Bayside's Most Unexpected Bride

by Kerri Carpenter

“Well, you can’t. We can’t,” she said even as she leaned into his palm.

  Sawyer moved closer, his eyes intent on her lips. Riley shivered. Her eyes began to drift closed, and his followed as he imagined the softness of her mouth beneath his. Then a dazzling light had them flying open again. The Christmas tree had just been lit, and all of the shops and buildings lining the square—even some of the boats bobbing in the bay—were decorated in beautiful lights.

  “Wow, beautiful,” Riley whispered.

  “Yes, you are.”

  He waited for her to hit him again or to at least roll her eyes. She didn’t. Instead, she stood there, with those big green eyes, her face aglow from all of the twinkly lights.

  He’d never wanted anyone more.

  And she was the only woman he couldn’t have. Ever.

  Chapter Five

  Well, well, well, looks like everyone’s favorite high school sweethearts, Jasper Dumont and Carissa Blackwell, are moving in together. I heard that...

  DELETE, DELETE, DELETE

  Riley blew out a long, frustrated breath. She was having a major case of writer’s block. No, not writer’s block. Blogger’s block.

  She stared at her computer screen, willing it to come up with words on its own. When that didn’t happen, she tried again.

  The usual suspects were all at the Wallace family house for Thanksgiving last week. Including Bayside Bugle heir and playboy Sawyer, who was looking fine. Especially when he kissed his lifelong friend, Riley Hudson!

  DELETE, DELETE, DELETE

  She kept hitting the delete button long after all the words were erased. And then she hit it one more time for good measure.

  Never in her entire career as the Bayside Blogger had she struggled this much with her column. Maybe that was because she’d never been part of the story before.

  “You are a hypocrite, Riley Alexandra Hudson,” she said to her empty apartment. Anyone else and she would have blogged about their first kiss so fast that it would have been posted before they came up for air.

  However, most couples were probably happy about kissing, while she remained completely undecided.

  It wasn’t that she hadn’t enjoyed it. She had. A lot. A whole heck of a lot. That was the problem. Besides being a beyond-stellar kisser, Sawyer happened to hold two other titles in her life: friend and boss.

  Riley let out a long, deep groan and began circling her apartment. She loved this space. When Dumont Incorporated had erected this apartment building right in the center of town she’d jumped on it. Now she was the proud renter of an adorable one-bedroom with hardwood floors, tons of natural light, and killer views of the bay and the town square. Her kitchen was full of upgrades, her bathroom had an amazing soaking tub, and there were plenty of built-in shelves for all of her books and knickknacks. And the closet had lots of room for her shoes. Many, many pairs of shoes.

  Plus, it was decorated flawlessly, if she did say so herself. She’d opted for crisp white furniture and accented every room with pillows, artwork and accessories in every color of the rainbow.

  She flopped onto her oversize couch—highlighted with turquoise, red and yellow throw pillows—and tapped a finger to her lips. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the scent of the coffee she’d made earlier that morning, still lingering in the air.

  She’d been down this road before. The “I kissed my boss” route to hell, and it had ended badly. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. Even after all these years, the pain was still fresh and she still felt raw. Connor had betrayed her trust. Not only had he been engaged to someone else while they dated, but once everything was out in the open, he’d let her take the blame for everything. Not once had he stepped in to clear her name.

  If she closed her eyes, she could still see the judgy eyes of everyone she’d worked with. Every time she’d entered a room, the hair on the back of her neck had stood straight up, a sure sign everyone had been talking about her.

  A loud banging on the door thankfully pulled her out of her head. She bounced to the door and greeted her two best friends.

  “Who’s ready for some serious downward dog?” Carissa asked, moving past Riley into the room.

  “I would never miss our Saturday yoga dates,” Riley said loyally.

  The three of them headed to the yoga studio, only a block from Riley’s apartment building. On the way, they chatted about the Christmas Kickoff Festival. While Elle and Carissa discussed the decorations, Riley couldn’t help remembering the look in Sawyer’s eyes as he’d cupped her face as he’d brought her closer to him.

