29. All Ryker’s Fault

Chapter 29

All Ryker’s Fault

Libby

I should have known better than to think for one second that I’d be able to trust anyone with my heart. I couldn’t trust my biological father, who left as soon as my mom was pregnant with me, or my own mother, who didn’t even try once he was gone. He’d broken her completely, and in turn, she’d broken me completely. If my own flesh and blood didn’t care, then how could I expect anyone else to?

As soon as the door shut behind Ethan, I let the tears fall, unable to hold it in anymore. I’d been so hopeful that the three of us would find some way to make things work, but even if the engagement announcement wasn’t real, how often were we going to have to deal with shit like this?

I needed to get out of there.

I quickly sent an email to Leo telling him I would be working from home, then closed my laptop. There was no reason I couldn’t work from home when all I was doing was administrative work with the budget.

Wiping my eyes, I shoved my things in my tote. Maybe trying to work today would be futile. I could go see a movie or wander around the city instead; anything to keep my mind off Leo.

I opened my office door and rushed out, but instead of the empty hallway I’d expected, I ran right into Leo.

“Libby.” Leo’s voice was strained as his hands came up to steady me.

“I’m taking the rest of the day off.” I tried to step around him, but he moved to block my path.

“Please, let me explain. My parents sprang this on me without warning.”

I looked up at him, seeing the desperation in his eyes. “That’s not even the only problem, Leo. We’re all over the internet apparently.”

His jaw clenched. “I know, and I’m so sorry. The pictures should be down by now.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that they were there in the first place.” I wasn’t sure if the rich had some secret way of removing all traces of a photo, but I doubted it. People took screenshots and saved images all the time.

“I should have been more careful. I’m used to being photographed, and I completely forgot to watch myself.” He ran a hand through his hair, which looked like he’d already done so about a hundred times.

“It’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?” I hugged myself, suddenly feeling very small. “And with the foundation and community center... we’re supposed to be working with kids. How’s it going to look when their program manager and executive director are splashed across gossip sites in compromising positions?”

“Kissing is not a compromising position.” Leo stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. “I promise I’ll fix this. All of it. The photos, the engagement announcement... I won’t let anything hurt you, Ethan, or the foundation.”

The sincerity in his voice made my breath catch in my throat, and I found myself wanting to believe him. Maybe we could figure this out and find a happy medium. Maybe.

The elevator dinged, and my eyes drifted past Leo to see who was arriving. My stomach dropped as a stunning woman in a designer suit stepped out. I recognized her immediately from the photos online—Clara Accardo, Leo’s supposed fiancée.

“Leo!” Her voice carried down the hallway, bright and cheerful. “It looks like we have a party to plan!”

I stepped back from Leo’s touch as if I’d been burned. “I can’t do this,” I whispered, watching as Clara approached us with her perfect runway-worthy strides.

“Libby, wait-” Leo reached for me, but I was already moving.

I ducked around him and practically ran for the stairwell, ignoring his calls. The stairwell door slammed behind me with a satisfying bang, and I let the echo drown out the sound of my breaking heart.

My heels clacked against the concrete steps as I fled downward, not caring how many flights I had to descend. The adult thing to do would have been to stay, but I couldn’t watch Leo with his perfect fiancée or deal with the reality of what I’d gotten myself into.

My legs were burning by the time I reached the ground floor, but I didn’t slow down. I burst through the stairwell door into the lobby, probably looking like a complete mess.

The security guards gave me a concerned look as I hurried past them and exited the building into the bright mid-morning sun. I started walking with no destination in mind—I didn’t really feel like going home now. I had the desperate need to put distance between myself and the clusterfuck upstairs.

My phone buzzed in my bag, but I ignored it. It was probably Ethan or Leo, and I couldn’t deal with either of them right then. What I needed was space to breathe and to figure out what the hell I was doing with my life.

My life in Connecticut hadn’t been bad by any means. If anything, it had been safe and boring. I wasn’t happy or sad, I just was.

But moving to New York, although scary at first, had turned into something exciting and filled me with happiness. Until today. How could something so good turn so quickly? Was this always how it was going to be with Leo?

The photos. The engagement announcement. Clara showing up looking like she’d stepped off a magazine cover.

I found myself at the entrance to Central Park and found an empty bench. I finally allowed myself to really process everything. “I’m such an idiot,” I muttered to myself, dropping my head into my hands.

