"Oh." I hear the dejection in my voice. I had pled my case to Crew not only to remove the barrier of his meddling but to convince myself that I needed to take a chance by telling Ryker I'm attracted to him.
Crew lifts his chin. "He asked me to keep this quiet. He trusted me with this, and I don't want to break that."
I want to yank the sister card out of my pocket but I can't. Ryker entrusted my brother with something. If I push to find out more, I'll damage whatever friendship or understanding they've built.
"Is he with a woman?"
"Yes." Crew nods slowly. "It's not what you think though."
"I want to talk to him before anyone else from marketing does. I need to be the one to tell him what Christine said." I fidget on my feet. The sound of the bells on my belt jingling brings an unexpected smile to my mouth. "I guess I should be grateful I won't see him tonight. He'd want nothing to do with me seeing me dressed like this."
"I told you last night that no one can rock a Mrs. Claus look the way you do." He flicks his index finger against the bells. "I think it's the perfect dress to wear to go get some ice cream."
I tilt my head to the side. "Where the hell did that come from? Are you inviting me to go for ice cream with you? It's cold out and you hate ice cream."
"I'm not going." He closes his eyes and arches his neck back. "You should go alone. Go to the place that you always go to. Cremza. Go now."
"You're not setting me up for another surprise party, are you?" I tease. "My heart can't take another one of those."
"There's a surprise waiting for you there, but don't bring my name into it." He taps his finger on my chin. "You got that, sis? I didn't send you there. You're going because you're craving a scoop of mint chocolate chip."
"All right," I manage to say even though I have no idea what's waiting for me at my favorite ice cream shop.
Chapter 11
Ryker
Heaven in a horrid dress just walked into my grandparents' ice cream shop. It's Lark Benton eyeing up the menu and pulling money from her wallet. I watch her in earnest from where I'm standing near a table, clearing away what's left of a banana split for two.
The man and woman, who shared it, fed each other before they practically ran out the door to wherever they're going to next. They might be fucking in the alley next to this place for all I know. Ice cream is apparently an aphrodisiac for some people. It's never been for me. It's too tied to my childhood and summers spent here working behind the counter helping out my mom's folks. I grew up learning the ropes. I took over the business aspect once I graduated from college. The gradual decline of both of my grandparents' memories forced me to take the reins even though I don't draw a paycheck or spend more than a couple of hours a week here.
That changed a few days ago when they both came down with the flu. My mother flew in from Boston to handle the day-to-day, and I've been picking up the slack when I can. I've kept it quiet, wanting to keep a fair distance between the pictures that surfaced online of me last week and the business my family has spent decades building. I can't stomach the thought of their names or Cremza's being drawn into the Gem's self-created public whine fest. She can bitch and moan about me all she wants to her followers or anyone who will listen. I don't want my family to bear the brunt of her scorn.
I've fielded calls on my office phone from Gem's fans who have vowed revenge for upsetting their idol. My social media profiles have been blasted by so many ugly comments that I stopped reading them altogether. I can't stomach the thought of anyone walking in here and subjecting my family to that same treatment all because I'm not with a woman anymore who I should never have been with in the first place.
Time will steal their attention away from me. Gem will post new pictures. She'll find another guy to fuck and I'll go back to being nobody, which is exactly what I want.
"You can't take your eyes off her, Ry." My cousin, Nathan, slaps me on the back. "Is it the dress or the girl?"
"That's her." I don't turn to look at him. "That's the woman I told you about earlier."
"Lark?" He steps in place next to me. "The woman you're crazy for dresses like that?"
I chuckle softly. "She's hot in whatever she's got on. She doesn’t put too much out there. She's elegant. She's beautiful, Nate. Just look at her."
"I am. She's a close second to my wife." He pats my shoulder. "Speaking of Jessica, she and the boys are waiting for me at the hotel. I told her I'd stick around here to help you if you need it, but she misses me. She wants me there to tuck the boys in. They're turning in soon because we have an early flight back to Boston in the morning."
Nathan walked through the door unexpectedly two hours ago. He doesn't have any skin in this game. We're connected because our fathers are brothers, yet he showed up to lend a hand. He wanted to pitch in and take on what he could to help me out. He's like a brother to me. I look up to him.
"You're not staying in New York for Christmas?" I finally turn to face him. "I thought you'd stick around."
"It was a two-day trip to spend time with Jessica's sister and her husband." He glances at his watch. "She lives here now. We hung out with them, did some shopping but the family celebration is back in Boston for us. Our roots are there now."
Mine were too once, but New York won me over. I like the energy here. For years I've craved the constant pursuit of trying to prove myself as the best of the best. My internal drive to succeed is here. I doubt I'll ever go back to Boston permanently.
"Don't let her slip through your fingers." Nathan smiles, looking every bit the distinguished attorney he is. "I almost made that mistake with Jessica. You may only get once chance with that girl. Don't fuck it up, Ry."
I turn back to see my mom handing a cone filled with a scoop of chocolate ice cream to Lark. "I won't fuck it up. I'll tell her tonight."