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"You don't have to defend yourself, Princess," he murmured, brushing aside some of the wet strands in her face with his free hand. "I'm not upset. I won't be jealous, either. I know where I stand, and I'll find a way to show you you'll love me just as much as I love you already."
She tried not to act surprised that he said the "l-word" so easily to her as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He backed up and set his hands on her knees.
"Now, I don't see any need to leave you alone for the day now that I'm here. Do you have anything you have to work on for Chance?" he asked.
"If you'd like, you could help me figure out a way to convince your father to accept Chance's deal," she suggested as she adjusted her robe. She felt her face heat up at her failed attempt to get him to distract her, but his face was just as flushed. By the grin on his face, it only made her think she'd just have to try a little harder in the future.
"I don't think it's him you have to worry about. It's Madeleine. He doesn't make many decisions without her approval," Ryker explained.
They went out into the living room, each taking their place on the couch.
"You don't seem close to Madeleine," Mykie said softly.
He was silent for a moment, long enough that Mykie thought he must have not heard her. Or he did and he didn't want to discuss his family. She understood. If he had asked her about her relationship with Chance or anything of the sort, she might have reacted the same. Instead of sitting in silence and putting pressure on him to answer, she leaned forward to grab her laptop from where she left it on the coffee table and got to work.
They sat in companionable silence for a while until he finally spoke.
"She hasn't been the best parent. She was…stricter with me than she was with Renly. She really made a point that there was a difference between her birth child and the rest of us. Except, it was only me that she treated so badly. Ellenora was the only girl, so she was special. She was another miracle child after trying so hard for another child after Renly. It was after they were both born that Earl and Madeleine started their business. It was a rough time at home for me when the company was only them. They were so stressed and once I was a teenager, it was worse. By that time, I didn't care to stay around and would leave the house for days. They didn't mind until eight years ago when Madeleine wanted to promote 'Harper and Co.' as a family business. It was around then that they got a huge loan, and they were able to turn it into an actual business. She needed all of her children to work there if she was going to be able to say it was a 'family business that invested in your family's future'," he explained, rolling his eyes at the tagline that Harper and Co. used.
"Do you know who gave them that loan? Maybe the Lauder business can buy them out?" Mykie asked. She was starting to get uncomfortable sitting in the position she was on the couch, so turned her body so she was facing Ryker perpendicularly and tucked her feet close to her body. This didn't help her get any more comfortable, and she let out a groan.
"You can stretch your feet out if you'd like. I don't mind," Ryker stated, turning his own body so he was facing her. When she didn't move, he reached forward and pulled her feet out until they were resting in his lap.
"Do you feel more comfortable?" he asked.
She nodded reluctantly with a small smile, which he returned.
"I don't know who their investor was or is. I know they still are in business with them, however. They stop by every once in a while, but none of us are allowed in those meetings. Only Earl and Madeleine. I suspect that they are afraid of whoever it is. Until you had stopped by to strike a deal with them, I suspected it was Chance Lauder. Now, I don't know who it could be."
Mykie was perplexed. Who would they be working with that they would be so afraid to allow their children to deal in the discussions, as well? It must be someone that had been around as long as Chance and possibly her father if they had so much power. The Vultures wouldn't be interested in realtors. It was smackdab in the middle of Cantil territory, so who would still risk doing business with anyone else but Chance Lauder?
She laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that Madeleine wasn't a good mother. No child should be made to feel like that."
Ryker shook his head. "Renly doesn't believe that it happened at all. He was younger, so of course, he didn't see it that way. Earl took him under his wing and always gave him attention."
Mykie didn't respond. She didn't want to think about Renly when she was with Ryker. It was difficult enough to know that they were brothers, even though they were practically enemies to each other.
Over the next two days, the two of them only left the couch to go to Pearl's and to let Mykie sleep. He told her that he didn't want to leave her alone at night knowing Jezebeth wasn't coming home. It wasn't until the second day waking up together that she started to see that he wasn't sleeping well.
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" she asked over dinner.
He almost choked.
"I meant sleeping. As in resting or snoozing or dozing...just in my bed," she finished lamely.
"I can't steal your bed," he protested.
"But you won't sleep in Jezebeth's either, without her permission," she countered. "Which is why I'm offering to share my bed. I can't let you sleep on the couch and see you wake up with another cricked neck. Besides, my bed is big enough to be shared and you'll still be able to watch out for me..." she trailed off as a realization came to her. "That is, unless you don't want to be that close with me."
"Don't even try that," he said, pointing his fork at her as he swallowed his piece of steak. "I'll sleep tonight, but I won't let you try to guilt me."
She grinned and clapped her hands once. "Wonderful!"
It seemed easy for her to get her way with him. Whenever she asked or got suspicious about his easy surrender, he'd always shrug it off and say it was because he didn't see a reason to refuse her requests.
It made her heart melt slightly every time he said something like that. It only affirmed to her that the man really thought he meant it when he said he loved her. She just hoped her heart would get a jump start on that idea already and let the three-worded confession pass her lips. At the same time, she also felt it was too soon to tell if she just enjoyed his companionship or if it was love.
She let it go while they ate dinner, but after they got ready for bed and settled under the covers, she asked him the question she'd been wondering since he'd shown up.
