Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,75

success. In all fairness, he had loosened up tremendously, but that shield he hid behind still popped up every now and again when I least wanted it to. And his incessant need to “top” me, as he called it, made it a game of sorts for me to knock him down a notch or two.

While Rebecca continued reprimanding Ricky, I made my way into the cool house. The silence meant they were all outside. Sure enough, my father and Marco entertained Antonio in the pool, my mom held Liliana on a shaded lounge chair, and Riana sat smiling while sipping what appeared to be a glass of lemonade.

“What the hell?” I asked when it registered Riana was indeed there.

“Surprise!” She immediately got up to hug me. “I hope you don’t mind. Rebecca invited me down.”

“Not at all.” I squeezed her tightly, having missed her more than I’d thought possible. Pulling back, I took both her hands in mine. “When did you get here?”

“A few hours ago. We only planned it yesterday… all spur of the moment.”

“Well, I’m so glad you came.” When Ricky came into view beyond her shoulder, I called out to him, forcing him to come closer. Once he reached my side, I released one of her hands to place on his shoulder. “Ree, this is Ricky Burrows. Ricky, this is Riana Carter.”

Riana threw her arms around him in an embrace that mirrored the one she’d given me. “I am so happy to finally meet you.”

“Same here,” he said with apprehensive eyes pinned to mine. But when I mouthed to be nice, something seemed to snap within him as he rolled his eyes in response. Taking her hand and leading her toward the farthest corner of the yard, he added loud enough for me to hear, “There is so much I want to ask you.” And just like that, he gained the upper hand yet again.

When my parents left this morning, I drove them to the airport. Between having to leave her precious grandchildren and my recent revelation, Mom’s tears fell harder than usual. In between sobs, she reminded me of their support and love. I made them promise to keep it to themselves, and she offered help whenever I did decide to let my siblings know. It wasn’t Janis or Griffin I worried about. It was the conversation with Sam that weighed heavily on my mind.

That afternoon, Ricky and I took Riana to see Bella Viaggi while it was docked between journeys. The vessel was empty, all guests having disembarked already, and the crew was busy preparing for the next voyage.

It was adorable how her mouth gaped open during the tour, or how she beamed at me whenever she caught my eye. Ricky also arranged for us to have a late lunch on deck, complete with fresh sea scallops, sweet corn risotto, and herb-grilled vegetables.

“I can’t believe all this,” Riana said before taking a sip of her third lemon-drop martini. “People actually live like this.” It wasn’t a question. Riana wasn’t a materialistic person at all, but it was hard not to be impressed by the multimillion-dollar luxury that surrounded us.

“You’ll need to book a week, or even two. You need back-to-back cruises to get the full experience of our itinerary.” Riana scoffed and shook her head, forcing Ricky to rush on and say, “On me. Just say the word.”

“Oh my God, Ricky. I can’t accept that.”

“Of course you can. I own it.” He then glanced at me and winked, sending a jolt of affection through me. Whenever he did things like that, I would be reminded of Dr. Vaughn’s words.

“Perhaps you don’t see gender when you begin to connect to another person, and what attracts you is their kindness, their personality traits. Some identify that as being pansexual. It could very well be that this man calls to you on a deeper level.”

That comment had caused me to call him a prick on live radio… and I’d gotten busted when Ricky heard it. But now that I knew Ricky as I did, I had to agree. Even then, I must have sensed something there, deeper than a physical attraction.

His generosity was just one of the many things I found attractive about him. It was in his nature. From ensuring my sister had an equal share of RMR, even when her contribution had been minuscule compared to Marco’s and Ricky’s. From learning he’d helped fund his cousin Damon’s bar. From that ridiculous giant giraffe that he’d spent