Sandi Lynn - When I Lie With You

“He wasn’t here very long.”

“He just wanted to stop by and say hi. He had somewhere to be,” I lied to her.

There was enough tension between the two of them already. I wasn’t about to tell her his concerns and what he had said. As I walked towards her, she gently bit down on her bottom lip. She must have known what I wanted because she had that sexy smile on her face. I wanted Rory Sinclair every second of every day, and I couldn’t get enough of her. She was my girl, my woman, and my partner. I was no longer Ian Braxton, and she was no longer Rory Sinclair. We were now Ian and Rory, a couple, a team, and we were ready to build a future together.

Rory

As soon as Ian and I got back from our run, we sat down in the dining room while Mandy served us breakfast. I looked at Ian as he picked up the blueberry muffin from his plate.

“Rory, why are you staring at me like that?”

“Do you think—” I stopped what I was going to say and took in a breath.

“Do I think what, sweetheart?” Ian asked.

“Do you think you could go one day without eating a blueberry muffin?”

I sat there, face twisted, waiting for his response. He put down his muffin, took a sip of his coffee, and flashed me that irresistible smile.

“Rory, blueberry muffins are like sex to me. I can never have enough.” He winked.

I sighed because I knew I would forever watch my boyfriend eat blueberry muffins.

“Does it bother you that I eat these every day?” he asked.

“No, not at all. It’s just that after you eat something for so long, you eventually get sick of it.”

“Hmm, well if I ever grow tired of blueberry muffins, I’ll let you know.”

Just as I smiled at him, we heard the front door open.

“Good morning, my darlings,” Adalynn said as she breezed into the dining room.

“Good morning, Adalynn.”

“Morning, Adalynn. Muffin?” Ian smiled.

“God, no. I don’t know how you can eat those things every day.”

As I couldn’t help but laugh, Ian looked at me and raised his eyebrow. I flashed him a smile and turned my attention to Adalynn. “So what you brings you by?” I asked.

“I was hoping that you would come with me and look for wedding dresses today.”

The smile on my face grew wide. “I would love to go.”

“You couldn’t just call her on the phone and ask her that?” Ian asked.

“Ian, darling. I just had to see your beautiful, angelic face this morning before I could start my day.” She winked as she looked at me.

The banter between the two of them always made me smile.

“Well, then. You’ve seen it and now I must head to the office,” he said as he leaned over and kissed me and then kissed Adalynn on the cheek.

“Bye, darling.” I smiled.

Mandy walked over and set a cup of coffee in front of Adalynn. “I’m so excited to go look at wedding dresses. I’ve only ever seen them in magazines.”

“Good, because I’m going to be trying on a lot of them until I find the perfect one.” She smiled as she sipped her coffee.

I ran upstairs and grabbed my purse while Adalynn finished her breakfast. As I took my phone from the dresser, I noticed a text message from Ian.

“I miss you already. Have fun with Adalynn today.”

I smiled as I replied back.

“I miss you more and my fun will begin tonight when you’re home with me.”

“Rory, you’re killing me.”

“Love you, Ian.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

I was beaming from ear to ear as I walked down the stairs and over to Adalynn.

“I must say, Rory, you look like the happiest person I know.”

“That’s because I am. I’ve never felt such happiness, Adalynn, and I owe it all to Ian.”

I stood in front of the rack of dresses in awe over their beauty. Adalynn was on the other side of the shop, working with a bridal consultant and explaining to her the vision she had for her dress. As I was lost in the world of elegant white, a sales woman approached me and handed me a glass of champagne.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

Adalynn walked over to where I was standing with a smile on her face. “Pretty fancy, huh?”

“Everything is so beautiful,” I replied.

“Have a seat over there on the couch. I’m going to try on the few dresses I picked out and I want your honest opinion.”

“Of course I’ll give you my honest opinion, Adalynn.”

She walked into the oversized dressing room as I took my champagne and sat down on the couch. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Ian a text.

“I hope you’re having a great day!”

“I am now.”

I smiled.

“I’m off to a meeting, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you later. Love you to pieces.”

“Love you.”

Adalynn cleared her throat to get my attention, and when I looked up, tears sprang to my eyes when I saw the beautiful bride standing before me.

“Adalynn, it’s beautiful. You look so amazing.”

“Nah, I don’t like it,” she said as she looked in the mirror.

“What! How can you not love it?”

“It’s too much dress. I think I’m going to stick with the mermaid style. All this fluff isn’t me.”

I loved the fluff. I could see myself drowning in fluff and loving it every minute of it. Adalynn looked at me and smiled. “I want you to try this on.”

“What? Are you crazy? I’m not trying on that dress!” I exclaimed.

She walked towards me with a wide smile on her face. “Yes, you are. You’ve never tried on a wedding dress and it’s so much fun. Come on!” she said as she held out her hand.

I sighed as I got up. I secretly wanted to try on the dress. I followed her into the dressing room, where she changed out of the dress and handed it to the sales woman. She took me in the room next to Adalynn’s and helped me into the wedding gown. I stepped outside the dressing room and stood in front of the large three-way mirror. Adalynn came out in a stunning Vera Wang, strapless, mermaid-style dress that was simply made for her.

“Rory, look at you. You look gorgeous. How do you feel?” she asked.

“Like a princess.” I smiled. “I didn’t realize how heavy wedding dresses are.” I laughed.

“That they are. Well, what do you think?” Adalynn asked as she spun around.

“It’s gorgeous and it’s you. It’s perfect.”

She walked over to where the veils sat on a beautifully etched glass shelf. She picked one up that was a crown and set it on top of my head.

“There. Now you’re complete.” She smiled.

I gulped as I stood there, staring at myself in a beautiful wedding dress and veil. I remembered when I was a child, I would sit and look at magazines with my mom and sometimes there would be pictures of brides. She would look at me and say that one day that would be me and she couldn’t wait to see me as a bride. My eyes started to fill with tears and I couldn’t let Adalynn see me so emotional, so I went back into the dressing room to change out of the dress and back into my clothes.

“Are you okay, Rory?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just overwhelming, you know. Getting married is something that I’ve always dreamed of and now that I’ve found the love of my life, he wants nothing to do with marriage.”

“That was the old Ian, sweetie. I’m sure he’s had a change of heart since he thought he lost you. I know it’s way too soon, but has he mentioned marriage at all?”

“No.” I softly smiled as I looked down. “We don’t talk about it at all. We’re just enjoying each other right now.”