“I love you, Ryan,” I whispered, hoping it wasn’t the wrong thing to say.
“I love you, too,” he said, his face softening and a small smile moving his lips upward.
With that, we curled up under the covers and fell asleep, our bodies intertwined and raw. Maybe it was too soon to tell him I loved him, but I didn’t care. I never wanted him to question how I felt about him. After that, I felt like I didn’t have to question it, either.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Ryan
Though I wanted Alissa there all the time, she wasn’t quite in the routine of staying the night every single night. She had stayed a few times, either getting up and helping Kayla on the bus or waiting until she was already gone for school. I had to admit, there was something really amazing about waking up next to her, having our morning coffee quietly together at the kitchen table, and then kissing passionately before parting ways to go to work. I was having a hard time concentrating on anything but her, only this time it was for a good reason, instead of pining over losing her. As far as our sleepovers were concerned, I would never tell her no again, trusting her judgment when it came to Kayla and enjoying every second of being around her. Her messy hair and the way she would stand in the bathroom on her tiptoes to put on her makeup was sexy in a way I could have never imagined.
As far as Kayla was concerned, she hadn’t commented either way on Alissa staying over at the house, so I took that as a good sign and moved forward. Alissa was the only other woman Kayla had ever seen me with, so it only made sense that it wouldn’t be weird for her to know we were dating and think she was staying over. As far as her 7-year-old mind worked, there was no real difference between dating and being married, and though I knew there was a huge difference, I wasn’t going to add tension to the situation and explain it to her at that point.
Kayla really seemed to enjoy the time she was getting to spend with Alissa, and I knew that was a really good sign. At first, I felt like she was trying really hard because she knew it made me happy, but once she let go, she treated Alissa like her best friend. She would even come home from school looking for her to tell her all about something that happened at school. It was sweet and endearing, and I felt very lucky that Kayla had Alissa there since her mother couldn’t be.
I walked downstairs, missing hearing Alissa in the house, since she decided that she needed to stay at her place for the night to get caught up on work. I offered for her to use my office space, but she said that the temptation to be with us was more than she could handle. She was pretty positive the sound of Kayla’s voice would draw her right out, and she would abandon all hope of finishing up her work for the next day. Personally, I didn’t like the fact that she was gone, but with Kayla upstairs listening to music and relaxing, I took the opportunity to spruce up my Facebook page and get rid of all the pictures of Christina and me. I knew it would bother my ex, but I had to get rid of her and everything on my Facebook about her. I blocked her from my page before removing everything. When I was done, I felt so much better, and I wiped my hands against each other, shaking my head in pride.
As I stood up from the chair, I heard my phone, and I walked over and picked it up. I smiled, seeing my father’s name appear on the screen, something I didn’t get to see very often anymore. With him being gone, jetting across the world, it was rare that he took the time to call.
“Hey there, adventure seeker,” I said happily.
“Son,” he replied with excitement. “It’s really good to hear your voice.”
“Man,” I said with a laugh. “It’s really good to hear yours as well. How are you enjoying that honeymoon?”
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” he said with emotion. “But I think we’re both ready to start heading back home. We miss you, Kayla, the girls, and our house. I have to say, this was definitely an adventure of a lifetime, and I’ve definitely had a hard time convincing myself that a life traveling like this wouldn’t be something that was feasible. Sometimes, though, when the wind was just right, and the sunset was perfect, I considered starting up some crazy internet business like the new generation and becoming a nomad.”
“I bet,” I said, chuckling. “I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for Kayla, I would already be a nomad.”
“We are going to be back home for Kayla’s birthday on the Fourth of July,” he said. “Is that all right?”
“Of course it is,” I said excitedly.
I was really happy to hear that they were ready to come home, and just in time to watch Kayla turn 8. I knew that she was going to be so excited to see her grandpa and grandma. They had become such a huge part of her life, and I could tell that she missed them from the way she talked about them and hung all their postcards on the wall above her desk. I could see my little dreamer traveling the world like them one day, only she would be figuring out the best way to take over the world as she moved from city to city.
As far as them coming to the party, I had no worries of it being awkward at all. I hadn’t heard anything from Christina to indicate that she would actually be showing up to her birthday party. I had called and extended the invitation via voicemail, but she never responded back in any way. At that point, I had just given up on Christina, just letting her make her own decisions and focusing on our lives there at home.
“So, what was your favorite place?” I asked.
“I would have to say the Maldives, hands down,” he replied. “The water was bluer than anything I had ever seen, the air was warm, the water was warm, and you could just lay there all day, soaking in the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. We rented a sailboat when we were there and learned how to scuba dive. We saw some really beautiful parts of the ocean, places that I thought only existed on television.”
“That sounds amazing,” I replied. “What about Greece? Kayla went nuts over that postcard, and I could tell that she really wanted to go there someday.”
“It was so beautiful,” he said. “And the people there were so friendly, all of them. They laughed, joked, and really showed us some amazing hospitality. How have things there been?”
“Okay,” I said, trying not to get into the discussion that we would eventually have to have.
“Well, that is convincing.” He chuckled. “All right, spill it. I know something is up, just from the way you said ‘okay’ and tried to divert the conversation.”
“I wanted to talk to you about it in person,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, that’s not possible right now, so tell me over the phone,” he said.
“All right. Alissa and I have been dating,” I blurted out, pausing and waiting for his response.
Instantly, I flinched, feeling awkward again about the fact that Alissa was my stepsister. I had completely forgotten about that whole thing, but now that I was having to admit my relationship to my father, it was rearing its ugly head all over again. I didn’t want to have that come creeping back into our relationship. It was the reason that we almost didn’t take the chance on each other in the first place. I thought I had come to peace with it, but as I sat there waiting for my father to speak, I realized that I might have buried it instead of making peace with it. Either way, it wasn’t going to affect whether I continued dating Alissa or not. I just knew that it would make things a hell of a lot easier if my father didn’t have those insecurities as well. I really didn’t want this conversation to turn into an argument.