Beyond Beautiful (Love in Providence Book 2)

by Heather MacKinnon

  “You know they can’t hear you, right?”

  Gramps shrugged. “They’re lucky they can’t hear me. Then they’d know how stupid they are.”

  I laughed again and stood up, patting my grandfather on the shoulder as I did. “I brought stuff to make pork chops and mashed potatoes. That sound good for dinner?”

  He waved another hand in my direction. “You don’t need to go to all that trouble. Just pop in one of those microwavable meals for me and I’ll be good.”

  I frowned at him and shook my head. “You know that shit has too much sodium in it. If you’re okay with pork chops, I’ll go get started on them now.”

  Gramps shot me a look and sighed. “Pork chops are fine, Rem, but you don’t have to do all that for me.”

  “It’s no trouble, Gramps. I’ll come back in when I have everything cooking in there.”

  I walked out of the living room, leaving his grumbled protests behind me. Sure, I knew I didn’t need to come over and cook him dinner all the time, but if I didn’t, he just ate junk and his doctors said too much sodium wasn’t good for his heart. I needed the old man around for a while longer, so if that meant I needed to cook a few meals, it was the least I could do. Besides, maybe the busy work would keep my mind off the beautiful brunette I’d spent the night with. I wasn’t too hopeful though.

  Chapter 6

  Remy

  “You little bastard.”

  I chuckled as I grabbed a few new tiles from the black velvet bag. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game, old man.”

  Gramps grunted as he spun the Scrabble board around to study it. “I knew your parents never should have let you go to Brown.”

  I laughed again. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

  He raised a snow-white bushy eyebrow and shot me a look. “Because you were already an insufferable little shit.”

  I laughed harder this time and shook my head. “That’s rich coming from a Brown University alum.”

  He grumbled again as he shuffled some tiles around on his wooden rack. Truthfully, the old man knew the only reason I applied to Brown was because he’d gone there, and I’d idolized him my whole life.

  “You’re just mad I got a double word score with an X on a double letter.”

  He shook his head and grumbled, “Little shit.”

  As he thought through his next move, I thought through mine as well. Finally, I decided to just get on with it. Even though there was this chasm between Gramps and Ryder, they were still family and deserved to know what was going on in each other’s lives. Even if I had to be the messenger.

  I cleared my throat. “Hey, Gramps, remember how I told you Ryder had his graduation ceremony yesterday?”

  “Yeah, I remember.” His voice held a note of sadness that didn’t escape me. I knew he wished he’d been invited, but I hadn’t been able to get Ryder to budge on that no matter how many times I’d badgered him about it.

  I pursed my lips as I tried to decide if I should keep going with what I had to tell him or leave it alone. I didn’t want to upset him further, but I thought he had a right to know.

  Finally, I sighed and sat back in my chair, deciding to just go for it. “Well, after the ceremony, he wound up proposing to his girlfriend.”

  Gramps paused, his hand halfway to the board with a tile between his fingers. He looked at me for a long time before withdrawing his hand and sitting up straighter. “He did, did he?”

  I watched him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Took us all by surprise.”

  The corner of his lips twitched with a small grin. “He always did love surprises, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, I guess he did.”

  Gramps looked down at his tiles again. “Is this the girl you’ve told me about before? The one he’s been with for so long?”

  “Yeah, Bailey. She’s great. And they’re great together.”

  Gramps smiled again. “Well, then I’m happy for him. Hopefully I’ll get to meet her one day.”

  I swallowed harshly as Gramps went back to placing his tiles on the board. My heart clenched in my chest as I watched, seeing him for who he really was.

  On the outside, he seemed like this tough, ornery old man who just wanted to be left alone most of the time, but I saw through that. In reality, he was a lonely guy who’d lost most of his family and didn’t talk to half of what he had left.

  That was why it didn’t matter how busy I got or what I had going on. I made sure to come over as often as I possibly could. Besides a nurse that stopped by every other week for a couple hours, I was Gramps’ only visitor. So, no matter how often he told me not to bother, I’d continue to ignore his protests and show up, anyway. It was the least I could do.

  “Ha! Triple word score with the Z on a double letter. Suck on that, college boy!”

  I laughed and shook my head, glad the melancholy was gone before I spun the board my way, determined to wipe that smug grin off his face.

  An hour later, I helped Gramps pack up the game while he gloated.

  “The young may have the vigor, but the old have the wisdom!”

  I rolled my eyes as I slid the game board into its box. “Where’d you hear that? A fortune cookie?”

  Gramps narrowed his eyes at me. “No, smartass. I came up with it myself.”

  “Then you should see if Lily Wok is hiring. They’ve got to have someone come up with those little fortunes.”

  Gramps laughed, his round belly shaking, and his head tipped back. I watched him with a smile until he composed himself. “You really are a little shit.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, a little shit that has beat you the last three out of five games.”

  “It was only two out of five.”

  “Ah, see. The old may have the wisdom but the young have the memory.”

  “Oh, fuck off. Isn’t it time for you to head home already?”

  I chuckled and stood up to put the game back on the shelf where it belonged. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going.”

  Gramps stood up and stretched while I took our remaining dishes into the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher.

