by Linzi Basset
Riley slapped his hand from her shoulder as she spun around to face him. Her eyes flashed dangerously. “What the fuck are you doing here, Jason?”
Aunt Sophie’s eyes widened. Riley never cursed, which was why she thought up all kinds of expressions instead.
“What kind of question is that? I came here to be with you. Where else would I be?”
“With your latest lover, I imagine. Quite frankly, I don’t give a shit.” Riley looked at her aunt. “Don’t tell me he unpacked himself in your home, Aunt Sophie?”
“I could hardly chase him out, now could I? As far as I knew, you and he were in a relationship.”
“We’re not and we haven’t been for almost six months. Not since I caught him in bed with one of his backup singers. One of many over the past three years. That’s what you said, isn’t it?”
“Look, babe, I made a mistake. I admit it. I was a complete asshole and I realized that the moment I returned home to find you gone. Come on, Riley, you never allowed me to explain,” Jason coaxed as he hedged her against the wall.
She agilely skirted around him. “I offered you as much opportunity to explain as I’m prepared to. Let me make this abundantly clear, Jason. It’s over, and it has been officially for six months. In all honesty, it’s been over much longer than that. I just never cared enough to walk away.”
“What are you saying? You said you loved me,” Jason teemed angrily.
Riley frowned as she cast her mind back over the past three years. She had cared for him in the beginning but love? That was one emotion that had never come to mind in all the time she was with him. She sure as hell never told him as much.
“I never said that. I might have said I cared for you but that most definitely didn’t mean I loved you.”
“I refuse to accept that.” He crossed his arms and glared at her.
Riley sighed heavily and dragged in a calming breath. “I suggest you do. I don’t love you. I don’t want you and I have no interest whatsoever to be with you … ever again.” She pointed to the door. “It’s time for you to leave, Jason.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You and I are meant to be. Come on, babe, just give it—”
“I’ve heard enough. My niece made her feelings abundantly clear. I for one am appalled at how you treated her. You are no longer welcome in my house or anywhere on my property. You have ten minutes to leave through the main gate or I’ll have security remove you.” Aunt Sophie straightened to her full five-feet-two-inches and stared him down.
Riley turned to look out of the window with a heavy heart. It was clear that Trent believed she’d lied to him about not being in a relationship. She was still standing there when Jason came downstairs with his luggage.
“Babe, please, won’t you at least think—”
“No. It’s over between us and has been for a very long time. I want you to leave, Jason. Now.” Riley didn’t bother to face him as she responded. If she did, he’d notice the tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes and would believe it was because of him.
She kept herself in check until she heard the Range Rover drive off. Her legs gave in and she crumbled to the floor, sobbing angrily at the joke fate had dealt her.
“Riley? Oh, my sweet girl. Why chase him away if you feel like this?” Aunt Sophie went on her knees and hugged her, cooing in her ear and rubbing her back.
“It’s not him. I don’t c-care about him.”
“If not him, then why … ohhh!” She gasped and pulled back to stare at her. “Trent? You’re in love with Trent?”
“Yes,” she said wiping at the tears with angry swipes. “And he immediately believed I lied to him.”
“Honey, you hardly know him. Are you sure it’s not just infatuation toward the man who saved your life?”
Riley shook her head. She blinked at her aunt. A smile trembled on her lips. “You fell in love with Uncle Tom the day you met and got married a month later, remember? I’ve never seen a happier couple than the two of you.”
Sophie stared at her intensely. Riley wasn’t an impulsive woman. She had always loved to listen to her and Tom’s fairytale love story, but over the years, she had scoffed at love at first sight.
“Our situation was different. Emotions that develop during such intense scenarios could very easily be misconstrued as love.”
“I’m not an idiot, Aunt Sophie. Don’t you think I’ve thought of that? Believe me, I dissected my feelings since the first moment I looked into his eyes. I’ve never felt like this. He’s … I know he’s the one for me and now Jason probably completely destroyed any chance I might have at real happiness.”
“If Trent feels the same about you, he’ll listen, Riley. I daresay, the way he reacted earlier, I’m sure he does.”
She shook her head. “No, Aunt Sophie, he won’t. Trent places the utmost value on trust and honesty and he believes I lied to him. I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”
“You won’t know until you try.” Sophie hesitated. “Come, let’s sit on the sofa.” She waited until they were settled before she continued. “What do you know about Trent, darling?”
“That he used to be a well-known trauma surgeon but gave up his career after his wife and little girl died in a car accident that he feels responsible for.”
“He does? Why?” Sophie prodded gently.
Riley explained the story Trent had told her. “I told him he wasn’t to blame. Accidents happen, whether he or she was driving, it wouldn’t have mattered.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve lived for years in anger about my parents’ death but I’ve realized it didn’t serve a purpose. We’re not in control of our destiny and there was no way the woman who caused the accident could have prevented it. I prefer to remember the good memories rather than the bad. We can’t live in the past … not if we want to move into the future.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.” Sophie rubbed Riley’s hands. “There’s something you should know.” She dragged in a deep breath.
