She presses her lips together. “I’ll think about it.”
I level my eyes on her. “Promise?”
“Promise to think about it? Yes, I do.”
That’s good enough for me and I let the subject drop as the doors open and the line begins to move. We eventually make our way inside to place our order. We both order the same thing: a pulled beef sandwich, fries, and an Italian ice. We move to the side so the next guy in line can order, and after a couple minutes, we’re handed our food. We walk out the exit-only door and decide to sit at one of the yellow-painted tables. We get lucky and find a place right in the sun. With the dropping temperatures, direct sunlight is the best option for keeping warm even though we’re both bundled up as much as possible.
Part of the reason why I love bringing new people here is watching their expression the moment they take their first delicious bite. She bites into her sandwich and her eyes stretch wide as her brows go up. As she chews, the corners of her mouth begin to turn up and she nods her head. “Oh my God, that really is a good sandwich.”
I pick up her cup. “Now wash it down with this lemon-flavored magic in a cup.” I hand it over and she takes it. She finishes chewing and swallows down her sandwich. She brings the straw to her lips and takes a sip. “Why have I never eaten here before? I mean, this drink alone is worth the drive!”
I laugh and nod along. “I know, right? It’s a hidden gem in the city. Clearly, by that long-ass line we stood in, plenty of people know about this place, but if everyone knew, just imagine how long the line would be! You’d be waiting all day.”
She agrees and takes another sip. “So did Calvin try talking you into doing wedding stuff today?”
I nod as I toss a fry into my mouth. “Yep.”
“How’d you get out of it?”
“I told him something came up at work and I had to go in. What was your excuse?”
She takes another sip as her dark eyes land on mine. “That I had family coming into town this weekend. So not only am I too busy today, but I also have an excuse for tomorrow. So if you’re free . . .”
I laugh. “Wish I had an excuse that good. It would be so much easier if we didn’t have to hide.”
She picks up a fry and takes a bite. “I know it would be. I just don’t want to make anything change for them until we’re sure.”
I lean in a little bit. “I am sure, Riley.” I pop a fry into my mouth.
She shakes her head. “You think you’re sure, but you’re not. It’s impossible to be sure after just a few months of dating.”
“Well, then it’s impossible to be sure by doing this the way we’re doing it. We need to be together even more—be there for each other’s day-to-day lives. We need to be able to sleep together and wake up next to each other. Not only be there for the good times, but also the bad.”
She smiles. “Wow, Preston, that was really mature.”
I laugh and shrug one shoulder. “I have my moments.”
She sits back and continues to eat, but seems to be thinking seriously about something. I don’t try to push her to tell me what it is. I have a feeling she’ll let me know as soon as she figures it out.
We finish eating and get back in the car to drive over to Absolutely Chicago Segway Tours. We go through a quick how-to class and sign some release forms, and before I know it, I go from having shaky legs like a baby deer to zooming past her like a seasoned pro. We slow down to let the rest of the group get ahead of us. Then we line up so the two of us can race.
“Ready, set, go!” she yells, and we both take off, racing to the group. She beats me by only a fraction of a second, but the wide smile on her face is enough to make me feel like I won the best prize in the world. “Ha ha! I knew I’d win. You can’t challenge the master and expect to win! What were you thinking?” she asks, rubbing it in my face, but I can’t do anything but laugh and enjoy her excitement.
The tour is great and better than I expected. We stop at several locations where we’re given the history of Chicago’s most popular tourist sites. Everything they show us, I’ve seen before, but now I have details I never knew before. It lasts for what feels like hours too. It was definitely worth the money.
When the tour ends, we decide to take a walk, because we really feel it in our backs and legs. Everything feels tight and cramped up from standing on the Segway for so long. We hit up a coffee cart and continue on, sipping our coffee while walking down the road, window shopping.
“Hey, what are you going to get for Piper and Calvin’s wedding present?” she asks as we pause outside some kind of bridal store.
