Ryan woke up with a groan. It was another morning that he had to wake up without Gillian by his side. Ryan rolled over on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Gillian since he had left her on the terrace at Wild Wind.
She was probably furious with him, Ryan thought. He was still cursing himself for sending her those mixed signals. One minute he had been ready to make love to her, and the next he had walked away, leaving her in tears.
“I’m sorry, Gillian,” Ryan muttered to the ceiling. Ryan knew that he should be apologizing to Gillian, but he couldn’t bring himself to face her. He wasn’t even sure that she would speak to him.
Ryan sighed. It had been over a week since the wedding, and he hadn’t run into Gillian at all. Of course, he had gone to great lengths to avoid places that she might be. He had a feeling that she was probably doing the same thing.
Pine Valley was a small town though. Ryan figured they were going to run into each other sooner or later. Ryan was secretly hoping for sooner even though he had no idea what to say to her.
It didn’t matter at the moment, though. Ryan glanced at the clock. He had to stop at the hospital on his way to work. Jake wanted to run some follow up tests to make sure that his system was back to normal after the bout with pneumonia.
Ryan really wasn’t in the mood for a medical check up. But he owed Jake his life, so he figured he could suffer through a few measly tests. Maybe they would take his mind off Gillian.
Yeah right, Ryan thought.
Gillian hurried down the steps of Wild Wind. She bounded into the living room and found Mateo and Hayley on the couch.
“Hayley, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Gillian called.
Hayley looked slightly annoyed as she turned away from Mateo to face Gillian.
“I’ve been in here all morning,” she replied.
Gillian could tell that she had interrupted a private moment between Hayley and Mateo. But she didn’t really care. She had something very important to discuss with Hayley.
“Hayley, have you seen Ryan?” Gillian asked hopefully.
“You were looking for Hayley to ask her that?” Mateo asked skeptically.
Gillian ignored his comment. “Have you?” she asked again.
“Not since the wedding on Saturday,” Hayley replied.
“Oh,” Gillian said, unable to hide her disappointment. She dropped into the armchair.
Hayley could see how crushed Gillian was. “Gillian, did something happen between you and Ryan?” she asked.
Gillian nodded. “We didn’t have a fight or anything. But things are not good between us,” she admitted.
“What happened?” Hayley asked.
“I don’t want to go into all the details,” Gillian said. “I think things were going too well and Ryan got scared.”
Hayley smiled sympathetically. “Gillian, you have to cut Ryan some slack. This isn’t easy for him,” she said.
“It’s not easy for me either,” Gillian snapped. She sighed, immediately regretting it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you,” she apologized.
“It’s okay,” Hayley said.
“Gillian, give it time. Ryan will come around,” Mateo reassured her.
Gillian smiled weakly. “Thanks. Both of you,” she added. “I have some errands to run. I’ll see you later,” she said.
Hayley watched her walk away. “I feel bad for them. They’re trying so hard, and they just keep pushing each other further and further away,” she commented.
Mateo put his arms around her. “Don’t worry about them. They love each other. They’ll work it out,” he reassured her.
“I hope so,” Hayley muttered.
Ryan buttoned up his shirt and straightened his hair. He sat back down on the examining table and waited. Jake Martin came in a few minutes later.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he apologized.
“No problem. How do the tests look?” Ryan asked.
“Very good. Your lungs are still clear and you seem to have recovered nicely. Everything is good Ryan,” Jake said.
“Thanks. I probably wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you,” Ryan said gratefully.
“I just did my job. I’m glad things worked out for you.” Jake shook Ryan’s hand. “I’ll see you at home,” he said.
Ryan nodded. “See you then.” He walked out of the exam room and right into Gillian.
“Ryan, are you sick again?” Gillian cried in a panic.
“No, I just had a check up with Jake,” Ryan replied. “He said everything was fine. Are you sick?” he asked.
Gillian shook her head. “No, I came to visit Erica.”
“Oh,” Ryan said. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Ryan tried to think of something to say to Gillian, but he couldn’t. He stared into her beautiful eyes and saw the pain and confusion. Ryan hated himself for putting it there.
“Gillian,” he started.
“Ryan, I’ll go,” Gillian began at the same time.
“Please don’t.” Ryan grabbed Gillian’s arm. “I want to apologize for the other night.”
Gillian shook her head. “It was my fault.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Ryan led Gillian to a chair. “Gillian, I was completely out of line the other night. I let things go too far and I made it seem like more was going to happen. Then I left you crying.” His voice trailed off. He felt very guilty about that.
“I understand, Ryan, I do. I was too pushy,” Gillian said firmly..
Ryan smiled. “I’m really sorry, Gillian,” he said..
“I’m sorry too, my darling,” Gillian said. She stared into Ryan’s eyes, and then gave him a big hug..
Ryan held his wife tightly. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve her love, but he had every intention of holding onto it. He had almost lost her more than once, and Ryan wasn’t about to let that happen again..
Gillian pulled back slightly and smiled at Ryan. “Do you have plans today?” she asked..