“I’m listening.”
“Trent’s wife and little girl died in the same accident your parents did.”
Riley’s chest closed up and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. “How … I don’t understand. How do you know that?”
“He came to introduce himself when he moved here. I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to let go of the guilt, Riley. It wasn’t only the loss of his own family he’s been carrying for six years, it’s your parents’ as well.”
“He knew and he didn’t tell me. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
“For the same reason he kept visiting me every month for the past six years. In my case, it’s his way to make up for the loss I had … in yours? I’d say he was afraid if you knew, you’d run from him.”
“You seem to know him very well.” Riley struggled to work through the news, not so much that it had been Trent’s wife in the other car, but that he hadn’t told her.
“He’s a good man with a caring heart, Riley. It’s a pity he stopped practicing medicine but it opened other doors for him. He told me the other day he didn’t want to go back to be a surgeon, that he enjoyed and preferred the tranquility and stress-free life he now lives.”
“What other doors?”
“You don’t know what he does now? You spend five days and six nights with him and you have no idea that you were being taken care of by your favorite thriller author?”
“My favorite … Alex Cross? Are you saying he’s … that’s him?” Riley stared at her in complete shock as the final pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “So, that’s why he didn’t want to be disturbed when he had work to do. He just never told me what it was and I didn’t ask.”
“Phone him, darling, and if he doesn’t answer, keep trying. You’re not a quitter. If your feelings are as strong as you say they are, fight for your happiness.”
Riley wiped the final tears from her face and dug her phone from her bag. She glanced at her aunt. “I don’t have his number,” she said dejectedly.
/>
“Lucky for you, I do.” She picked up her cell from the coffee table and scrolled to Trent’s number. Riley saved it on her phone before she made the call.
“I’m going to make us some tea. I baked your favorite Christmas sugar cookies.”
Riley smiled at her as she listened to the ring tone in her ear.
“Reeves.” He sounded abrupt and brusque.
“Trent, it’s Riley.”
She would never have thought silence could be loud, but since it was the only thing that followed her greeting, it almost deafened her.
“It’s not what you think. I never lied to you,” she continued in a soft lilt.
“That’s debatable. I’m busy, Ms. Miller. You’ll have to excuse me.”
“Trent …” Her voice drifted off as she heard the sugary call of his name in the background. She could feel the painful crack form in her heart. “I see. Is that one of your regular subs? You lambast me without giving me a chance to explain while you … you … you know what, enjoy her.”
She was too angry to continue and abruptly ended the call.
“Neanderthal! Man-whore!” she sneered furiously.
“Whoa! Where did that come from?” Aunt Sophie’s head turned her way at the insults rippling loudly through the room.
“He already has another woman at the cabin,” she snapped, too angry to be sad.
“No, that’s impossible.”
“I heard her voice in the background, Aunt Sophie, calling his name all sugary and sweet.”
Sophie approached carrying a tray filled with tea and cookies.
“How long did it take you to get here from his cabin this morning, Riley?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t check the time.” She added four teaspoons of sugar to her cup before she realized what she was doing. She slumped back on the sofa.
“It takes almost an hour to get to his cabin, darling. It’s only been thirty minutes since he dropped you here. Wherever he is, it’s not at the cabin. He’s most probably at the rescue center in Pigeon Forge. He volunteers as a rescue medic for them.”
“Oh … I guess you could be right.”
“Don’t give up, my darling. Give him tonight to calm down and try again in the morning. A night’s sleep apart might be just the thing to make him see things clearly.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Come, finish your tea. I’d like to take you on a tour of the lodge and show you all the changes I made since last you were here.” She brushed a caring hand over Riley’s cheek. “Six years? I hope it’s not going to be that long before I see you again. I miss you like crazy.”
“I promise. From now on I’ll be back every year.”
“Good. Now, drink up and tell me about your job.”
For the rest of the day Sophie kept Riley so busy she didn’t have the time to think or worry about Trent. Not until she got into bed. Then, she felt lost and alone.
The memory of his hard body pressing warmly against hers as they finally went to sleep was carved into her mind. It had felt so right and the future had winked brightly at her.
“You’re mine now and I won’t let you go.”
“Please still feel the same way you did when you said the words.”
Riley couldn’t envision her life without Trent. Even after such a short period of knowing him, he had become her future. He’d entangled his essence so deep into her soul, it had become her guiding light.
“Aunt Sophie is right. I’m not giving up. I love you Trent Reeves and whether you said the words or not, I felt your love in every touch and kiss you gave me last night. I refuse to let a stupid misunderstanding stand in the way of our future … our happiness.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Stop growling at me. She’s gone and that’s it,” Trent snapped at the two dogs who had been howling and complaining ever since he returned home alone the previous day. At first, he’d been accommodating but it was now day two of being without her and his patience was wearing thin.
