When I Lie With You Millionaire's Love 02 Sandi Lynn

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going to call you.
Ian, I can t get a hold of Rory. I wanted
to know if she went to get her dress fitted.
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No, Adalynn, she didn t. Something
happened.
What s wrong, Ian? You sound funny,
she asked.
Stephen passed away this morning.
WHAT?! she screamed into the phone.
I m on my way.
No, Ada I started to say before she
hung up.
Great. There was no way I was letting her
see Rory today. I walked into my study and
sat down. I rested my elbows on the desk and
cupped my face in my hands. What a day.
What a fucking lousy day. I debated whether
or not to call Rory s Aunt Nancy. Maybe I
should wait and see what Rory wanted to do.
I didn t want to upset her any more. I
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reached in my pocket and pulled out my
keys. I unlocked the drawer and opened it.
When I lifted out the box, I looked down at
the white envelope. I sighed and slammed
the drawer shut. Just as I was about to get
up, Adalynn walked in.
Ian, I m so sorry. Where is Rory?
She s sleeping, Adalynn, and I want her
to stay that way.
My God, what happened? she asked as
she sat down in the chair across from my
desk.
I took in a deep breath and ran my hand
over my face. The doctor thinks the virus at-
tacked Stephen s heart. They re going to do
an autopsy to be sure.
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Oh my God. Poor Rory. How bad is
she?
She s bad. I m really scared that she may
not recover from this. You should ve seen
her, Adalynn. I was terrified.
With the right support and time, she ll
get through this. Ian, my God, she needs you
more now than ever.
I know that and I m going to handle
everything for her and do whatever it takes
to help her get through this.
Just thinking about the road ahead
scared me. Rory was a strong woman, but
Stephen was her world. She spent her entire
life taking care of him and now he was gone.
Tell Rory I stopped by and I ll be back
tomorrow.
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I started to speak, but she interrupted
me.
Yes, Ian. I WILL be back tomorrow. I m
her best friend and I need to show her my
support and love.
I sighed. All right, Adalynn. I ll see you
tomorrow.
I walked her to the front door, kissed her,
and gave her a hug. Thanks for stopping
by.
You know I m always here.
I gave her a half smile as I shut the door.
I walked up the stairs and slowly turned the
doorknob. I peeked inside at Rory and she
was still sleeping. As I went to shut the door,
I heard her call my name.
Ian?
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Yes, sweetheart, it s me, I said as I
walked into the bedroom.
I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my
hand across her soft cheek. Tears began to
fill her eyes again as she looked at me. I
didn t know what to say to her. I was so
scared that I was going to say the wrong
thing. She took my hand and brought it up to
her lips as she softly kissed my palm and
then began to sob.
I just can t believe he s gone.
I know, sweetheart. I can t either.
I got up from the bed, lifted my shirt over
my head, and took down my pants. I climbed
in on my side and turned her around so she
was facing me. I held her face close to my
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chest as she wrapped her leg around mine.
We fell asleep for the rest of the night.
****
I woke up. Rory s side of the bed was
empty. Instantly, I panicked. The bathroom
door was open and the light was off. She
wasn t in there. I looked over at the clock and
saw that it was five a.m. I pulled on a pair of
gray sweatpants and walked downstairs. I
noticed the door off the kitchen was un-
locked. I stepped onto the patio and looked
down at the beach, where I saw Rory sitting
in the sand, looking out into the water.
Ian, I m sorry, babe. I didn t mean to
wake you up, she said as I sat down next to
her.
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You didn t wake me. I woke up and you
were gone. I got nervous. What are you doing
out here?
I needed some fresh air, she said as she
softly took my hand.
Talk to me, Rory. Tell me what you re
feeling, I said.
You don t want to know what I m feel-
ing, Ian.
Yes I do. Talk to me.
She closed her eyes as she began to speak
softly. I feel alone. I feel like a part of me
was ripped away and it s a part that I ll never
get back. I feel lost, Ian. I spent my entire life
taking care of my brother. It s all I knew and
now it s gone; he s gone. What am I going to
do on Thursdays?
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You ll go on, Rory. You ll do something
else on Thursdays. It s going to be tough for
a while, but you re one of the strongest wo-
men I know and, with time, you ll begin to
heal.
She wiped a tear that fell from her eye.
Heal. Does anybody ever really heal? There
will always be an empty place inside me. A
place where Stephen and I were connected. A
place where we were not only twins, but we
were one. We shared a bond and a connec-
tion on a deeper level than you could ever
imagine.
I know you did, sweetheart, and I want
you to hold onto his memory for the rest of
your life. As hard as this is, you need to think
of Stephen and how he is right now. He s no
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longer locked up in a psychiatric hospital. He
doesn t hear voices anymore and he s free. In
some way, that has to make you feel a little
better.
She looked at me and gave a small smile.
I know all that, but I want him here with
me. She began to cry.
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled
her into me. I know you do, sweetheart, so
do I.
Rory
A few days had passed and we had a very
small funeral service for Stephen. I didn t
contact my Aunt Nancy because, as far as I
was concerned, she didn t care about him
anyway when he was alive. The event dinner
was tonight and Ian chose not to go. I had
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already told him that I wasn t up for going
out and he agreed. The autopsy had con-
firmed that the virus Stephen had attacked
his heart and that was his cause of death. I
hadn t done anything since he died except
stay in bed and sleep. Ian told me that I
needed to make an appointment with Dr.
Neil and talk to her about everything. But, to
be honest, what was she going to do to make
me feel better. Every day was a struggle for
me just to get out of bed. Tomorrow was
Ian s birthday and I felt horrible that I didn t
get the chance to buy him anything. I
climbed out of bed and walked downstairs to
his study, where I knew he was working. I
stood in the doorway and stared at him for a
moment before he realized I was there.
Hey, sweetheart. He smiled.
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Can I come in? I asked.
Of course you can. Come here, he said
as he held his arms out to me.
I walked over and sat down on his lap. He [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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