Tonic

by Heather Lloyd

  We are both quiet tonight, I wonder if he is thinking the same thing I am. That I might not have been here to make love with him. My breath hitches just thinking about it. Ryan notices and tucks me in closer to him.

  “I love you. You are safe now,” he mumbles as he kisses me.

  Ryan trails kisses all over my body being extra careful around my bruises, giving them extra kisses, as if his kiss will make them go away. He slowly makes his way down to my thighs. He tenderly spreads my legs apart and kisses there too. I shiver and moan. He kisses more and licks me for a few minutes down there leaving me aching, yearning for more.

  Ryan moves back up my body to my lips and kisses me hard. He positions himself between my legs and gradually enters me. He tells me he just wants to be in me for a while, just enjoying the feel of my body. It doesn’t take long for him to have me writhing for release. I push him to hurry, but Ryan won’t. His fingers stroke me, giving me a small release. Ryan is just fine taking his time, building the pressure up in me again. Finally, Ryan steps up his pace and we both soar over the edge. He collapses on top of me. I love the feeling of all his weight on me. I slowly run my fingers up and down his back. After a little bit, he moves off me and cradles me in his arms.

  “I love you, Olivia,” Ryan whispers as he kisses me.

  “I love you, Ryan,” I whisper back and snuggle into him.

  Finally, we are back to normal.

  * * *

  Ryan goes back to work the next day; I stay at the hotel. When he gets back from working, Ryan tells me the filming is coming along really well and they should only have two or three more days of filming after the weekend. Since the abduction, I have taken off more time from work. My boss told me to take as long as I need before I could even ask. Ryan wants me to stay with him until he’s done filming then, he will fly back to Kansas City with me. Looks like I am staying in London a little longer.

  I haven’t told Ryan about the baby yet and I am feeling guilty for it. I decide to tell him Friday night when he gets back to the hotel. I will have dinner ready and tell him.

  When Ryan gets back, his eyes are bright and excited. He tells me that his mom called and invited us for dinner tomorrow night. Stephen, Sophia, Jake and Drey will be there, too.

  Ryan takes a quick shower. While he is in there, dinner arrives and I set everything up.

  “Something smells fabulous!” Ryan says as he comes out of the bedroom. He grabs me from behind and hugs me, then he looks at the table I set up. “This looks delicious. Thank you, Sweetheart.”

  “Have a seat.”

  We start eating. The food is awesome. I am starving; but that is nothing new these days. I’ve been so hungry lately.

  “This was very nice, Olivia. I love an evening in, alone with you.” His eyes twinkle at me.

  “Well, I did this for a reason. I actually have something to tell you.”

  The twinkle fades from his eyes and he gets a somber look on his face.

  “Nothing bad. I promise.” I am nervous. What if he didn’t want the baby?

  “Ok. You’re killing me. I see you’re nervous as hell. So, please, just spit it out.” He puts his fork down and puts his hand over mine. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ll deal with whatever it is.”

  “I know. I’m making this much bigger than it has to be. All right. I’m just going to say it. I’m… uh, I’m pregnant.”

  Ryan just stares at me, doesn’t say anything. Oh, no. Was I wrong about him wanting the baby? What was I going to do if he didn’t want it?

  “I…I…I know I should have told you right away. But…”

  A huge smile breaks out across Ryan’s face. He jumps up, pulls me up and hugs me, swinging me around. “You’re pregnant? You’re pregnant!”

  “Yes.”

  He puts his hand on my stomach in wonder. “There’s a little boy or girl in there! I can’t believe it!”

  I let out the breath I hadn’t realize I was holding. Ok, so he is happy about the baby. I had just shocked him with the news.

  “When did you find out? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I found out a few days ago while in the hospital. He or she is just fine. And I didn’t tell you right away because I was scared you didn’t want to be with me anymore after….”

  “I know. I wasn’t treating you right. I don’t blame you.” He grabs my face and kisses me hard. “We’re going to have a baby! A little Olivia!”