I shrug. “I’m already giving him my best friend. I have to give him a present too?”
She laughs but nods. “Yep, it’s part of it.”
Damn. I hadn’t even thought about it.
“Let’s go in here and check out their gifts.” She pitches her coffee while I groan about having to look at wedding stuff.
She grabs my hand and pulls me inside the store. The store is set up in a way that you can find anything you need for a wedding. There are dresses, tuxes, shoes, and accessories up front. Other sections of the store feature place settings, centerpieces, gifts, and everything else you can think of. I glance at it all, but nothing calls to me as she drags me alongside her.
She takes me to the back, where it seems like everything is personalized.
“Oh, I know. I can get the silverware and you can get the dishes. What do you think?”
“I think they already have silverware and dishes. Why not get them something a little more exciting?”
“Yeah, but Piper’s dishes only cost her a dollar a plate. When you get married, you get rid of all your crappy single stuff and replace it with beautiful adult stuff. Look at these dishes.” She points out a set that’s white with a gold band. There are small flowers decorating the outside rim. “She would love these. I’m getting these.”
“You do realize that if you buy those dishes now, you’ll have to lug them all the way back to the car that’s, like, a mile away, right?”
She wrinkles her nose at me. “No, I can have them shipped to my place.”
An associate walks by and she flags them down to purchase the dishes while I daze off into space. I follow along behind them to the register and stand back as she pays the hundreds of dollars for the dishes and writes down her address for shipping.
Before we leave the store, she wants to swing by the restroom in the back. I wait in the hallway and eventually, she walks out. “That restroom was so nice. They had actual towels to dry your hands on and the soap made my skin so soft,” she’s saying, but my ears suddenly pick up on Piper’s voice.
“I’m not even that pregnant yet. Why do I have to pee so badly?”
“We’re almost there, honey,” I hear my brother say.
Riley turns to look at me with wide eyes filled with panic. “Shit, what do we do?” she asks, turning to face me.
I grab the knob to the nearest door. It opens easily and I shove her through it and pull it closed just as Piper and Calvin come walking around the corner. Piper bumps into my chest. “I’m so sorry . . . Preston?” She frowns. “What are you doing here?” Then she shoves me to the side. “Oh, who cares? I have to pee like a racehorse!” She rushes into the restroom, leaving Calvin and me alone.
We both laugh.
“So, what are you doing here?” Calvin asks me as he slides his hands into his pockets.
“I was just taking my break and walked past here. I looked in the window and saw all the wedding stuff. Thought that since I had a few minutes to kill, I could shop around for your gift.”
His brows lift with surprise. “Gift? You’re getting us a gift?”
I act offended. “Of course I am! I mean, who goes to a wedding without a gift?” Funny since I didn’t even know about the gift thing until 20 minutes ago.
He shakes his head. “No one, but I’m surprised you knew that. I mean, how many weddings have you even been to?”
<
br /> I wave him off. “Who cares about that? Tell me, what does Piper want?”
He rolls his eyes. “I don’t know, but I’m looking at that brandy set over there. The glasses with the decanter. It’s made of crystal and you can have it monogrammed. It even comes with a little tray. It would look amazing on my desk, don’t you think?”
I scoff. “Damn, man. You think I’m made of money?”
He laughs. “Well, it’s not like you’re getting married.”
“How about I buy the brandy for the decanter?”
He chuckles and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I just paid over $4,000 for a bottle of Louis XIII. I think I’m covered.”
“You paid four grand for a bottle of brandy? Does Piper know?”
The bathroom door swings open and Piper comes walking out. “Does Piper know what?”
“Nothing,” he quickly answers. “We’re talking about wedding gifts. Preston wants to know if there’s anything you want.”
“Oh,” she smiles. “That’s sweet, Pres. I had my eye on those iced tea glasses. Riley already promised to buy the dishes. So all I really need are glasses and silverware.”
I nod as I wrap my arms around their shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it. I’ll get you both the glasses you want.”
