Illusions Complete Series (Illusions Series Volumes 1-3)

by Annie Jocoby

  I couldn’t say anything at all, but I was nodding my head violently. He held me for what seemed like an hour, while I strangled him, not wanting to let go.

  I finally finished crying, then looked down at my rock. My hand was still shaking violently.

  I finally spoke. “Uh, what is this stone?” I somehow knew that it was a diamond without him telling me. It was definitely not a ruby.

  “It’s a diamond.”

  “I've never seen a red diamond.”

  “That’s because they're very rare, love.” He paused, looking me in the eye. “Like you.”

  “I thought – “

  “That I got you a five carat diamond ring at Tiffany’s?”

  I nodded.

  “I did. But the more I looked at it, the more ordinary it seemed to me. It just didn’t suit you at all. You're one of a kind, and the ring should reflect that.”

  I looked into his eyes. “I love you,” I said.

  He kissed me long and slow. “I love you too.”

  At that, he picked me up and carried me into our bedroom.

  We made love the rest of the day.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Two days later, Ryan and I made our way to the state hospital to visit Maggie. I'd already told my parents, but, of course, they already knew. Ryan, ever the old-fashioned gentleman, had asked my father for my hand. My father, confused about why Ryan would bother asking him, said yes, of course.

  I smiled. Of course, my father doesn’t know about that old tradition. I doubt that he did the same when he asked my mother to marry him. In fact, I know that he didn’t – my maternal grandfather was a drunk who left the family when my mom was only 15.

  Now it was time to tell sweet Maggie. And give her a double dose of good news – she was finally going to be released. Sheldon had secured this, and Ryan had found her a room in a group transition home.

  It was going to be a good day.

  We went through the usual routine – taking off our watches, taking off our shoes. I set off the metal detector because of my ring. I begged the security guard not to make me take it off. He saw my pleading face and let it go.

  I was relieved. I never wanted to take off the ring, however unrealistic that would be in the future. If I got back into law there would be many more metal detectors. But, for now, I was secure in not having to take it off. Score!

  We made our way up to Maggie’s room. She was playing cards with Rosey, the lady who was bound in leather straps the last time. Now Rosey looked normal. Maggie lit up upon seeing us.

  She came up to us and gave us both a big hug. Rosey did the same with Ryan, then turned to me with a smile. “Hello. You must be Iris.” At that, Rosey hugged me, too.

  Ryan and I took a seat in the room. “You wanna play some gin?” Rosey asked us both.

  I looked at Ryan. Ryan said “Maybe later, Rose. I need to talk to Mom right now.”

  Rosey nodded. “I'll go visit Michelle down the hall.”

  “Don’t go far,” Ryan called to her. She nodded as she walked down the hall.

  Ryan took a deep breath. Maggie looked at us, looking at one, then the other. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Do you want the good news or the better news first?”

  “The good news.”

  “Sheldon has secured your release. You'll be getting out of here next Monday.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. Where will I live?”

  “I found a really nice transition group home for you. If things go well, you can move out of there in a year, and live on your own.”

  Maggie looked a little sad. “I'll miss the people here. Especially Rosey.” Then she smiled. “But I'll be able to see you more. And Sarah.”

  Sarah. I would have to meet her, too, now that Sarah was going to be family.

  Maggie looked at us again. “And the better news?”

  Ryan lifted up my left hand. Maggie let out a little shriek of joy, then hugged us both. “Welcome to the family!” she said to me in my ear. Then she looked closer at the ring. “A perfect red diamond. I've never seen anything like this!” She kissed me on the cheek. “I think that you'll make a wonderful daughter-in-law.”

  I nodded, smiling.

  We stayed the rest of the day. Rosey came back in after about a half hour, congratulated us, then we all played cards. I didn’t know too many card games, but everybody was patient in teaching me. I did know how to play poker, so we did that, too, with Maggie bringing out her poker set with chips. None of the chips were worth anything, but that wasn’t the point. Hanging out was the point, and we all had a great time.

