It's been awhile...

I've got news

A smile on Ryan's face had been a constant since the meeting he had the night before. He was hopeful, but he wasn't sure if things were going to go as he had planned for them to. There was a verbal agreement and in the very near future, there would be a signed one, too. 

The plane landed just before five in the afternoon. Ryan claimed his suitcase and left the airport, in search for a cab to take him home. He hoped Stevie wouldn't bombard him with questions right away, he was too tired for that, but he knew she would want to know about his trip. All he wanted now was to get home, shower and eat something. He would deal with her later.

Maria wasn't home, when Ryan returned. He found Stevie watching over Liam in the backyard, the boy currently on the swing. "Hey there." 

Stevie turned around at the sound of his voice, smiling at him, as he approached her for a kiss. Liam jumped off and ran to his father, greeting him. "Daddy! I missed you!"

"Oh, I missed you too, buddy. I'm back now. We can play together after a bit, okay?" 

"Okay!" Excited, Liam nodded. 

"Could you give me and Mommy a minute?" 

Without saying anything, Liam ran into the house, most likely to the pile of toys, which he left behind earlier. 

"And did you miss me, mm?" Locking his hand on the small of her back, Ryan looked down at Stevie, who diverted her eyes shyly. "I surely missed you." Hands moving lower. 

"Well, not here. We'll have plenty of time in the bedroom." Kissing him briefly on the lips, Stevie freed herself and turned to go inside.

This was harder than she thought it would be. It was odd. She'd been having an affair with Lindsey on and off for years, but it was always easy to return back to Ryan. It really wasn't now. Something had changed. Maybe it was the fact that she and Lindsey would always keep their feelings bottled up, which wasn't the case now at all. They were saying, I love you, to each other without even thinking about it. 

"What would you like for me to prepare for supper?" Stevie asked, when Ryan followed after her. 

"I kind of thought we could go out, as a family, to the new restaurant? We haven't really done that in a while."

"I, uh... sure." She nodded with a shrug. "We just have to wait for Maria, she should be home soon, too."

"Alright. I'll go shower then."

No more than an hour later, Maria entered through the front door, her eyes popping out at the sight of her mother. "Wow! You look gorgeous, Mom. Where are you going again?" 

"Thank you, baby." Stevie smiled, but it faded, when hearing Ryan from behind...

"Again? You went out while I was away?"

"Yeah, with Christine. We just had a couple of drinks, caught up, since we haven't seen each other in quite a long time." Stevie replied without any hesitation.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Dad. It was just past midnight when Mom came back." Maria added and Ryan didn't say anything else, still not letting it go completely. "So, what's going on?" She asked again.

"Your father suggested having dinner at the new place."

"Oh, cool! I'll go change real quick." Maria jogged up the stairs, while Stevie took a seat in the living room to wait. She wasn't at all surprised when Ryan eyed her suspiciously, coming into the room as well. 

"You don't believe me." She said. 

"I find it odd that you went somewhere when I wasn't here. That was very convenient for you."

"So, you're still suspecting me of something? You don't trust me at all." She said, without looking at him. She was going to say anything to make him believe her. "Go ahead, call Christine. Ask her."

"I won't. There's no reason for me to question you, since you haven't given me one lately. I never said you couldn't go out with your friends, just that I think it's weird you did that while I was away. I hope you're telling me the truth." A slight warning in his voice.

Ten very long minutes later, Maria came down and the four of them got into the car for a completely silent ride. Stevie felt it, she was almost a hundred percent sure Ryan didn't believe her and it was, well, scary. She didn't want to start up a conversation, afraid to say the wrong thing, as Ryan was already rather tense. 

Arriving at the restaurant, Ryan took Stevie by the hand, always letting everyone know to whom she belonged. He felt like he needed to show it off, because while not twenty anymore, she was a beautiful woman, who attracted more attention of men that Ryan thought was acceptable. 

As soon as they entered, they were showed to a table and presented with menus. "Wine?" Ryan asked, while they were skipping through the items.

"Uh, actually... I don't really want alcohol. A glass of water will be just fine." Stevie declined, not meeting his eyes.

"Can't you have a glass with your husband, whom you haven't seen for over a week?"

"Ryan, I don't want to. You go ahead." She faked a smile, pretending to be concentrated, thinking what she wanted to eat. 

"Good evening." 

"Lindsey, hi!" The two men shook hands, Lindsey and Stevie only exchanging a polite smile, before he greeted the kids. "A busy night, I see."

"Yeah, you'd know that if you visited more." Lindsey teased Ryan, who laughed it off, actually not appreciating the joke at all. "Well, I'm going to leave you be. Enjoy."

She was nervous. Why the hell was she nervous? Ryan stared at Stevie, but he didn't want to bring it up with their children around. 

There wasn't much talking going on, while they were eating, mostly Maria asking Ryan about his trip, him being rather coy about it, changing the subject instantly. Stevie remained quiet, mostly paying attention to Liam, keeping him entertained, so he wouldn't get irritated and demand to go home. Although, she managed to lock eyes with Lindsey several times. She wanted to say she was sorry because of how she reacted, she wanted to ask him if he hadn't changed his mind, she wanted to tell him how badly she wanted Ryan to go away again, even though he'd been back for a couple of hours. 

Ryan noticed. He was always watching her like a hawk. When Maria went to the restroom and Liam was seemingly in deep conversation with a girl, about his age, at a table next to the one where they were sat, Ryan used to opportunity, grabbing Stevie's wrist, which got him her full attention. 

"You're hurting me."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked through gritted teeth. "You've been staring at Lindsey the whole time, since he approached us."

"N- no. I'm not, what are you talking about?" She gulped. 

"Shut up. I'm not stupid. Maybe it was my dear friend you went out with and not Christine, huh?" 

"No. And let go of me." She tried not to stutter this time. "I wasn't staring at anybody. Why are you always so damn paranoid?" 

He didn't say anything for a moment, knowing he needed to calm down, since they were in a public place. "I found a new partner. I don't think there's much left we could do, Lindsey and I. I need a fresh start. That's what my trip's been about."

"Why are you telling me this just now? You and Lindsey have a good thing going."

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid you and him might have something going, too. I mean, you two have quite a history."

"That's bullshit, I told you." 

Shrugging, he finished his thought. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I've got some good news."

"News? What news?" Maria came back and took a seat, looking at her father. "Come on, Dad."

His eyes fixed on Stevie's, as he said. "We're moving. To New York."