“Hey, since you’re here, we can try on our tuxes,” Calvin says.
I’m walking them toward the door. “I would, but I have to get back to work. Why don’t you guys go have an early dinner and I’ll catch up with you later?”
“Preston, stop pushing me. I came in here for a reason, you know,” Piper says, turning and walking back through the aisles.
I take a deep breath. “All right, man. Let’s try on the tuxes,” I finally agree.
It takes about 30 minutes before everything is said and done and the two of them are leaving. As soon as they turn the corner, I rush back into the store to that closet. I open the door and Riley comes stumbling out. She bounces off my chest and I catch her in my arms.
“What took so long?”
“I’m sorry. They wouldn’t fucking leave. Piper wanted to try on her dress and Calvin made me get fitted for my tux. Are you okay?” I look her up and down and see she has one wet pant leg.
“Do I look okay? It’s dark in there! I couldn’t see anything. And when I was trying to find a place to sit down, I stepped in a mop bucket. My leg is going to freeze off before we get back to the car!”
I laugh. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but how did you step in a mop bucket?”
I thought it was a box of some kind. I put my foot on it to test its strength to see if I could sit on it. I mean, who doesn’t empty a mop bucket? Oh my God, what if that’s what they used to clean the restroom floor?” Her face goes white and she gags. “I need a shower. Let’s go!” She grabs my wrist so hard her nails bite into my skin as she drags me out of the store and down the street.
We finally make it back to the car and she wastes no time jumping in and taking her seat. “You know, since we’re in the car and no one can see you, you could take your pants off. I wouldn’t mind.”
She snorts. “And then have to put them back on to walk up to my apartment? No thanks.”
I chuckle but didn’t really expect that to work to my advantage anyway, so I hit the gas and get us back to her place as quickly as possible before she’s convinced she’s picked up some sort of disease from the dirty mop water.
The moment we’re inside her apartment, she rushes to the bathroom, stripping off clothing along the way. I walk behind her, picking up her shoes, pants, and shirt. When I make it to the closed bathroom door, I find her bra. I pick it up with it dangling from my finger. It’s hot pink and has black lace across the cups. I can’t help but imagine how sexy she must look in this. I wonder if her panties are the same color. This bright pink against her olive skin would be sexy as fuck.
I shake the thoughts from my head knowing they’ll only get me in trouble, and I toss the clothes into a pile at the bathroom door. I go to the kitchen and grab a beer from the fridge. I take it back to the couch to wait for her to be done. She takes a good 30 minutes to shower, then finally exits the bathroom. A thick cloud of steam escapes when she opens the door and there’s still water beading up and running down her collarbone. She collapses next to me on the couch in nothing but a damp towel.
“God, I feel so much better. I think I scrubbed the skin off my foot and leg though. She places her foot on the coffee table in front of us and her skin is red.
I laugh. “I’d say you did!”
She nods. “I think you’re right about the wedding. I mean, the sooner we can stop sneaking around, the better. Right?”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. “Right,” I agree, pulling her in for a long kiss.
She leans back, breaking the kiss. “Do you think we should tell them before the wedding as a heads-up . . . or let them know at the wedding?”
“At the wedding,” I reply. “Calvin won’t kill me if there are witnesses,” I laugh out, moving back in for a kiss, but she places her hand on my chest and holds me back.
“I think Piper will be excited. I’ve been telling her about this guy I’ve been seeing, but I’ve refused to tell her who it is for fear of jinxing it. She’s happy that I’m happy with this guy, but she said she’s bummed it’s not you.”
“Really?” I ask, drawing my brows together in confusion.
“Yep.” She nods once. “So maybe you should talk to Calvin since Piper clearly approves.”
I bite the inside of my cheek as I think it over. “Maybe I will.” Maybe if he knows that Piper is okay with us, he will be too. Regardless, I shake the thoughts from my head and move back in for another kiss.