  Finally, we left.

  On the way home, Ryan said “Well, now, Iris. Uh, Nick is…Nick will be my best man. So – “

  I smiled. “Let’s meet.”

  I was, at long last, going to meet the infamous Nick.

  The story continues with Deeper Illusions - goo.gl/qnDGPg. The trilogy concludes with End of Illusions - goo.gl/xriRbc.

  Extra Extra!

  Want to know what happens next? Sure you do! To get updates on upcoming books, please subscribe to my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/Ej2sL. I promise not to spam you, but I want to keep you in the loop.

  This series will shortly be followed by a brand-new spinoff series, which will be a New Adult series featuring a grown-up Dalilah, followed by another series featuring everybody’s favorite man whore, Nick O’Hara. These are fascinating secondary characters to me who deserve their own stories, don’t ya think?

  In the meantime, you can like me on Facebook - goo.gl/fWxz2t. Or contact me through e-mail at anniejocoby@gmail.com. Trust me, I get stoked by every new like and everybody who contacts me through my e-mail. I answer every e-mail as soon as I possibly can.

  And, of course, we authors rely on word of mouth. If you love the series, or if you hate it, you should tell the world how you feel. Reviews are the secret sauce to success. I’d be totally jazzed to get reviews on this book, Deeper Illusions and End of Illusions. Deeper Illusions can be found at goo.gl/qnDGPg. Beautiful Illusions can be found at goo.gl/LUi7Eq. End of Illusions can be found at goo.gl/xriRbc. Even if you only leave a line or two, it makes all the difference in the world.

  Thanks, and happy reading!

  Acknowledgments

  To my mother, Dolores, for always believing in me. To Joey, for supporting me through all the craziness. To Debbie, Florence and Carol for giving me courage and confidence. To Nancy for giving me courage, confidence, and some wicked ideas. To my father, Thomas, for giving me my writing ability. To my sister, Christine, just for being you. I love you all.

  Deeper Illusions

  by

  Annie Jocoby

  Copyright © 2013 Annie Jocoby

  Published by Annie Jocoby at Kindle

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 1491268778

  ISBN-13: 978-1491268773

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One Iris

  It was the Friday after Ryan had asked me to marry him over breakfast, and Ryan and I made plans for Nick and his wife, Rielle, to join us for dinner at our house. Now that I had a ring on my finger, I finally accepted that the house was “ours.” Funny, Ryan deeding the house to me as a joint owner didn’t make me feel that the house was “ours.”

  The ring made all the difference.

  I was nervous, so I drank some wine before they arrived. Ryan noticed me looking nervous, and put his arm around me protectively.

&nb
sp; I smiled. “Don’t worry, I'm fine. This is a first, though, I must admit.”

  He nodded. “Nick is a great guy. I promise you, you'll love him. And he, you.”

  “Does Nick, uh. Does he, uh.” I blushed scarlet.

  “Use your words,” Ryan teased.

  “Does he love you?”

  “As a friend, of course. But I've a feeling that's not what you're asking.”

  I nodded.

  “We've talked about that. We do have feelings for each other, I'm not going to lie. But it's different than how I feel about you, and how he feels about Rielle. I hope that makes sense.”

  I nodded again, bringing the wine up to my lips once more.

  “Does Rielle know?”

  “Nah. She wouldn’t understand.” He looked at me longingly. “Most people wouldn’t understand this. I admit, it's unconventional, but it's more common than you might think.”

  Finally, the hour was upon us. I heard the doorbell ring, and, taking another sip of wine, I answered the door.

  Nick was just how I pictured him. Sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, a very muscular frame. Extremely handsome, like a young Robert Redford. He was the same height as Ryan. He smiled at me, giving me a hug. I noticed his dimples right away. I was always a sucker for a guy with dimples. “Iris, so good to meet you! And congratulations!”