  “Hello,” Elle’s voice rang out. “Earth to Riley.”

  Riley shook her head. “Sorry, what?”

  “I said, you’d better be on your best behavior.”

  Riley waved a nonchalant hand in the air as they strolled into the studio and stashed their stuff. “I don’t know why the instructor is so hard on me.”

  Carissa unrolled her mat as the class assembled around them. “Kyra is hard on you because you never stop talking.”

  “Hey, that’s not true.”

  Elle waited a beat before snorting. “Yoga is supposed to be calming and peaceful.”

  “Totally,” Riley agreed, getting her own mat ready. “I’m always at peace in this class.”

  “You’re the only one,” Carissa said.

  Undeterred, Riley stuck her tongue out at her.

  Kyra, their instructor, entered the room then and glanced around the studio. “Good morning, everyone.” She put on her favorite playlist and moved to her spot at the front of the room.

  “Namaste,” Riley offered heartily.

  Carissa and Elle started laughing. Kyra gave a pained smile, then turned back to the class. “Time to forget the outside world, everyone. Center yourselves in the room. Focus on your breaths. In...and out.” She moved into child’s pose, and for the next hour, Riley did her best to concentrate on her breathing and how her body was feeling.

  How what she’d like to be feeling was Sawyer’s lips on hers again.

  No, no, no. What is wrong with me! She let out a frustrated sound while everyone else exhaled the troubles from the week.

  “What’s wrong?” Elle whispered.

  “Nothing,” Riley said. “Do you want to grab coffee and some of those yummy glazed doughnuts after this?”

  “Let us move our minds from the material world and take them to a place of reflection,” Kyra’s lyrical voice instructed. “A place where there are no glazed doughnuts.”

  “I’d like to go to a place where the glazed doughnuts didn’t have any calories,” Carissa said quietly. “I’m in for coffee and carbs.”

  “Me, too,” Elle agreed. “I could use some non-wedding-planning girl time. I think Cam is hanging out with Sawyer today.”

  Riley stumbled. Her warrior pose was less warrior, more cowardly lion. “Why are you asking me about Sawyer?” Riley asked defensively.

  “I’m not,” Elle said with a head tilt. “I just mentioned him in passing. Why are you getting so defensive?”

  “And channel your inner child. Your inner quiet child. Your child that stops talking,” Kyra said from the front of the room.

  “Just because I’ve known him forever doesn’t mean anything,” Riley said. “And even though... Okay, okay, we may have kinda, sorta kissed.”

  Carissa and Elle both froze in the middle of their sun salutations.

  “What!” Carissa blurted out loudly.

  A resounding shh came from about six different people. Kyra tapped her foot in a very impatient way.

  “Sorry,” Carissa mumbled, and Elle snickered. “What?” she repeated in a much softer tone.

  “I know. It’s...shocking.”

  Her friends exchanged an amused look. “Um, yeah. You and Sawyer kissing is about as shocking as the sun rising in the east,” C
arissa said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Elle moved into child’s pose but turned her head toward Riley. “After seeing the two of you dance at my engagement party, it was clear to the entire town just how much you guys are into each other.”

  “What are you talking about? We danced for one song.”

  Carissa snorted. “Try three songs in a row.”

  “Ladies,” the yoga instructor said. “I’m going to have to ask you to lower your voices. Or, better yet, stop talking altogether. The quiet will help your mind and body connect.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry, Kyra,” Riley said to the instructor.

  Had she and Sawyer really danced for that long? Holy cow.

  Somehow, and she truly had no idea how, Riley managed to finish class. At the same time, she was somewhat horrified she’d told Elle and Carissa about that kiss. Even though they were her very best friends, she just hadn’t planned on opening up about something she couldn’t quite understand herself yet.

  Luckily, neither of them mentioned it again during class. And not on the walk to The Brewside, either. They ordered three coffees and a bunch of glazed doughnuts and found a somewhat private table in the back corner.