  “Anything I can do before I go?” I called into the living room.

  He walked into the kitchen shaking his head. “You’ve already done enough, Remy. Go home and get some rest.”

  I hit start on the dishwasher and turned to give Gramps a one-armed hug and a slap on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Gramps shook his head. “Don’t bother. Linda’s stopping by tomorrow.”

  I shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’ll swing by after work and cook us dinner. Besides, I want a rematch after that bullshit you pulled tonight. Who comes up with a word like zymurgy, anyway?”

  Gramps shrugged. “It’s the branch of chemistry that deals with fermentation. Doesn’t everybody know that?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No. Google barely knows that.”

  He shrugged again. “Guess Brown degrees were better in the fifties.”

  I shook my head. “Or you’ve got too much time on your hands and you use it to look up obscure Scrabble words.”

  Gramps’ eyes got wide and innocent and I knew I’d hit a nerve. “I don’t need to do stuff like that.” He tapped his temple. “I’ve got a dictionary up here already.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “Whatever, old man. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He laughed and slapped me on the back. “Drive safe, Son.”

  The trip back to Providence was thankfully short, and I pulled myself out of my car with a groan. This had been a long ass day. Even longer than yesterday had been. The combination of waking up so early and beating the shit out of myself in the gym was catching up to me, and the prospect of my bed had never sounded so good.

  I walked into our building, resolutely ignoring Belle’s door. Being with Gramps for the past few hours had been a good distraction, and I didn’t want to erase all the work I’d done to get her out of my head. I took the stairs two at a time to my apartment and unlocked the doo
r.

  Clapping sounds and moans immediately reached my ears, and I squeezed my eyes shut before closing the door as quietly as I could.

  Son of a bitch.

  This wasn’t the first time I’d walked in on Ryder and Bailey banging in our apartment, but, every time, I hoped it would be the last. With a sigh, I turned back around and headed down the stairs. When I got to the ground floor, I stood there for a second, indecision warring inside me.

  Should I knock on her door?

  Did she owe me an explanation?

  We didn’t see each other often, but Ryder and Bailey dragged us together occasionally. Wouldn’t it be awkward between us if we didn’t get this situation sorted before then?

  I reached up a fist to knock but paused right before my knuckles hit wood.

  With a shake of my head, I turned and walked out of the house and around back to my car. Now was not the time to talk to Belle. I was overtired and still pissed at her for leaving this morning. If and when we had that uncomfortable conversation, I needed to make sure it was done with a cool, level head. I didn’t need emotions overriding my good sense.

  I climbed back into my car and pulled out my phone to scroll through the ESPN app. I’d give Ryder thirty more minutes before I went up there again. If they were still boning by then, I’d give the guy a fucking medal.

  Half an hour later, I headed back inside and up the stairs to my apartment with my fingers crossed. I was tired as hell and all I wanted was my bed.

  And maybe a cold beer.

  That reminded me of Belle again, which only irritated me more.

  I reached the door and took a deep breath as I slowly opened it, listening carefully for any stray moan or sigh. When it seemed like I was in the clear, I took a step in, my head swiveling on my neck as I searched the common areas for stray bare asses.

  “Hey, man. You’re home late.”

  Ryder was just coming out of the living room, one of my beers in his hand. I shook my head, closing and locking the door behind me.

  “Well, I got here about a half hour ago but didn’t want to interrupt.”

  Ryder winced before taking a swig of beer. “Yeah. Sorry, man. We got caught up.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “Couldn’t you get caught up in your room?”

  Ryder shrugged as his lips pulled into a smarmy grin. “Have you seen Bailey? She’s hot as fuck. I can’t help myself.”

  I rolled my eyes and brushed past him, determined to grab a beer of my own. Twisting the cap off, I took a long sip of the orange-flavored alcohol, letting the cold liquid race down my throat.

  I pulled the bottle away from my lips and voiced something I’d been thinking about for a while but hadn’t said out loud yet. “I think I should start looking for a place of my own.”

  Ryder frowned and took a seat on the table across from me. “Why would you do that?”

  I raised a brow and waved toward the rest of the apartment. “This place really isn’t big enough for the three of us. Besides, you two are engaged now. You should be living on your own.”

  Ryder shook his head. “This is your place, man. If anything, we should move.”

  “It’s not a big deal, Ry. This place is nice and affordable, and you just started a new job. You should keep the apartment and I’ll go somewhere else. I’ve been wanting to move downtown for a while, anyway.”

  Which wasn’t exactly the truth. Downtown was crowded with college kids and traffic, but they had some nice apartments close to work. With the amount of time I spent in that office building, I might as well live closer to it.

  “I don’t like this, Rem. I feel like we’re kicking you out.”

  I took another long sip of my beer and shook my head. “Nah, don’t think like that. It’s time for me to move on and for you two to start your lives together. This is a good thing, Ry.”

  He didn’t look convinced as he drained the beer in his hand.

  I used my bottle to point at his empty one. “Besides, I’m sick of you drinking all my beer, dickhead.”

  Ryder grinned and shrugged. “I forgot to pick some up and you had extras.”