“I have to work most of the day. Did you have something in mind?” Ryan asked..
“Drinks tonight at the Valley Inn Bar?” Gillian suggested. She prayed that she wasn’t being pushy again..
“Sure. Seven o’clock?” Ryan asked..
“Perfect.” Gillian couldn’t suppress an excited grin. “I’ll be looking forward to it all day.”.
Ryan squeezed her hand. “So will I,” he said..
Things were very hectic at WRCW that afternoon. Ryan stood in Liza’s office anxiously waiting for her to approve the latest figures. He didn’t want to be late meeting Gillian.
“These look very good, Ryan. I missed your talent when you were gone,” Liza said.
“It’s nice to be appreciated,” Ryan replied. He stole a quick glance at his watch.
Liza smiled at him. “Do you have somewhere to be? You’ve checked your watch at least eight times in the last minute,” she said.
Ryan’s face flushed. “I’m meeting my wife,” he explained.
“Ahh, say no more. We can finish this up tomorrow morning,” Liza said.
“Are you sure?” Ryan asked.
“Of course I’m sure.” Liza smiled again. “I’m actually meeting Adam for dinner and little Colby and I need some time to get ready.” Liza affectionately patted her stomach.
“Thanks Liza. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ryan said.
Liza leaned back in her chair as she watched Ryan hurry out. She thought about how she had forced him into marrying Gillian. The old scheming Ryan Lavery was definitely gone, Liza noted. She had seen Ryan and Gillian at Tad and Dixie’s wedding. Anyone with eyes could see how in love they were.
“Your mommy did a good thing after all,” Liza told the baby. She had a very good feeling that Ryan and Gillian would get their happy ending.
Ryan arrived at the Valley Inn shortly after seven. He had gotten held up in traffic. Ryan hurried into the semi-crowded bar and immediately spotted Gillian. She was sitting at a table in the corner, nervously checking her appearance in a compact mirror.
When is she going to learn that I think she is beautiful no matter what? Ryan wondered. He made his way over to the table.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“Ryan!” Gillian cried brightly. “I was beginning to think that you weren’t coming.”
“Traffic was lousy.” Ryan sat down beside her. “It was worth it to find you waiting here,” he said.
Gillian smiled. “I would wait forever for you, Ryan,” she said seriously.
“Sometimes I feel as if I’ve made you,” Ryan said.
“You haven’t. We’ve both made mistakes, and we’ve paid for them. Now, we’re getting the happiness we deserve,” Gillian said.
“That sounds like a direct quote,” Ryan commented.
Gillian blushed. “It is,” she admitted. “From Hayley. Sometimes she has to reassure me about things.”
“Well I’m glad she is there for you,” Ryan said.
“I used to be so mean to Hayley, and I was so jealous of her. I don’t know why she is so nice to me,” Gillian said.
“Because you’re a different person now, Gilly. You’re not selfish anymore. People pick up on that,” Ryan said.
Gillian’s heart swelled from the compliment. “That means everything coming from you,” she said.
Ryan reached for her hand. “You learned how important friends are, and I learned how important love is. I never would have gotten through anything without you, Gillian. I won’t forget that,” he said.
“I love you, Ryan, and I would do anything for you,” Gillian said simply.
Ryan reached out and gently stroked her cheek. “The same goes for me,” he said.
After they had their drinks, Ryan drove Gillian back to Wild Wind. He walked her to the front door.
“Here you go,” he said.
“Thank you.” Gillian leaned against the door and faced her husband. “Would you like to come in for awhile? Edmund is probably asleep, and Mateo and Hayley are usually around.”
Ryan shook his head. “I have to get home. I’ve got an early meeting with Liza tomorrow,” he said.
“Okay. Tonight was wonderful, Ryan,” Gillian said.
“Wonderful, huh?” Ryan teased. “That’s quite a description.”
“I always feel that way when we’re together,” Gillian said.
“Well you haven’t always, but that is going to change, I promise,” Ryan said.
“Good night, Ryan,” Gillian said.
“Good night, Gillian.” Ryan hesitated for a second, and then he pulled her into a deep kiss.
Gillian responded eagerly. She ran her fingertips through his hair and pulled him closer to her.
Ryan enjoyed the electric sensations that shot through his body. He knew he had never felt them with anybody else.
Gillian broke this kiss first, and smiled at her husband. “That was wonderful.”
Ryan laughed. “You’re wonderful.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll talk to you very soon,” he promised.
“I can’t wait. Good night.” Gillian went into the house and sighed. Things couldn’t have gone any better.
“Well someone is happy.” Hayley had been coming down the stairs when Gillian had floated into the house. It was quite a turn around from that morning.
“I passed happy ages ago,” Gillian said brightly.
“I take it things went well with Ryan,” Hayley said.
Gillian nodded. “I really think things are going to work out, Hayley,” she said.
“Of course they are.” Hayley smiled. “Mateo decided to go to bed early. What do you say we grab some ice cream and watch an old movie?” she suggested.