  Maybe luck would be on her side and no one would mention Sawyer and kissing again.

  “So? Are you ever going to tell us the details about this kiss or what?” Carissa asked, licking the glaze off her doughnut.

  Riley sighed. Luck had never been her thing anyway. “I mean, there’s not really much to tell.”

  “Um, there’s a whole bunch to tell, so hop to it. Where? When? How long?” Elle was practically bouncing in her seat.

  “Tongue?” Carissa added.

  Riley rolled her eyes dramatically. “Were we at a seventh-grade dance? Of course there was tongue.”

  Elle pointed her doughnut at Riley. “See, I knew she would spill for carbs.”

  Carissa edged closer to Elle so they were shoulder to shoulder, a united front, staring her down. “You might as well tell us everything. We’re not going to leave you alone until you do.”

  Riley held her ground. For all of point-three seconds. Then she relented, took a huge bite of her doughnut with sprinkles and launched into the story.

  “It was Thanksgiving night,” she began.

  “Hold up.” Carissa pushed a finger into the air for emphasis. “We were there?”

  “Yep.”

  Elle looked thoughtful. “Oh right. The two of you were out on the deck for a while after dinner.”

  “Right. We were just talking and I let it slip that I had been feeling kind of lonely.”

  Both sets of eyes watching her grew in size and filled with worry.

  “Lonely?” Elle asked.

  “Ri, what’s wrong?” Carissa asked.

  Riley waved her hand nonchalantly. “It’s nothing. Just a passing feeling. I was missing my parents.” As much as she loved her friends, she didn’t want to tell them the full truth, which was that she’d been feeling left out since they’d both gotten into extremely serious relationships. She would never want them to feel bad. Besides, she was beyond happy for them.

  Elle tilted her head, studying Riley. “Are you sure that’s all it was?”

  “Positive.” Riley crossed her fingers under the table. “Anyway, Sawyer and I were talking about that and then one thing led to another... Next thing I know, we’re kissing.”

  Neither Elle nor Carissa said anything for a moment. Finally Carissa beamed. “About freaking time.”

  “Totally,” Elle agreed.

  “What are you talking about?” Riley asked. Clearly her friends had lost their minds.

  “You and Sawyer have this insane chemistry,” Elle said. “I noticed it as soon as I returned from Italy last year. It’s palpable.”

  “What?” Riley felt completely gobsmacked. “We don’t... I mean, we can’t. It’s too complicated.”

  “Because he’s your boss?” Elle guessed, sympathy in her light green eyes.

  “Yes. No.” She shook her head. “Not exactly. I mean, he’s my boss, but he’s also my friend. My longtime family friend. And he knows...” She trailed off.

  “He knows what?” Carissa asked. “Like some deep dark secret that you’ve been keeping from us?”

  Riley gulped down her coffee. Hard. The liquid burned her throat. She coughed and turned her head, her gaze landing on a discarded copy of the Bugle, her latest Bayside Blogger post staring back at her. It felt like a huge neon light was pointing straight at her.

  “Oh, please. Riley never hides stuff from us,” Elle said loyally.

  Maybe not, but right now she wanted to hide under the table.

  “But going back to the amazing chemistry between you and Sawyer,” Elle continued. “I even asked Car if you two had dated in the past, or were currently dating. Or, at the very least, hooking up.”

  “I knew you hadn’t,” Carissa piped in. “But I’m not sure why. The way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not paying attention...” She whistled, long and low, and then fanned her face.

  This was all news to Riley. She wanted to hear more about how Sawyer looked at her, but, instead, she focused on something else she’d noted. “Wait a minute. You guys have been talking about me and Sawyer?”

  Elle nodded. “For months.”

  “You’re lucky that we’re the only ones talking about it,” Carissa said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Carissa deliberated between two doughnuts before choosing a chocolate glazed. “I mean, you’re lucky the Bayside Blogger hasn’t mentioned you and Sawyer getting all smoochie-smoochie.”

