Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,46
being dismissed stung.
So there I was, changing Antonio’s diaper for what seemed like the hundredth time since Rebecca and Marco left a few hours ago, while I formulated a game plan for the rest of my time in Florida.
Come Monday, I decided I’d research therapists in the area. In addition, I planned to check out the support group Riana had sent me a link for, whose members were conflicted with similar confusions to mine. And last, I was going to hit the hot spots in Fort Lauderdale, open to meeting someone… man or woman.
“Sound good, kid?” I asked my nephew, who was enthralled with my cell phone. He glanced at me, blinked, and returned his focus to the most annoying song I’d ever heard, regarding a baby shark. “Yeah, I agree. My problem is boring.”
I lifted him and asked, “What now?” It was only two in the afternoon, and the stretch of time until another distraction came in the form of dinner seemed eons away. To add insult to injury, rain had made it an inside day. “How about you watch this on the big screen for a bit?” I asked him and waited for confirmation.
When he uttered a word that sounded similar to shark, I took that as a yes and loaded an episode up on the flat-screen. Only when he saw that animated fish dancing around on the wall did he finally relinquish my cell.
And no sooner had I placed it on the table beside me than it began to buzz. Expecting the fifth call from my sister, my heart stalled at seeing it wasn’t her.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” My silence stretched before he said, “Can we talk?”
“About what?” The fact you took off at the first chance without an explanation.
But when he said, “Let me in,” my heart began pounding for other reasons.
“I’m busy.” I had no desire to see him.
“Open the damn door, Cooper,” he barked.
“Fine.” I ended the call, glanced at Antonio to be sure he was okay, and trekked toward the door. There he stood, still in what I knew was his uniform—a navy polo shirt with the ship’s logo and khaki slacks. Droplets of rain clung to his thick hair and darkened the fabric on his shoulders.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came as soon as we docked and don’t have much time.”
Knowing we had an expiration for this torture, I moved aside and waved him in. He led me into the great room, where Antonio still sat mesmerized, but when Ricky hesitated, I walked around him and sat on the couch.
With our eyes tethered across the room, I waited for him to speak.
“I’m sorry.” Those two words, combined with the torment on his face, had my resolve faltering. Tamping it down, I continued to wait him out, watching as he dragged a hand through his sandy hair and sighed. “Look, I acted—”
“Like an ass,” I interrupted, cutting my gaze toward Antonio, who thankfully was oblivious to our conversation.
“I was going to say impetuously, but whatever.” He smirked.
“So somewhere between the hours of three and six a.m. you impetuously decided to get out of Dodge?”
“No… I was going no matter what,” he argued while walking toward the chair beside me. Antonio glanced at him, completely unimpressed as Ricky sat down. “That makes me a responsible businessman.”
“Not calling or even texting all week makes you an ass.” I laughed sarcastically. “And a coward.”
“I suppose.” When my mouth flapped open and closed a few times, it was his turn to laugh. “What… cat got your tongue?”
“I wasn’t expecting you to agree.”
“Well, you’re right, but what matters is that I’m here now, and I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me.” He glanced at the chunky Rolex on his wrist. “I do have to go.”
“You came all the way over here just for that?”
“Yep.”
“No explanation on way you were an ass?”
“Nope. I told you the important part.” His pale-blue eyes held mine as he stood, and my entire body thrummed with desire. “I’ll talk to you soon?”
“That’s up to you.”
He grinned at my jab. “Well, then I’ll talk to you soon.”
Damn him… because as he walked out, I knew that for whatever reason, this man had hooked me, and with each day that went by, he continued to reel me in.
Chapter Sixteen
Ricky
On one hand, the knot of dread in the pit of my stomach, because I ran at the first chance I got, was gone. It’d been a crappy thing to do, but after the night we’d had, from the kiss