My phone buzzed again, and this time I pulled it out, ready to tell whoever it was to leave me alone. But it wasn’t Ethan or Leo—it was my brother.

I rolled my eyes before I even opened his text.

Ryker: Are you okay?

Me: Peachy.

Ryker: Where are you?

Me: Central Park and then headed home. Really, I’ll be fine.

Ryker: I’m going to fire Leo.

Me: *face with rolling eyes emoji* No, you aren’t. He’s your friend.

Ryker: They say don’t mix business and friendships. It almost ruined my own company, and now it’s likely to ruin the foundation before we’ve even really done anything.

Me: Things worked out for you, though. He said he’s going to fix whatever the hell is going on.

Ryker: I wish you would have told me about him…

Me: It’s new and we didn’t want it to cause issues. Besides, you’re the one who is at fault here.

Ryker: How is any of this my fault?

Me: You let him stay at the condo, and because I didn’t know he was there, he saw my boobs. The rest is history.

I grinned as my last text sat on read, but he didn’t respond. He was probably pinching the bridge of his nose and pacing, trying to delete what I’d sent from his brain.

He had no place to judge Leo when he, Garrett, and Luca had all been just as casual about women before they met Paige. Now they were in love, and it was all because she gave them a chance.

A chance like I had given Leo.

A couple walking past my bench caught my attention. They were probably in their seventies, holding hands and laughing together like teenagers. The woman said something that made the man throw his head back in laughter, and my chest ached at the sight.

That was what I wanted—someone to grow old with, and who would still look at me like I hung the moon, even when we were ancient and wrinkled.

But I didn’t want one someone, I wanted two.

A squirrel darted past my feet, making me jump and reminding me that I couldn’t sit sulking in the park forever. As much as I wanted to avoid everything, I knew I couldn’t keep running from my problems, no matter how terrifying they were.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and started walking toward the condo.

It felt like it took forever to walk home, even though it was right by Central Park. Uncertainty was still clouding my brain, but there wasn’t much I could do about it until Leo got home and explained everything fully.

When I stepped inside the condo, Ethan was on the couch, playing video games. He immediately put his controller down and came to meet me in the entryway.

“What are you doing home? Lunch isn’t for another hour.” I’d planned on texting him to meet me halfway between the condo and office to eat.

“Ryker sent me home early to check on you. I was starting to get worried.” He leaned in for a quick kiss. It still amazed me how we so easily fell into things. At least there was no uncertainty when it came to him.

I dropped my bag and kicked off my shoes, feeling the tension leave my muscles by being in Ethan’s presence. “I’m starting to think running away from my problems isn’t the best coping mechanism.”

“Hey, sometimes you need space to process.” He gestured to the couch. “Want to talk about it?”

I nodded, following him to the couch and curling up next to him. For a moment, we sat in a comfortable silence that came from years of friendship and understanding.

“Clara showed up at the office,” I finally said, picking at a loose thread on my blouse. The thought of her made me sick to my stomach. “She’s exactly what you’d expect Leo’s fiancée to be. Tall, gorgeous, and probably a model.”

“Lib.” Ethan’s voice was gentle. “You know that’s not real. The engagement thing.”

“But maybe it should be.” I looked up at him, tears threatening again. “They make sense together. I mean, do we really think this is going to be a good idea anyway? The three of us?” The question hung in the air, heavy with my insecurities and fears.

Ethan took my hand, and his thumb traced circles on my palm. “First off, I know you don’t feel that way. We had the most perfect weekend with Leo, and having this happen when we all finally agreed that this was going to work is tough. And secondly, Clara is more likely to marry you than Leo; he told me.”

I let that sink in. “Why would their families do this to them? It said they’ve been dating for eleven months, Ethan.”

Ethan shrugged. “Luca used to bring up Clara from time to time and how his mom wanted him to marry her. They want to further their business interests through marriage and don’t care who gets hurt in the process. Even if they end up hurting their own son.”

“It’s selfish.”

Looking at Ethan, I thought about all the times he’d been there for me. He’d never left and never made me feel like I wasn’t enough. Through every laugh and every tear, he’d become my person. Didn’t Leo deserve a love like that too?

The thought of losing what we’d so quickly built together made my heart ache. “So, what are we going to do?” I hadn’t the faintest clue how to help Leo with the predicament he was in.

“We wait for Leo to get home, and we figure things out together.”

Together. It was such a simple word, yet it held so much power.