I have to admit, the sneaking around thing has been fun, but shoving the woman I’m planning on spending the rest of my life with into a closet and having her fall into a mop bucket full of dirty water isn’t something I want to do. It would be nice to be out in the open. Hell, it would be nice to go on double dates with my brother and Piper. We could go to games together, have meals, walks, all of it. Instead, Riley and I are hiding inside her apartment most days to avoid being caught. Maybe the sooner we can come out to the world, the sooner we can get started on spending forever together.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Calvin asks as I walk into his office the next day.
I shrug and plop down in the chair across from his desk. “Nothing much. Had some time to kill before heading back to the office and figured I’d see what you were up to.” That’s not completely honest. I really want to talk to him about Riley, but I need to break the ice.
He lets out a long, drawn-out breath. “I’m up to my eyeballs in paperwork. I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was for me to become a lawyer, but I really need to have a talk with them.” He offers up a smile, but it’s weak.
“I’m pretty sure that was all you, man,” I say, stretching my legs out in front of me. “How’s Pipes? We haven’t hung out in a while.”
He looks up at me and I can see the anger painting his face. “I know, and she’s not happy about it. She thinks you’re still in love with her and that seeing her pregnant and about to marry your brother is creating some kind of barrier between you. What’s up? Where have you been?”
I run my hand through my hair. “That’s not it at all. I just feel like you two need your space, you know? I don’t want to be the third wheel. And she’s pregnant, so all the normal things we used to do, she can’t do anymore. It’s just weird.”
He shakes his head, clearly annoyed by the whole situation. “I get that, Pres, I do. But she’s your best friend and she’s about to get married and have a baby. She needs your support. She needs your friendship now more than ever.”
I feel like he’s my dad—lecturing me for acting up during Sunday service or something. “All right, man. You don’t have to chew me out. I was just thinking that you guys are together now and you don’t want your little
brother hanging out and stealing your girl.”
He smirks. “Stealing my girl?”
“You know what I mean. Not stealing her forever, but making her go out with me when you wanted her to stay in with you. That kind of thing. I was just giving you guys some alone time. That’s all.”
He nods. “And I appreciate that, but she needs you. You give her something that I can’t, and vice-versa. She needs us both, just like she always has.”
After such a serious talk, I don’t feel like now is the right time to bring up Riley, so I let the subject go as we talk about everything else that seems to be bothering him. When my lunch break draws to an end, I get up and head back to work. Riley’s name never made it past my lips.
Eight
Riley-The Wedding
“I seriously can’t believe I have to make that drive by myself,” I whine as I pick up my beer and take a sip.
Preston reaches across the table and takes my hand in his. “I know. I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Why can’t you just tell them now? I mean, Piper will be cool. It’s Calvin we need to address.”
Our conversation stops as the waitress places our basket of breadsticks on the table. When she leaves, he says, “You didn’t hear the talk Calvin gave me the day I went to tell him about us. He reminded me of the fact that Piper’s my best friend and I’ve been ignoring her lately—ever since we got together, though he doesn’t realize that. And I don’t want to have this talk with him tonight. He’s stressed enough with the trip tomorrow and the wedding this weekend. I just want to make sure that when I tell him, he’s not going to be able to blow up. Maybe I’ll tell him when we all get there. Before the wedding, at the latest.”
I chuckle and shake my head at him as I grab a breadstick. I love that he loves and respects his brother as much as he does, but I wish we’d gotten this out of the way a long time ago. It’s December and we’ve been dating since August. I mean, I know that isn’t a super-long time, but it’s one of my longest relationships. And our time together has been amazing. Especially with sex off the table. It’s like once sex wasn’t a factor, we could just focus on getting to know each other on a deeper level. And the fact that he’s still here speaks volumes. It lets me know that the Preston who was at the center of Piper’s stories has changed. He’s grown up and matured and he’s ready and able to have a serious relationship. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Preston is the one I want to be with.
Marrying My Best Friend's BFF: A Friends to Lovers, Accidental Baby Romance (Love You Forever Book 2) Page 9
