pity, right?”

I smiled as I cut into my chicken. After dinner, we finished off the bottle of wine and Andre gathered his things to leave.

“Good night, my beautiful American girl.” He smiled as he kissed my cheek.

“Good night, my amazing French boy.”

Andre winked and walked out the door.

The next morning, I got up early and went for my morning run. As I ran by the fruit stand, Andre yelled out to me.

“Me and you tonight, Eiffel Tower. I’ll text you.”

I gave him a thumbs up as I ran by. I hadn’t been to see the Eiffel Tower yet and it was only fifteen minutes away from the apartment. As I ran, my mind kept thinking about what Ian was doing for Christmas. I was sure he’d spend it with his father and Andrew. For once, I was glad I wasn’t in Malibu.

I stopped at the bakery on my way back and picked up some French pastries. When I got back to the apartment, there was a tall – okay, it was about four feet tall – thing wrapped in paper. I called it a thing because I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I opened the apartment door and set my box of pastries down. I propped the door open with a chair and dragged inside what seemed to be a plant. “What the hell?” I said out loud. I looked around for a card and there wasn’t one on the outside. As I carefully ripped the paper from the plant, I gasped when standing before me was a four-foot tree made entirely out of fresh pink and purple roses and white carnations. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the beauty of it. I searched around the flowers to find a card, but there wasn’t one. I was positive this was delivered to the wrong apartment. Either that or Andre sent it. I took my phone from my pocket and sent him a text message.

“Did you send me a tree made of flowers?”

“Huh?”

I took a picture of it and sent it to him.

“That’s pretty, but no, I didn’t send it. There’s no card again?”

“No, and I’m worried that these things are being delivered to the wrong apartment.”

“Oh well, then the delivery people should be more careful. Enjoy it. By the way, meet me at the Eiffel Tower tonight at eight o’clock. You mentioned you wanted to see it, so I think tonight is a good night since I’m leaving tomorrow. I have to restock the fruit after the stand closes, so I’ll just meet you there.”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

I couldn’t stop staring at the tree as I sat at the table drinking my coffee and eating my French pastries. I felt bad because if it was meant for someone else, they were missing out, so I went around to all the apartments on my floor and asked them if they knew anything about it. Everyone said no, except for the people that lived next door; they weren’t home. I looked at the clock and
had some time to take a nap before I had to get ready and meet Andre. I was excited because I’d always dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower, and now, I was finally going to get to. I set the alarm on my phone and drifted off to sleep. I had another dream about Ian, and when I woke up, my heart was racing and my eyes were wet.
Was I ever going to get over him?

****

The cab was beeping his horn outside my window. “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” I locked the apartment and flew down four flights of stairs so the impatient cab driver would stop beeping his horn. I opened the door and climbed in the back.

“I heard you the first twenty times you beeped the horn,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Madame, but the horn was stuck.”

“Oh,” I said in embarrassment. “I need you to take me to the Eiffel Tower, please.”

“Have you ever been, Madame?” he asked in a heavy French accent.

“No. This is my first time.”

“You’re not going to the Eiffel Tower alone, are you?”

“I’m meeting someone there.”

“Very good.” He smiled.

As the driver drove down the street, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The cab stopped as close as he could. After paying him what I owed, I got out of the cab and walked the rest of the way until I was standing in front of the one thing I’ve always dreamed of seeing.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

My heart leaped into my throat at the sound of his voice. As I slowly turned around in disbelief that it was actually him, I gasped and my eyes filled with tears as he stood there a few feet away from me with his hands in his coat pocket.

“Ian, what are you doing here?”

He never took his eyes off me as he slowly walked to where I was standing. “It’s so good to see you, Rory. I’ve missed you so much,” he said as he cupped my face in his hands.

“How—”

“Shh.” He smiled. “Just let me kiss you first and then I’ll explain everything,” he whispered as he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.

His lips, his kiss, his hands on my face, were pulling me back in. Suddenly, flashes of memories of the night I left flooded my mind. I pulled away.

“No! I won’t let you do this to me,” I exclaimed as I held up my finger.

“Rory, please listen to me. I need you to listen to me, sweetheart.”

“I’m meeting someone here. In fact, he should be here any second,” I said nervously as I looked around for Andre.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Andre isn’t coming. He set this up for me; for us.”

My head was in a ball of confusion and I didn’t understand what was going on. My heart was racing at the speed of light and I felt like I was losing my mind.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I can see you’re really upset. Please calm down
, and I promise I’ll explain everything. Please, Rory. I traveled a long way to see you.”

Taking in a deep breath, I stood there and stared at him. He was so handsome and he was pleading with me to hear him out. I started to calm down and nodded my head. “Go ahead and tell me why you’re here.”

“I miss you, and it’s been really hard for me since you left. You’re on my mind every second of every day. I dream about you every night, and I can’t get you out of my fucking head. Everything I do, and everything I see, reminds me of you. I hate it that you’re not at home with me. Since the day you left, I’ve slept in your bed because it smells like you, and I miss your scent. I miss you. I miss us. I miss everything we shared.”

The tears that had filled my eyes started to pour down my face
, and I turned away from him.
Was he just saying these things to get me back, and then once I went home, would things go back to the way it used to be?
“There is no us,” I whispered.

“
Please, don’t turn away from me, and please don’t say that. I’m willing to give it all up for you. The company, the house, the money, everything. I’ll walk away from it all just to be with you. You were right. The way I am does have to do with my mother. I can admit that now because I refuse to lose you. I’m just so scared that you’ll leave me like she did. I was afraid to love because I saw what it did, not only to me when she left, but what it did to my dad. I know now that I can’t live that way anymore. I want us to share a home, Rory. I want us to be a couple, and I want to go on dates with you, and travel with you. I want to scream to the world that you’re mine.”

I swear my heart stopped beating. I turned around and he was standing there with tears falling down his face. I ran to him, jumped in his arms, and kissed him like I never had before.

“I missed you too. I missed you so much that it felt like parts of me were dying every day.”

“I know, sweetheart. I felt the same exact way. I love you, Rory Sinclair. I’m in love with you and I have been since the night you laid your head across my lap in the limo. I just couldn’t admit it, and then when you left, reality hit me. You and I are supposed to be together. The both of us were at the right place at the right time. We were destined to meet. I know that now. I’m so sorry for hurting you and saying those awful things to you, and I will spend eternity making it up to you. I love you so much, and I can’t live without you.”

“I love you too, Ian.”

He smiled as we kissed passionately for a few moments and then he broke our embrace. “I was so scared that you were going to turn me down and tell me to go to hell.”

I laughed as I hugged him. “I would never turn you down. I think you better take me back to my apartment. We have some serious making up to do.” I smiled.

“You bet we do
, and I don’t want to waste a second of it.”

Ian picked me up and carried me back to his cab. Once we climbed in the back, our lips locked all the way back to the apartment.

****

When we walked into the apartment, I flipped on the lights and looked at the beautiful tree that was sitting in the corner. Ian looked at me and smiled.

“Do you like it?”

“Did you send it?”

“Yes, I did.” He smiled.

“I love it. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Did you like the roses?”

“Did you send them?”

“Yes.” Ian laughed.

“I loved them.”

“Good. That’s my beginning to being a perfect boyfriend.” He smiled. “Because that’s all I want to be to you.”

“You’re perfect no matter what. Now, you have five seconds to take me to bed.”

“I can do it in one,” he growled as he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.