AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Does Ryder have a last name?” I asked, trying to ignore James’ rude comment.
“Ryder Goodwin, ma’am,” he offered, reaching out a hand for me to take.
“You don’t happen to have a father named Perry by any chance, do you?” James asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Yeah, I’m afraid so,” Ryder replied, with a sheepish grin.
“Fuck me,” James blurted again, “I know your dad, we used to go to high school together.”
“You did?” Both Erin and I asked, stunned. Ryder looked shocked and folded his arms.
“Yeah, Perry and I go way back. I was at your parents’ wedding,” he added. “When you said your name was Ryder, Perry was the first person I thought of.” James chuckled. “Your dad always wanted to be a rock star and used to say he was going to have a son and call him Ryder,” he added, laughing again. “Didn’t he end up owning one of the leading trucking companies here in the US? If I’m not wrong, he has a courier service too. As a matter-of-fact, I’m pretty sure our firm has a contract with him. By the way, that dude was way off with his career forecast,” James mused, sounding very upbeat.
Ryder chuckled. “Good grief, my father … a rock star? I had no idea about that, but he still mortifies us at parties by performing those lame songs he wrote is the 80s.”
“Ha! Yeah, I remember those, none of the words fit the melodies at all,” James reminisced, laughing heartily, before he glanced toward the car again. “This is so cool, and it explains the flashy car. He was always flamboyant, I loved him,” he admitted. “How old are you, Ryder?”
The handsome young man snickered. “Luckily, old enough to be dating this gorgeous beauty and young enough to rock a shit-colored car like this,” he replied dramatically, smoothing a hand across the hood with a huge smug grin on his face. I loved that he was ballsy and confident in front of us. He was definitely a charmer.
“He can stay for now,” James told Erin. “I think we quite like him. What do you think, baby?” he asked, turning his attention to me. At first, I wondered if I should have been passing judgment at all, but I decided to be true to myself and went with my gut.
“I’m warming to him,” I joked, as I slid my free arm around James’ waist and pulled him into my chest. He spoke very well; was educated, confident, and I noted he looked attentive toward Erin. “If he gets air sick, I may change my mind. As he’s easy on the eye and appears to worship my daughter with flattery … I’d say he’s off to a good start.”
I cringed as soon as the words were out because I had sounded more like Erin’s friend than her mother.
James winked at Erin, who had the good grace to blush a little, and I immediately felt worried I’d embarrassed her in front her new man. “All right, let’s get out of the Big Apple for a while,” he said.
* * *
“That building with the copper-tinted windows belongs to my father,” Ryder said to Erin through the mic and headphone comms we shared. They sat up front with the pilot and I liked the way he held Erin protectively with his arm around her shoulder.
“Which one’s your father’s, James?” I joked like Ryder had started a pissing contest.
“There are a few here in Manhattan,” he replied nonchalantly, and it was clear he had only been stating a fact. “Do you see that tall, sleek, black one with the mirrored windows and three tiers at the top?”
“Really?” I asked, shocked. My heart raced when I looked toward a huge skyscraper that wasn’t the usual multi-story building near our home where he worked.
“Yeah, and those two, the white, twin stubby-looking ones you can just see at the edge of the horizon. Those are ours too.”
“Your dad owns three whole buildings? Four, if the one you work out of is his as well?”
“No … we have a couple more on the Upper East side … that’s about it on the commercial side.”
“That’s about it on the commercial side?” I snorted, and stared out of the window as I tried to get my head around how ridiculously wealthy his family really was. I knew they had a property rental portfolio as well, but I’d never given it much thought.
From the time Billie had been marrying Sawyer, I’d been aware James’ family came from old money. I also knew of the company through their financial business side of the firm. The family home demonstrated all of that too, and the incredible penthouse his parents owned in New York.
Knowing James came from a family of billionaires had been one thing, seeing bricks and mortar wealth had suddenly made it all real. It was clear neither James nor Sawyer had ever wanted for anything, yet both worked every day despite their wealth.
Suddenly, I had a renewed respect for their parents, who had brought all their children up to be caring and humble and most of all to contribute to the world, despite the opulence that must have been all around them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll only inherit a part of it, there are tons of other people calling dibs on the family inheritance,” James joked, like he’d intuitively known how intimidating his family wealth had suddenly felt.
“Actually, knowing what you are a part of terrifies me. I really hadn’t thought much about it before.” I nodded toward the back of Erin’s head, as if to point out my head had been up my ass since we had been a couple. “Don’t you worry your father, you, or another member of the family will be kidnapped?” The thought of losing James instantly filled my head with fears.
James snickered and squeezed my hand, but when he looked at me his eyes sparkled with amusement. “No. That kind of thing mostly only happens in the movies, thank goodness. Obviously, my parents have bodyguards and security when they go out in public, and the buildings and other properties are secured by very, very highly trained people. However, these days it’s mostly high tech and very discreet, especially at home. My father quite rightly refuses to live his life in fear.”
“I’ve never noticed any security on the few times I’ve been at your parents’ place or at the office where you work … apart from the usual front lobby security.”
