Love Unrehearsed (49 page)

“When is Joe coming here?” she asked.

“Tomorrow. He’s bringing the wife and kids.”

She wandered into another room that looked like a small living room or a den with a gorgeous view of the barren ski slopes. “Why aren’t you going to his house?”

My fingers skated over all the rich fabrics as I followed her path. Even the draperies were luxurious. “Ryan wanted neutral ground, but by the looks of this place, he’s got the upper hand. He also didn’t want a public meeting in case things didn’t turn out so well. It’s Ryan’s version of controlling the situation.”

We wandered through the central living room, checking out the other side of the suite, getting lascivious smiles from the boys on our way through.

Marie breathed out a curse. “With accommodations like this, Ryan can get his control freak on any day he likes, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I’m calling dibs on this room.”

“Fine. They’re pretty much identical anyway. I’m glad there’s a huge room separating us.” She gave me a nudge. “Just try to keep it down tonight, all right?”

I followed her out, noting that just looking at Ryan, standing there in a plain gray tee untucked from his jeans, was enough to make my heart skip a beat. “Marie, what say we make a bet?”

She turned, confused at first, before she caught on. “What
kind
of bet, Taryn?”

“First woman to fold.”

Mike barked out a hearty laugh.

I put on my most confident smirk, even though I was actually quite tired. “I’ve got two hundred in cash. Men can keep the time.”

Ryan drummed his hands on the raised bar. “Yes! Now we’re talking. I like where your head’s at, hon.”

Marie whipped her head around, looking for some support from Mike. I knew she didn’t have two hundred dollars on her but Mike’s reassuring nod said that he did.

Her long chestnut hair flew back around. “You’re on.”

I slapped two hundred on the polished six-person dark mahogany dining table right next to Marie’s plate and kept walking. I knew I had lost so there was no point contesting it.

Mike started laughing to himself.

Ryan came out of our room, finger-combing his hair back. “Keep your comments to yourself, Murphy. She didn’t sleep at all the night before.”

I poured two cups of coffee, wishing I could mainline one right into my vein. Right after my second wonderful orgasm last night, I must have passed out. Let’s just say after
coming,
the last thing I remember was
going
.

Mike slipped the bills off the table, folded them nicely, and tucked them right into Marie’s cleavage. She smirked, wearing my money like a booby badge of honor.

The momentary laugh was not enough to keep me calm. My nerves were on edge from the moment I woke up.
What will he look like? Will I see any of me when I look at him? Will he turn out to be a ginormous ass, making me regret my decision to meet him?
So many unanswered questions drew me away from the fun of losing our little contest.

I nearly sprang out of my skin when our room telephone rang later in the early afternoon. I knew the message even before Mike hung up. “They’re here. They’re being seated at the Chef’s Table down in the restaurant.”

Ryan cupped my face in his hands; his thumbs skated over my cheeks while his concern-filled eyes bore into mine. “No matter what, I will not allow this day to end on a sad note. Things go good—we invite them back to the suite here. Things go south—after lunch they go and we put it behind us. Okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay, baby.” He leaned down and took my mouth, dotting his vow with a kiss.

It was hard to breathe; I was filled with so much trepidation, it was stifling. Ryan led the way, holding my hand the entire time, almost pulling me along. He walked with confidence, as always. Those broad shoulders taking on my worry.

I noticed the two young girls first; their wide-eyed shock and amazement at seeing Ryan Christensen walking their way was almost comical. There was no doubt they recognized him since they were absolutely giddy with delight.

I don’t know why I was surprised when I saw Joe for the first time. Maybe it was because I had only seen him as a lean and lanky teen with hair as black as midnight, but this solid man with the Tim McGraw vibe was not what I had expected.

My eyes traveled from his broad shoulders and tall frame up to his closely shaved goatee and matching short brown hair. His cheeks were glowing with a bit of a summer tan showing everywhere. As I approached, his eyes crinkled when he widened his smile.

All of the air vacated my lungs when I took in his deep blue eyes, which were a spitting image of my own. That moment of
finally
having some familiar facial recognition hit me hard, as if some force of nature had just slammed into my chest. I felt a sob bubble up and lodge in my throat.

Oddly, I had expected to meet someone older, considering he’d fathered me, but I had to remind myself that there were only sixteen years separating us. Joe was forty-four now but didn’t look old enough to have a daughter my age.

As Joe’s blue eyes scrunched, his hand tightened on his wife’s shoulder, and I noticed his lower lip start to quiver. He stepped around his wife to make his approach. I could see the tremors tweaking his muscles, causing his steps to be somewhat shaky.

Ryan tugged my hand and pulled me in front of his body; his fingertips nudged the small of my back, releasing me make this journey on my own.

“Oh my baby girl,” Joe stuttered out, sucking back his own sobs.

That’s when I lost my tenuous hold.

Hot tears of my own started to fall. I didn’t know this man from Adam, but something about him just felt so right. Next thing I knew, strong arms were surrounding me, his hand gripping the back of my head, burying my face into his chest.

“Twenty-eight years. I have
never
stopped thinking about you for twenty-eight years. Thank you for giving me this,” Joe sputtered, keeping his voice low.

I nodded, unable to speak, feeling his pain, feeling his joy. I could only imagine what he must have gone through, having to give up his flesh and blood.