  “Or a little Ryan.”

  We talk about the baby for a while. We decide to keep this information to ourselves for a while. It’s still early in the pregnancy and we don’t know what can happen yet. We know soon we will have to tell our parents, but we are going to enjoy this time by ourselves.

  * * *

  On Saturday, Ryan has to work again, to make up for lost time. I am tired and don’t get out of bed until noon. Then I just hang around the hotel room; reading, playing games, sitting out on the balcony. Late afternoon I get ready to go to his parents and wait for Ryan to come home. About 7:30 Ryan comes in the door.

  “Sorry! Filming was going extremely well so Cliff didn’t want to stop. I already called mom and told her we’d be late.” He gives me a hug and kiss; then leans down to kiss my stomach. “Hello my precious baby.”

  I melt.

  “You look beautiful tonight, glowing. I’m glad your mine.”

  “I’m glad I’m yours, too.”

  As expected, we are the last ones to arrive at his parents. As we get inside, I can hear more voices than I thought should be here. We walk into the living room and I get a huge surprise. Here – in London - are my parents, sitting on Ryan’s parents couch. I start crying again. My mom is crying, too. They both come to hug me tightly.

  “Mom, Dad. What are you doing here?”

  “Oh Honey,” mom says. “We know we were told you were ok after… after the kidnapping, but we had to come see for ourselves. We just got in this afternoon.”

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  I hug them both again and find out that Ryan made the arrangements after I was found and recovering in the hospital.

  We sit down to eat right away. The food is once again delicious. The boys tease each other mercilessly, much more than the other night. I finally understand what his parents are talking about. My mom, Sophia, Ryan and I help Mary clean up. Drey doesn’t do anything to help, doesn’t even offer to help. That is incredibly rude.

  When the dishes are done, we sit in the living room and talk. I keep seeing Mary look at Ryan. I wonder what she trying to tell him? Ryan clears his throat.

  “Could I have everyone’s attention? I wanted to do this in front of everyone who is important to us. I’m sorry your girlfriends couldn’t be here, too.” Ryan says to me. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a huge diamond ring and gets down on one knee.

  Oh God! How much more can my emotions take tonight? At least all of them are good emotions. Happy tears trickle down my cheeks.

  “Olivia, you are the love of my life. I thank God every day for you running into me in Vegas and almost knocking me over. I almost lost you twice already. I can’t stand the thought of living my life without you. My life would be nothing without you. I love you so much. Will you do me the tremendous honor of being my wife? Olivia, will you marry me?”

  Tears are pouring down my face now. I don’t think I can say anything, but somehow I croak out “Yes.”

  Ryan stands up and slips the ring on my finger. It fits perfectly. He pulls me to him, kisses me, wrapping his arms around me and whispers “I love you” over and over.

  My parents and Ryan’s parents both come congratulate and hug us. Both women are crying. Ryan’s brothers can’t believe that he is the first one to take “the plunge”, but they are genuinely happy for us. Sophia is ecstatic. Even Drey congratulates us, however she seems a bit overly excited. I wonder if she is jealous and that is how she is covering it up.

  Ryan’s dad, Edward, leaves the room and comes back wi
th two bottles of champagne. Mary goes to grab glasses; mom follows her to help. The corks are popped and we celebrate. I have just a sip of champagne, then Ryan discretely switches out his empty glass with mine. Mary asks if we will have a long or short engagement.

  “Wow. I haven’t even thought about it. We haven’t talked about that at all so I don’t know,” I reply.

  “I think short,” Ryan says, pulling me close with the arm he already has around me and grins and winks at me. “I don’t want you to get away.” He kisses the side of my head.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere,” I mumble to him, kissing him on his lips.

  “Reporters will be all over this when they find out you two are engaged. They’ve barely left you alone since you started dating and then with all the crazy stuff that’s happened to Olivia,” Stephen points out. “And they’ll be even worse for the wedding. You’ll have to keep it under wraps where you’ll be getting married and when.”

