Page 85 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Chapter Thirty
Anthony
Back to my office again. This time with Ryder. I kick the door shut behind us and turn to face him. “All right, you stalker. Let’s hear it.”
“I wasn’t stalking you. I just happened to be here.”
“Right.” He needs to do better if he wants me to believe him. I get bimonthly lists of all the celebs who visit my clubs from my manager. Ryder’s name hasn’t on them for a long, long time. “You just happened by. Alone.”
“No. Elliot and Lucas came with me.”
I snort at the mention of his twin brothers. I don’t have to be told to know he probably dragged them here, especially Lucas. I heard he went reclusive after an accident permanently scarred his previously pretty face. And the Elliot I know prefers strip joints to clubs like Z.
“Damn it, I want to fix things with you. Is that too much to ask?” Ryder says.
Yes, because I don’t want to, and I don’t understand why you should.“Why do you care? It isn’t like it’s the first time you’ve made a spectacle of some social catastrophe.”
He flushes. “I told you I didn’t know. I can’t control Audrey. The woman’s unhinged enough to stage a ‘suicide’ over you dumping her.”
At least he isn’t dumb enough to believe Audrey really meant it. Maybe there’s hope for him after all. “If you’re really serious, have Elizabeth cut all ties with Byron Pearce.”
“Done,” he says immediately.
“Just like that?” I cock an eyebrow, surprised and curious as to why he’s so confident he can get it done. Elizabeth can be more stubborn than a donkey.
“She’s been wanting us to reconcile. If it’ll help, she’ll do it.”
“What about the Pearce money?” The bastard must’ve offered a handsome sum to entice Elizabeth.
“What about it? She can flutter her eyelashes and Dominic will hand over however much she needs, no questions asked.”
True enough. It’s no secret her husband is totally devoted to her, and the man is filthy rich.
“I never meant to hurt you with Lauren, Tony.” Ryder ends with the nickname I haven’t allowed him to use in the last seven years.
It sounds familiar and painful. He was my best friend since I was exiled to Europe when I was twelve. We connected immediately and did all sorts of things together. Double dates. Crazy stunts at ski resorts, memories of which raise the hair on the back of my nape with horror now. A couple of summers I spent with him and his grandfather in Tuscany.
Ryder is the one who helped me see I was fucking things up with Ivy. He’s the one who asked me to come to L.A. to regroup after she “died.” He… I would’ve given my life for him until the day I found out he’d been fucking Lauren behind my back.
Except he swore—still swears—he didn’t know she was my girl.
I study him. He seems sincere. But he’s a great actor. People think he’s made his fame solely on looks, but nobody becomes a star this big without real talent and brains.
Let’s see what’s really going on.“Paige isn’t your typical Hollywood beauty. Everyone says she won’t last long.” His wife isn’t a size-zero model. Paige has lots of curves and looks like a regular, everyday American woman. And the Internet trolls loathe her for snagging Ryder Reed.
Ryder’s face twists. “Shut the fuck up. My wife’s awesome.”
The skin around his eyes has gone tight, and he’s genuinely pissed off at the slur against his wife. If he weren’t feeling so guilty about what happened between us, he might be kicking my ass. Or trying, anyway.
And just like that, I know he means everything he just told me. The tight knot I’ve been carrying for over half a decade loosens a bit. I start for the liquor cabinet to get the whiskey, then realize I left it on the desk when I was talking with Harry. “She is awesome. She can certainly do better than you.”
Ryder shoots me a barely mollified look. “Which is why I’m trying to be a better man every day.”
I pour a whiskey and hand it to him. He eyes the drink like it’s a trick. “This mean what I think it means?”
“Which is what?”
“I’m hoping it means you’re going to at least consider forgiving me.”