Joe took me by the shoulders, pressing me away from him a few inches. “Let me look at you some more. I can’t believe it. I thought . . .” He choked up. “I never thought this day would come.”

Knowing he was just as affected by this reunion as I was was a relief.

He drew in a short breath. “You look just like your mother, Taryn.”

I found myself nodding and agreeing with him, even though I’d never seen a picture of the woman who gave birth to me.

“I wish she was here to see you all grown but I’m sure she’s smiling down on us from heaven today.”

Joe tried to wipe the tear from my cheek, which made me automatically wipe my own face. “It’s nice to finally know where I got my eyes from.”

He smiled wider, making me wonder what else we had in common.

While I gave his wife, Jill, a hug, Ryan and Joe shook hands and exchanged greetings.

After a nice lunch, Ryan extended an invitation for them to come back to our suite.

Marie was doing a wonderful job keeping the two young girls entertained while Ryan and I sat with Joe and his wife to have a private conversation.

Joe appeared sincere but cautious. “I can only imagine how hard this must be on you, finding out like that. I was under the impression that your dad destroyed all the records. I never thought he’d keep them.”

I took a sip of my coffee, trying to disconnect myself a bit from the emotional overload. “He had it all together in a safe-deposit box.”

Joe nodded. “My letters and everything?”

I set my cup down. “There was about two thousand dollars as well.”

He scratched his head, mashing his lips together for a moment. “I’d always wondered if you got the money I’d sent. Figures your dad wouldn’t spend a dime of it. Probably thought it was drug money or something.”

Drug money?

His hand rubbed over his mouth. “I had some problems before I went into the army. Let’s just say Uncle Sam kicked that shit out of my system quickly.”

I had no doubt about that. “I have savings bonds for both your girls. I want them to have the two thousand dollars.”

Joe held out a hand, ready to rebuke me, but I spoke over him. “Joe, it’s for their future. I appreciate your generosity, but it’s not necessary.”

Joe’s wife, Jill, overrode his disapproval. “Thank you, Taryn. That is very thoughtful of you. The girls will be going off to college before we know it so we’ll make sure it goes to good use.” Jill looked over at Ryan. “Although meeting you is going to be priceless to them. They haven’t shut up about it since we told them. Our oldest thought we were playing a practical joke on her up until the moment you walked into that dining room. I can’t thank you enough for
all
that you’ve given my family today.”

Ryan smiled but waved it off as no big deal. “I’ll make sure they get some pictures of us together to take back with them.”

Both Joe and his wife seemed exceptionally pleased by that. Then Joe turned his attention back to me, studying me as if I were made of glass. “You probably have so many questions now.”

That was an understatement. “I have so many questions, I don’t know where to even begin.”

Joe rested his elbows on his knees. “Ask me anything. Jill has a right to know, as well. I know I shocked the hell out of her, too”—he reached over and took his wife’s hand—“but like I told her, I never thought I’d see you again, so what would be the point of upsetting her.”

Jill gave him a reassuring smile, rubbing the back of his hand. “I’m not upset. You were a teenager, Joe.”

Joe shrugged, seeming to want to atone for his sins. “A kid that got his teen girlfriend pregnant.”

Ryan crossed his foot up on his knee and reached for my hand. “And for that, I thank you,” he said, pulling my hand up to his mouth to grace me with a kiss. “You created the woman I love. There is no better gift than that.”

Something silent seemed to pass between the two men, a mutual understanding of sorts.

Joe seemed relieved. “At least I did something right. I’m glad to know she’s in such good hands.”

I felt a blush warm my cheeks. I was in the best of hands. How vastly different my life could have turned out had my parents not given me up. Bits and pieces of the army letters Joe had written to me came swirling back. All of them hinted at the fact that Joe was a bit of a hellion when he was a teenager.

I squeezed Ryan’s hand. “You dated Kelcie in high school?”

Joe glanced at his wife, silently seeking her approval to talk about this. She gave him a thoughtful smile in return. “Yeah. She sat by me in math class. I used to cheat off her paper. We were fifteen when we started going steady.”

I could see he was recalling fond memories.

“We were like kindred spirits; both of us were hell-raisers who hated our parents. When I got Kelcie pregnant, I honestly thought my life was starting over. I’d hoped that her mom would at least be understanding, but instead she kicked her own daughter out onto the street. And Kelcie’s dad . . . that bastard ruled with an iron fist. To this day, I still think he used to beat her mom, but I could never prove it. Both of them were not good people.”

Thoughts of having “not good people” as a set of grandparents I’d never meet crossed my mind.

“Anyway, I tried to get her out of there. We even thought that if she’d get pregnant my parents would take sympathy on her and let her move in.” He laughed. “Yeah, that wasn’t one of our brightest ideas.”

Ryan sat forward. Something had unsettled him.

“Don’t get me wrong, we both wanted you,” Joe said, backpedaling. “It’s just, well, my dad got laid off and my mom wasn’t making all that much at her job. Kelcie tried to get on welfare to help feed you. We were just kids, barely able to wipe our own noses.”

“I always dream about you having black hair,” I said, unconsciously touching my hair.

Joe appeared taken aback. “You do? Huh. I actually used to dye it. I wanted to be a punk rocker. My mom almost cried when I traded in piano lessons for a guitar with an anarchy sticker on it.”