  “I know, I’ve thought of that,” Ryan tells him. “I’m hoping to keep it quiet for a while yet. Life will be a three-ring circus when it does get out. I’d like for us to enjoy our engagement.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind things settling down a bit before the engagement news gets out,” I add. “Life has been a little rough since I met Ryan,” I tease.

  Ryan, I and my parents bid everyone good night and go back to the hotel. My parents are staying there also. In the elevator, we are told that my parents have plans the next day with a couple of old buddies of my dad’s that are in London now. We make plans to have dinner with them on Monday evening, along with Ryan’s parents. On their floor, we say goodnight to my parents and head up to our room.

  “Are you happy?” Ryan asks as the elevator takes us up.

  “Of course I’m happy. I’m elated. The love of my life asked me to marry him.” I hug him and whisper in his ear. “And I’m having his baby. I love you so much. Thank you for the ring. It’s beautiful.”

  “You’re welcome. My beautiful fiancée needs a beautiful ring. Simple but classic. Just like you.”

  “You’re going to make me cry again. I’m crying all the time now. You’ll have to let Leslie know. That reminds me. You never dated Leslie, right? You brought her to meet your parents though.”

  “Who told you that?”

  We get off the elevator and walk down the hall to our suite. Ryan opens the door.

  “Drey said something the day us girls went shopping. Sophia said she was wrong but Drey was very adamant.”

  “Hmm. Yes, Drey is wrong. I never dated Leslie. We’ve always just been good friends.”

  “Ok. I wonder why Drey told me you dated her?”

  “I have a theory about Drey. I think she says and does things to get a rise out of people – see their reactions. I’m not sure why yet. And I’ve been on her target for a while.” Ryan shakes his head like he is getting rid of that thought. He comes over to me and puts his arms around me. “I don’t want to wait too long to get married. I want you as my wife and I’d like to be married before the baby comes.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  Chapter 16

  The next morning starts out well enough. We order room service and are lazy, but we decide to go strolling through a couple street markets. As soon as we step out of the hotel, we are bombarded with reporters. “Is it true you two are engaged?” “When’s the wedding?” “Where will the wedding be held, here or in the U.S.?”

  Shocked, I immediately halt. Ryan thinks quickly, grabs me and shoves me into a cab with him right behind me. He tells the driver to just go.

  “What… what was that?” I ask out-of-breath.

  “How did they find out already?” Ryan asks mostly to himself. “Someone had to leak the news, but it was just family last night.” His phone starts ringing.

  “Jake, hey listen….”

  Ryan is quiet while Jake talks.

  “WHAT!!” Ryan shouts after Jake tells him something. I jump at his unexpected outburst. So does the driver.

  “I’m going to kill her. So, it was all just for a story?”

  Uh oh. Jake is talking again. I wish I can hear what Jake is saying.

  “Well, she got her story now, didn’t she?”

  He pauses, listening again.

  “Yeah, I know you’re sorry and I believe you didn’t know anything about it.”

  Everything clicks together for me now. Drey. Drey is the one who leaked the news. Since Ryan said she got her story, Drey must be a reporter. Oh, poor Jake. I’m not sure what his feelings are for her, but still that’s got to be a blow to him.

  Ryan hangs up and curses.

  “So, Jake caught Drey on the phone telling her best friend all about last night. Her best friend is a reporter for the largest gossip magazine in London. They’d been fighting for a while about it otherwise he would have called to warn us. He says to tell you he’s sorry. He didn’t know and would never do anything to hurt us.”

  “Jake has nothing to apologize for. Drey needs to apologize, but I’d be ok if I never have to see her again.”

  “I agree. I swear I’d strangle her if I must see her again. Leslie warned me about her. She said I shouldn’t trust her. I don’t think she was even all that crazy about Jake. She seemed annoyed with him most of the time.”

  “Thank God we decided to wait to say anything about….” I pointed to my stomach. I am not sure if he driver is paying any attention to us or not, but I am going to be safe.