  His wife, Rielle, was a little cooler. She was not as effusive as Natalie was, although Nick was as effusive as Nate. Or, for that matter, she wasn’t as friendly as Alexis, who was around less and less now that she and Todd were becoming more serious. Rielle was a rail-thin brunette with enormous brown eyes and alabaster skin. She wore little makeup, but didn't really need to. She reminded me somewhat of my former roommate in college who looked better without makeup than with it. At any rate, like everybody who I have met through Ryan, she was gorgeous, and well-dressed.

  She held out her hand and smiled. “I'm Rielle. I've heard a lot about you.”

  “Well, don’t believe everything you hear,” I joked. Rielle nodded and didn’t pretend to laugh.

  I had the feeling that I would get along fine with Nick. Rielle, not so much.

  Nick had a bottle of vintage Scotch in his hand. I saw him in the kitchen, putting his arm around Ryan as they poured out two glasses. “What are you drinking?” Ryan addressed myself and Rielle. We were standing in the living room together, not saying a word. It was very uncomfortable.

  “I would like a mojito,” Rielle called.

  “That sounds good, I'd like the same.” Beer than liquor, never sicker? I wondered if it was the same with wine. I guessed that I would find out.

  At that, Ryan went out the back door to pick some mint leaves. Nick motioned me to join him in the kitchen.

  “So, you and Ryan.”

  “Yeah. Crazy, huh?”

  “Sure. Let me see that ring.” He looked at the ring, then gave a low whistle. “Leave it to Ryan to show the rest of us schlubs up. This baby is custom designed. Must've cost a pretty penny. A VERY pretty penny.” He had a look on his face that I couldn’t quite discern. Jealousy?

  At that, Ryan was back with a bunch of mint leaves in his hand. He pummeled them with some sugar, poured the rum into a glass with the mint and sugar, with some ice, and added some club soda and lime.

  The mojito was delicious, of course.

  As was the dinner. Ryan prepared some filet mignons, and I made the garlic mashed potatoes. The filets were grass-fed, as that was the only type of steaks that we ate, for ethical reasons. I had also steamed some green beans.

  After dinner, we had some dessert and a few more drinks. I noticed the two guys sitting across the table, Nick’s arm draped around Ryan’s shoulders. I wished that I didn’t know what I knew about these two. They just looked like two best friends. I found myself silently cursing Alexis. What I don’t know won’t hurt me. But I did know, and I couldn’t stop picturing them together.

  “So, buddy. How about having it at my Lake Como home?”

  I shook my head at Ryan. No way could my family afford tickets to Italy. Oh, what am I saying? We can all just fly in the private jet.

  “Well, we can visit sometime. But I think that Iris wants to have it right here.”

  “You can honeymoon at the house, then. And, visit your winery. You haven’t been there for awhile, you know.”

  Ryan looked at me. “Nick’s Lake Como home is pretty magnificent. It has an amazing view of the Lake.”

  Nick addressed me. “You ever been to Italy?”

  “No. I, uh, have never been out of the country.” I felt like such a rube, again.

  Nick raised one eyebrow. Ryan immediately changed the subject. “So, we were thinking about something pretty intimate. Nothing churchy, of course.”

  “What about the country club?” Nick asked.

  “Nah. Too formal,” Ryan said.

  Ryan and I had actually discussed this beforehand. I didn’t want the country club wedding, or the destination wedding. I just wanted something simple, in keeping with my nature.

  Ryan was perfectly willing to go along with whatever I wanted.

  “So, what were you thinking?” Nick asked.

  “We thought about just having it here. In the backyard,” Ryan said.

  I nodded. Nick looked perplexed at this.

  “Well, I agree that your backyard is pretty bad-ass. But you have the choice of having it at the Lake Como house and you choose just to have it here?”

