Pieces of Rhys (19 page)

"Then I'll drive back."

"No. You'll fly back and Fat Joe stays. He loves me more than he loves you anyway. You must know that."

"I do, but thanks for putting that out there."

I rolled my eyes and continued petting
my
cat.

"I heard your mom left your dad," I said quietly a couple of minutes later.

"Yeah," Rhys answered, tiredly. I looked back at him. He was sitting up with his back and head against the headboard, his eyes closed. Jet lag is a bitch.

"She's getting restless with Jake and Veronica," he continued a moment later. "I'm worried she might go back. She feels like she's in the way there. I would bring her to my house, but it's just too close to him. He might try to go get her or she might try to go home."

Light bulb!

"Bring her here," I suggested. "She won't be in the way at all. She can help, feel useful. I'll pay her. She's always wanted to come here anyway. She said so."

I got up on my knees and moved further up the bed until I was right next to him, giving him the space to stretch out his legs.

Rhys's one eye opened as he looked at me.

"My family will love her. My mom and grandmother will love her, she'll never be lonely."

He opened both eyes now and looked at me with a mixture of wonder, love, lust, and a tiny bit of skepticism.

"You won't have to worry," I insisted. "Jake won't have to worry, and your dad isn't going to fly out here to get her, right? He hasn't gone to Blue Bell yet, and it's been a couple of months."

"I'll run it by her," he said finally.

I smiled and then stretched out next to him, careful not to kick Joe. I heard a slight sigh from Rhys.

"What?" I asked, not looking up. My eyes were on the trail of hair that was partially hidden by his lounge pants.

"You're stealing my cat and my mom," he grumbled.

Oh! Cranky!

"Yes," I agreed.

"That's three things you've stolen from me. Thief."

"I haven't stolen your mom
yet
."

"But she will say yes. I know it. Consider her stolen."

"Okay," I shrugged.

He sighed again.

"And stop staring at me like that. I'm a person with feelings, know what I mean? I'm not a piece of meat."

"Filet mignon," I said, licking my lips.

"Go to sleep."

"Grouchy."

"Thief."

"Do you want any of the three back?"

Another sigh. "No. It's impossible anyway. All three want to be with you."

"Oh," I suppressed a big smile, because what we were saying without saying it is the the thi
rd thing I stole was his heart.

Chapter Thirty

Rhys silently stroked my hair and watched my face as my fingers moved across his chest. Once again, I touched his tattoo, trying to follow every line, every detail. Only our soft breathing and the quiet hum of the central air could be heard in my room.

When I woke up, Rhys was still in my bed. He was awake and watching me sleep. I gave a small smile and let my eyes travel down to that beautiful ink.

I wanted to kiss his chest, kiss his lips, and hold him close, but it would just hurt me in the end. He was going to get on a plane in a few days and go back home. It was going to hurt enough to see him leave, I didn't need to make it any worse by adding physical things.

I pulled my hand away, already feeling the dull ache in my chest.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, his hand in my hair.

"I have to pee," I said and rolled away from him to get up.

"That's not all," he said, also getting up.

"And I have to feed my cat."

"He's still
my
cat," Rhys said, following me into the hallway.

"Good," I said in the bathroom doorway. "Go feed
your
cat."

I closed the door in his face.

"You still haven't learned to just be up front with me," he said from the other side.

"Can I pee in peace? Or do you want to come in and be up front with
that
?"

I didn't hear anything. I assummed he walked away, but just as I started to pee, the door swung open.

"If I have to be in your personal pee space to get some truth out of you, so be it," Rhys said.

"My personal pee space?" I started to laugh, hard. It was a good thing I was already on the toilet or I would have peed myself.

"You're hopeless," Rhys said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, maybe I am. Now get out."

"Not until you tell me what's on your mind."

"Wiping is on my mind."

"Lindsey."

"Rhys."

He rolled his eyes and left me alone to finish my business. I found him a couple of minutes later in the kitchen with Ignacio. They were discussing some kind of ball...foot, basket, base, the other foot, I don't know.

Rhys looked at me and registered that I was still only in my tee shirt and frowned. Nacio saw me in this form often, since he often arrived in my kitchen before I was even awake. He handed me a cup of coffee, already made to my liking.

"Thanks," I said greatfully and sat down near Rhys.

Ignacio put his mug in the dishwasher and started out the door.

"I'll be out to help in a bit," I said.

"I don't want or need your help, Lindsey."

"Yeah, well, whatever. I'll be out."