  “Oh Christ,” Ryan says quietly enough that only I can hear. “I didn’t even think about that. This circus would be ten times worse if that news got out. I almost did say something. I know we had agreed to wait to say any anything, but I was so happy. I wanted our family to know everything.”

  We ride around in silence for a while. I am holding Ryan’s hand, looking out the window. Ryan squeezes my hand.

  “Well, what do you want to do now? We can’t go to the street market. We’ll just be swarmed and inundated with questions, even with Jeremy with us.”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I’m so mad right now, I can’t think straight.”

  Ryan puts his arm around me and leans me against his chest.

  “Jake’s over at Steven’s. He said we could hang there if we wanted to. I wasn’t sure if you would want to spend more time with my family, particularly after this.”

  “It’s not his fault, Ryan. Let’s go.”

  Ryan gives the driver his brother’s address. While Ryan calls Steven to tell him that we are on our way over, my phone rings. The only reason I answer is because it is Taylor.

  “Why didn’t you call and tell me that you accepted Ryan’s proposal?” Taylor demands.

  “Well, because it just happened last night” I reply.

  “Oh! But how did it get out already?”

  “It’s a long story. But the jist of it is that Ryan’s brother, Jake’s girlfriend – Drey, the one I said seemed fake - pretended interest in him to get info on Ryan. Her best friend works for a gossip magazine here. She was there last night when Ryan proposed.”

  “No!” Taylor says horrified. “Jake should have known better. She couldn’t have been that good of an actor.”

  “Taylor, it’s not Jake’s fault. He was used too.”

  “Whatever. Well, I’m sorry about the girlfriend and the news leaking out, but I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks. I’m very happy, too. It’s just a little crazy right now.”

  Ryan squeezes me.

  “When are you coming back?” Taylor asks.

  “We leave Thursday.”

  “We?”

  “Yes, Ryan’s coming back with me.”

  I can hear Taylor smile.

  “Yeah! I can properly congratulate both of you.”

  “I’ll have to talk to you later. We’re almost to Ryan’s other brother’s place.”

  “Ok, call me when you know for sure when you will be in town.”

&n
bsp; We arrive at Steven’s place. There are a few reporters here, too. Ryan calls Steven as we pulled up so he can let us in right away. Steven’s friends Thomas and Phillip are there and help us get inside and blocks everyone else out.

  “Olivia! I’m so sorry about this,” Jake says as soon as we got inside. “I feel awful.”

  He looks miserable. I hug him.

  “Jake, stop. It’s not your fault. You were used, too. In fact, you should be pissed off, not being sorry.”

  “Well, I am pissed off. But if I weren’t so stupid, I would have seen through her false interest right away.”

  “Jake,” Ryan says. “She’s a good actress and tricked us. Olivia? Doesn’t that sound like someone else? Don’t beat yourself up, Jake.”

  It sounds exactly like something Craig would do, especially if money is involved.

  We hang out and talk, play some pool. We all try to make each other feel better about the situation and finally by the time we are ready to leave, I think everyone does feel at least a little bit better.

  Steven and his friends ask if we need them to come with us to get back to the hotel ok. Ryan says he called the hotel already and let them know that we will need security when we arrive. Plus, Jeremy is going to be there to protect us, too.

  “You know, this will eventually die down,” Ryan says on the way back to the hotel. “Once everyone gets used to us and sees that we are blissfully happy, no one will be interested in us anymore. Life will go on as normal.”

  “Until the other news gets out.”

  Ryan smiles at me and leans over to kiss my hair.

  “Well, that’s why we’re keeping it a secret as long as possible,” he whispers.

  We get back to the hotel and find it a madhouse. Reporters, cameras, recorders are everywhere. Jeremy and hotel security comes out when we arrive and are escorted into the hotel. Jeremy escorts us up to our suite. Once inside, I plop down on the couch. Ryan pours himself a soda.

  “I’m not so sure about this dying down,” I say, rubbing my stomach. “What happens when this baby arrives? They’ll always want pictures, right?”