  I was starting to feel more and more intimidated by Nick. I could feel that there was a tension there, a dominance issue with him. It could have been just my imagination, but there seemed to be a subtle undermining of my relationship with Ryan.

  I wondered if Nick really just wanted to be with Ryan, and he was going to sabotage.

  I shook that thought off. There was no indication that this was the case.

  I was just being silly.

  Ryan was addressing the issue of the wedding again. “We appreciate the offer, Nick, but Iris has a lot of family here in town, and I can’t put all of them on the private plane.”

  “Why not? Doesn’t it seat like 30?”

  “Yes, but not everybody can take off work, you know. And between the friends and family, there probably will be close to 100 people. How are we going to get all those people out to Italy?”

  “You buy them first class tickets.” Nick looked smug.

  “Problem solved,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

  “Whatever. It’s your wedding. I'm just along for the ride.”

  Ryan put his arm around me. “I admit, I'd like to stay at the Lake Como house for our honeymoon.” Addressing me, Ryan said “I have a yacht out there, too, that I keep on the Mediterranean.”

  I smiled. Yacht, schmact. I really didn’t care. I just wanted to be with him, even if it was in a shoebox.

  Later on that night, I found out that my hunch was true. Ryan and Nick were in the living room, talking and drinking Scotch. Rielle had gone to bed early with a headache, and I, too, went to bed around midnight, after staying up with the guys. Nick played 20 questions with me. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but he did seem to pry.

  I was leaving my room to get a drink of water, and I decided to eavesdrop on the guys down below. They didn’t notice me up above. They'd been drinking most of the night, so that probably had something to do with it.

  Nick said “You mean to tell me that she has never been out of the country? Ever?”

  “Yes. So what, a lot of people have never been overseas.”

  “Nobody I know. Or you, for that matter.”

  “This just in - there are people out in the world who aren’t rich.”

  “Buddy. Bro. I love you. You know that.”

  Ryan nodded.

  “Well, then, I'll tell it to you straight. You can’t marry that girl. She strikes me as a philistine.”

  “She's not a philistine. She is highly educated, very intelligent, and the nicest woman I have ever known.”

>   “Educated at state schools.”

  “Jesus Christ, when did you get to be such a snob?”

  “Ryan, you're slumming here. Whatever happened to Brigitte, the Dutch supermodel? She spoke five languages and could play the cello like Yo Yo Ma. Why didn’t you like her?”

  “Nick, you obviously don’t understand.”

  “Try me. Iris doesn’t even ski, for the love of all that is holy! How is she going to be on our vacations in the Alps?”

  I sat, up above, wondering why Ryan was not offering a spirited defense of me. My heart started to sink, but I looked at my beautiful red diamond and felt comforted again.

  Nick was continuing. “This isn’t an Erich Segal novel here. You can have literally any woman you want.” He shook his head. “I'm not seeing it here, buddy.”

  “Well, then, maybe you don’t need to be my best man. Maybe you don’t even need to be in the wedding at all.”

  “Easy, buddy. Sorry about the brutal honesty, but you know that's what I always give you.”

  “You've always been honest, I admit. But I didn’t know that you were so judgmental. Is that a new trait, or did you suddenly become an asshole while I wasn’t looking?”

  You go, Ryan! You tell him!

  Nick audibly sighed. “You're right. She does seem nice, and she is kinda cute in her way. And, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters, right?”

  To this, Ryan said, “There's something on your mind. I can tell.”

  Nick nodded. “Rielle and I, we aren’t doing so good.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We're hanging by a thread, buddy. So, yeah, maybe I'm jealous that you found the one, right when my one is slipping away.”

  Ryan put his arm around him. “Sorry to hear that, bro.”

  Then I saw them kissing. My heart started pounding. I mean, this was all good in theory, but seeing it in front of my eyes was something else entirely. I immediately went back into the room, and shut the door.

  Oh, I didn’t need to see that. I didn’t need to hear that. Why can’t I leave well enough alone?