"Concentrate on entertaining your guest," Nacio said firmly. "If you come outside and try to work I will physically remove you."

"I thought I was the boss here," I said.

"I think it's cute when you think you're in charge, little girl," he laughed and waltzed out the door.

"How rude." I glared at the screen door.

"You couldn't put pants on before you came down?" Rhys asked.

I thought about it from his point of view. What if he was shirtless in just his boxers or a towel and Nicole or Tina were present?

"You're right," I said. "I apologize."

"Thanks," he said, still a little grumpy.

"What else is the matter?"

"He loves you."

"Does not."

"And I think you love him."

"Do...not." I said more hesitantly.

He stared at me.

"Maybe how a sister loves a brother," I suggested.

"Incestuous."

"Maybe how a friend loves a friend."

"With benefits."

"I can't help how things are!" I yelled at him. "I'm comfortable with Nacio, he's comfortable with me. We're friends who have been lovers at times, and he kept me from drowning in my own misery. So maybe I have a special place in my heart for him. For a long time, he was all I had! I didn't have you, because you 'broke up' with me in an airport! An airport!"

I got up from the table and dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink.

"I'm taking a shower," I grumbled and left him in the kitchen. I passed Fat Joe on the stairs. "And feed my cat!"

"He's my cat! You're just borrowing him!"

It was my parents' fortieth wedding anniversary, and we were expected for a backyard shindig at four the following day. I wasn't really ready to introduce Rhys, but there was no way out of it, not even death.

"Did you put on your bullet proof vest?" I asked Rhys. He was driving, following the GPS in his rental.

He looked over at me, amused. "Is someone out to get me?"

"My dad may try to kill you once he understands you are the man who broke his baby girl's heart."

"Don't worry. I'll charm the hell out of your family."

"And just so you know, my grandma refers to you as 'that prick'."

He laughed, but I didn't think it was funny. I was scared for his life.

When we got to the house, the street and yard were already crowded with cars.

"A couple of my cousins may try to seduce you with their tiny waists and big fake boobs," I warned as we walked up the driveway.

Rhys took my hand in his and smiled down on me. "You're the only one I want. The cousins can go find some other handsome devil."

I was about to address the "You're the only one I want" thing, but then we were in the backyard, and my mom appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, baby," she hugged me and then looked at Rhys. "Who's this?"

Deep breath. "This is Rhys. Rhys, this is my mom Crystal."

Mom's eyes widened, but she smiled and tried to cover her surprise as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Rhys. I hope you're wearing your best bullet proof vest. Maybe you might need a helmet of some kind, too."

"See!" I slapped Rhys's arm.

He laughed again and then released me to hug my mom. "Happy anniversary, Crystal."

Mom got all flustered and smiley as she thanked him. When another guest tried to get my mom's attention, she left us with much reluctance.

"What was
that
?" I asked him.

He only smiled and kissed the top of my head. How irritating.

We ran into my grandma next.

"When are you going to lose that belly fat?" She asked me just before kissing my cheek. "Make sure you get some food. It's catered. Some place kinda fancy. They did good on the meatballs and the antipastas. But don't eat too much or you'll never lose that belly. Who's this sex bomb?"

"Grandma Fran, this is Rhys."

"The prick. Jeeze, I hope you got on one of those vest things. You are a good looking guy, though. I hope he won't hurt your pretty face."

"This is bad, really bad," I said after we escaped Grandma.

"Which one is your dad?"

"Over there, light blue polo. The guy next to him is my brother Angelo."

"Let's go," Rhys said, pulling me along, but I resisted.

"Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish? I don't understand why you're trying to impress them anyway. You're getting on a plane in a few days and going back home."

Rhys looked at me, was about to say something, but something behind me caught his attention and his face darkened. I turned to see what he was looking at and saw Ignacio and his parents had just arrived.

"It's not what you're thinking," I said when I turned back to Rhys. "His dad and my dad are good friends."

"It's okay," he said quietly. "Come on."

With a pounding heart, I let him lead me across the lawn to my dad and brother. They both looked up when we were only a few yards away, and I almost wilted because they looked so intimidating.

"Hey, daddy," I said in the sweetest voice I could muster.

"Who are you?" My dad asked Rhys and looked down at our entwined hands.

"Dad, this is Rhys," I said softly.

Rhys extended his hand, but my dad didn't take it.

"Dad! That's so rude!"

"Come with me," he said to Rhys and started towards the house.

"I'll be back," Rhys smiled at me and released my hand.