He stacked the last of the beechwood stumps into the fireplace and set it alight. Within minutes the inviting glow of the flickering flames filled the living room. He loved the fireplace as it mimicked the warmth of a summer’s day. He breathed in deeply. Although the air wasn’t smoky, courtesy of the strong extractor chute he installed, he detected a pine aroma as it burned, just a faint fragrance to reassure his senses that there was comfort in the long bitter winter no matter how brittle and chilled his heart was beating.
Sheila laid down on the bearskin rug in front of the fire with her head on her outstretched legs. She released a long, pitiful howl.
“Warf!” Storm sat down next to her and nudged her nose with his. She didn't respond and he released a pitiful cry.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! She lied to me.”
“Warf! Warf! Neooo!” Sheila responded as she lifted her head to glower at him.
“What do you know? You weren’t there. She’s got a lover and the expression on her face when she saw him said it all.”
“Neooo,” Sheila yapped and returned to her previous position. Storm just stared at him.
“It’s the truth and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. She used me to teach her—”
“Warf-warf-warf!” Storm scowled at him. His fur glimmered from the glow of the fire as he vehemently shook his head.
“Believe what you will. I know what I saw. I’m going to work. Let’s go.”
Trent stomped off but neither of the dogs moved. He turned to stare at them.
“Gruff,” Storm snorted and settled next to Sheila on the rug. The message was clear. They didn’t desire to be in his presence. Not since he wouldn’t give them what they wanted … their beloved Riley.
“Stay there then,” he snapped and stormed to the study, slamming the door shut behind him. He started as the sound reverberated through the room. “Get a grip, Reeves. You’re acting like a boy whose favorite toy has been taken from him.”
He sat down behind his laptop and stared at the screen. He’d been trying to write since early that morning. So far, the only thing that showed any progress was the flickering of the cursor, taunting him. Just like her voice kept running through his mind.
“It’s not what you think. I never lied to you.”
It sounded so much like the words Adrienne had used when he’d confronted her with his suspicions about an affair that his mind had immediately shut off. He couldn’t forget the love and joy he’d seen on Jason’s face when he’d seen Riley or the guilt on hers when she’d spotted him. The two combined made four and the penny had dropped. She had lied to him. It was the one thing he couldn’t get past, not since Adrienne.
But you lied to her too, Reeves.
“I never lied to her,” he rasped in response to the voice in his head.
Omission is as good as lying. You knew who she was the moment she introduced herself. You knew who her parents were. You knew they were killed in that accident. You knew and you didn’t tell her.
“Fuck, this is such a mess.” He ran his hands over his eyes. He was tired. Sleep had evaded him the previous night. He couldn’t get Riley out of his mind. Their last night together had clinched it for him. She was the woman he wanted. Without him knowing, she had crawled into his heart and threaded her sweet submission all the way into his soul. He started as realization struck.
“I love her. I have no idea how it happened so fast but I do.” He slouched lower in the chair and rested his head on the high back. “God, I’m such an idiot. What if I’m wrong and I saw only what I wanted to see? What if she’s telling the truth?”
He sat up and opened the web search engine on his laptop. Jason, whoever he was, looked familiar. Maybe if he could find out more about him, Trent might be able to patch together the pieces and get over his cynicism.
Trust. He needed to learn to trust, and until the moment they’d walked into Sophie’s house, Riley hadn’t given him any reason not to.
Her submission
had been honest, open and freely given. In that, he knew she had no agenda. He had to find the credence he needed to—
His fingers stilled over the keyboard. No, he shouldn’t need proof. He freely admitted he loved her and he had felt and seen the love in her eyes. That was what he should believe in. Love … their love for each other.
He needed to let go of his prejudices and accept that Riley wasn’t like Adrienne. She was a passionate woman, in all aspects of her life. It was there in everything she said and did. He didn’t believe for one moment that she would have given herself with such abundance to him if she was in a relationship with another man.
“Warf! Warf! Gruff! Warf!”
“What the devil is going on?” Trent grunted and stomped toward the door as Storm thumped loudly against it, uttering little yaps and howls.
“What?” His voice bellowed loudly throughout the cabin as he yanked open the door. Storm jumped up and down, barked and ran toward the living room. When Trent didn’t follow him, he returned and growled at him. “You know I don’t like to be bothered when I’m working. You better not be wasting my time, mister,” he warned as he followed him.
His footsteps slowed as he entered the room and encountered the most sensually, arousing and beautiful vision of his life.
Riley was sitting on the bearskin rug in front of the fire, her legs to the side … naked. Her body glowed in a halo of gold from the crackling fire behind her. She looked ethereal, nymph-like and it disintegrated any doubt he had about her.
“Riley?” His throat closed as she moved and her breasts lifted enticingly, nipped by a reflection of golden sheen from the flames in the background.
“I didn’t lie to you. Our relationship was over almost six months ago, longer if I’m honest. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer even though he—”
“Shh.” Trent was there, in front of her on his knees, pressing his fingers against her lips. “I believe you.”
“You do?” She blinked in confusion.