  I smiled back at him before finishing my beer. I set it next to the sink and turned back to my brother, ready to get another uncomfortable topic off my chest.

  “I told Gramps you proposed to Bailey.”

  His face instantly changed as he sat up straighter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why would you do that?”

  I sighed. “Ry, he’s your grandfather. Don’t you think he has a right to know what’s going on in your life?”

  Ryder scoffed. “He lost that right when he basically disowned me after my first manic episode.”

  “He didn’t disown you.”

  “He might as well have!”

  I paused a minute, waiting for Ryder to calm down a little before I tried again. “He said he was happy for you.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “He’s hoping he’ll get to meet Bailey someday.”

  Ryder snorted and hopped off the table. “Fat chance.”

  He moved to walk past me, but I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “He’s your family, Ryder. Some of the only family you have left. And it’s been years. Don’t you think it’s time to forgive him? To let the past go?”

  Ryder rolled his eyes and set his beer bottle next to mine. “You sound like my therapist.”

  “And how much do you pay them to tell you smart shit like that?”

  Ryder smirked. “Too damn much.”

  “Exactly. I’m giving you this advice for free. Let go of the bullshit and give Gramps a chance to apologize. He won’t be around forever, Ry, and if you waste the time you have left, you’ll regret it.”

  The words burned on their way out, but I had to say them. I had to use any card I could at that point. I hoped Gramps had years and years left but the truth was he might not. The truth was I might not. Nothing was guaranteed which meant nothing should be taken for granted.

  Ryder sighed and hung his head. “Bailey’s been asking about him a lot lately, too.”

  Man, I could kiss that girl sometimes.

  “If you won’t do it for Gramps, maybe you’ll do it for her.”

  Ryder looked up and narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t use her against me like that. You know I’d do anything for that woman.”

  I shrugged. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to get you and Gramps in the same room again. If I have to play dirty, I will.”

  Ryder sighed, his shoulders drooping. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

  It wasn’t a yes, but it was the closest thing to it I’d gotten in years, so I’d take it.

  “That’s fair.”

  He turned around, his shoulders still drooped, and my heart clenched in my chest. I couldn’t let him leave like that.

  “He was wrong, Ry.”

  He turned around with a frown. “About what?”

  “When he said you just needed to pull yourself together. He was wrong, and he knows it. Bipolar isn’t something you can just will or wish away. He didn’t know that then, but he does now.”

  Ryder watched me for a long minute, a thousand emotions passing over his face before he nodded once. “Thanks, Rem. Night.”

  I watched my little brother walk away, wishing for the millionth time that I could take this all from him. The doubt and insecurity, the mania and depression. As his older brother, it was my job to protect him and it killed me that I couldn’t do that. It made me wish I’d been the one diagnosed and not him.

  With a heavy heart that was only lightened slightly by the fact that Ryder promised to think about visiting Gramps, I walked into my room and collapsed on my bed. It still smelled like her, but I refused to acknowledge it. I’d wash my sheets in the morning and forget all about Belle Garcia.

  Chapter 7

  Belle

  “Do they pay you to go on Instagram?”

  I jumped in my seat and looked up. Nick, the delivery guy, was standing in my doo
rway with a grin on his face and his hands in the pockets of his dark blue jumpsuit.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “This is for work, not pleasure.”

  His smile got wider as he walked inside and leaned a hip against my desk, displacing some of my papers. “What do you do for pleasure, Belle?”

  I wanted to roll my eyes but refrained. “Not a lot these days. I’m here too much.”

  He shook his head. “That’s too bad. I bet you could use a night off to let your hair down.” He reached out to tap the tight bun on the top of my head and I just barely held in a wince as I moved out of range of his wandering hands.

  “I’ll take a night off after this show opens.”

  “Great, it’s a date.”

  I frowned up at him. “What’s a date?”

  “You just said you’d take a night off after this show and I’m the one taking you out.”

  “I don’t believe I said anything about you taking me out.”

  He shrugged and leaned a little closer, the smell of his cheap cologne invading my nostrils. “Yeah, but I did. Come on, Belle. I’ve been askin’ for months. When are you gonna let me take you to dinner?”

  Probably around the same time Pablo Picasso came back from the dead and gave me a raise.

  “I don’t date people I work with, Nick.”

  He stood up straight and spread his arms wide. “Well you’re in luck because I don’t work with you. I work for the art shippers and you work for the gallery. There’s nothing keeping us apart.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes for a second as I wished for the patience to deal with this guy. “Nick, listen. I see you a couple times a week at minimum. That’s like working with you and that’s not something I do. Please let it go.”

  His arms dropped to his sides as his expression fell. “One day you’ll say yes to me, Belle.”

  Another eye roll was on deck, but I stifled it too. “Probably not.”

  He narrowed his eyes, lips curling into a smug grin. “I’ll wear you down, Garcia. You’ll see.”

  I wanted to argue more. It was practically in my nature, but I held my tongue. Nick had been pursuing me for months and I didn’t see that stopping anytime soon. Even though I never led him on, even though I turned him down every time, he remained persistent. I’d almost have been impressed by his tenacity if it didn’t annoy the shit out of me.