  Oh, crap. “Uh, yeah, that is lucky.” She swallowed. Hard. “But you know, how would she even know? Sawyer and I were out on his parents’ deck. In the dark.”

  “How does she know anything? Come on. Think about all the embarrassing things she posted about me and Cam. And you and Jasper,” Elle said to Carissa.

  “She’s such a beyotch,” Carissa said.

  “That’s kind of strong,” Riley said, trying to keep the defensiveness out of her voice.

  “Oh, come on, Ri. She put me through hell.”

  “Yeah, but maybe she was just trying to help.”

  Carissa rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Jasper and I almost didn’t get together because of her meddling.”

  The comment was completely unexpected to Riley. And the complete opposite of what she’d thought. She liked to think that her blogs and tweets helped couples find each other. Like she was the final push they needed to realize they were meant to be together.

  “Same with me and Cam,” Elle said. “I was so freaked out by all the attention that I kept pushing him away.”

  Riley was flabbergasted. Sure, she realized she’d blogged about Elle a ton. But that was hardly a surprise. Elle hadn’t been back to Bayside in ten years. Of course, her homecoming had been a big deal.

  To hear that Elle had almost pushed Cam away because of her blogs was insane. She’d assumed they’d become a couple because of her gossip.

  “But, in the end, you wound up together. That has to count for something.” Riley could hear the desperation in her own voice.

  “Why are you defending the Bayside Blogger?” Carissa asked.

  Riley didn’t know what made her do it or why. All she knew was that her brain turned off and her heart kicked in. These were her two best friends and they deserved to know the truth.

  And maybe she really needed to tell the truth. Maybe spilling her guts would help her feel less lonely. Finally. As much as she’d been telling herself that Elle and Carissa’s relationships had come between them, it wasn’t the only thing. There was a big, fat elephant who was constantly present with the three of them. That elephant’s name was the Bayside Blogger.

  “I’m actually�
��”

  “What?” Carissa asked.

  “I’m the Bayside Blogger,” she whispered so low that even she had to strain to hear herself.

  “Huh?” Elle asked.

  “I said...” She took a deep breath. “I am the Bayside Blogger.”

  “Get real, Ri.” Carissa took a long gulp of coffee.

  Elle snorted. “Seriously. She’s written about you plenty.”

  Riley looked down at her hands. Somehow they had become tightly twisted together. She could feel the sweat on her palms. “I had to write about myself.” She glanced around the coffee shop and dropped her voice even lower. “To make it more believable.”

  “Whatever,” Carissa said with a head shake.

  But Elle caught on more quickly. “You’re serious.”

  “No, she’s not.” But Carissa looked from Elle to Riley and then back to Elle.

  “I am. It’s me. I’m her. I’m the Bayside Blogger.” She went on to tell them how she returned from New York and came up with the idea. Neither she nor Sawyer had had any idea that the simple gossip column she’d pitched would turn into what it became.

  When she was finished explaining, she sat back feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. For the most part, she’d been able to keep the secret with little fuss. Besides, she’d had Sawyer to talk to when she needed him. Still, there were times she’d wanted to let Elle and Carissa in.

  Her feeling of calm came to a screeching halt when she saw the expressions on her friends’ faces.

  “Oh, Riley,” Elle said, a combination of hurt and disappointment laced in those two simple words.

  Carissa was worse. She was mad, extending a finger in Riley’s direction. “You wrote all that stuff about me?”

  “Uh, yeah,” she answered quietly. “I never lied, though. All of the things I wrote were true.”

  “And hurtful. You told the entire town that my ex-husband cheated on me. Dammit, Riley. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?” Tears welled up in Carissa’s eyes.

  “But it brought you and Jasper together.” Riley felt desperation creeping into her voice. She realized that what she’d believed all along to be a matchmaking plot might not have gone the way she’d intended—and she was about to pay a price.