by Amanda Ashby
“What’s this?” Gloria said, sounding more like a major general than a librarian.
“N-nothing,” Riley stammered as the color mounted in her cheeks. Will tightened his jaw as she began to stack the books she’d been lovingly wrapping. “I’m just finishing up and Will’s here to collect me.”
“I see.” Gloria was silent as she studied them both. “I heard the staff talking about you two this morning, but I assumed it was just gossip. Are you telling me that you’re seeing this man?”
If Will wasn’t sitting in a tiny chair designed for a six-year-old he would’ve folded his arms and glared Gloria down. How dare she think it was her business to ask Riley about her personal life? It was disrespectful—not to mention illegal. As he watched Riley continue to flush, his annoyance increased. Riley could see who she wanted, when she wanted, and her boss would just have to deal with it.
“Yes, we’re dating,” Will said in a firm voice, but instead of giving him a grateful smile, Riley’s whole face went pale. In fact, if he didn’t know better he would’ve guessed that his fake girlfriend was annoyed at him.
“What?” Gloria’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you were single.”
“I am.” Riley jumped to her feet and gave an adamant shake of her head. Unfortunately, in the process she exposed Will to the distracting sight of her long legs. His pulse flickered. “I’m totally single. No one is more single than I am. Will’s just my upstairs neighbor. My gay neighbor.”
“What?” Will started to say before realizing that if he hadn’t been looking at Riley’s legs, he would’ve caught the pleading look she was giving him. “Er, I mean yes. I just live upstairs. Riley sometimes waters my potted plants. In fact, that’s why I’m here. I have a potted-plant emergency.”
“I see.” Gloria remained tight lipped. “Well, I need Riley to help shut down the computers if your emergency can wait until she’s finished.”
“Sure,” He could take a hint. Will went outside and waited on one of the concrete benches until Riley finally appeared fifteen minutes later.
“I’m so sorry.” She collapsed next to him, her red hair flying in all directions as she let out a long sigh. “I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in that.”
“Caught up in what?” he said. “I don’t even know what that was. Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“Of course not.” She took off her glasses and rubbed her brow, as if a headache was forming. “It’s just kind of complicated. You see, Gloria’s nephew Calvin lives in California, but last time he was in Seattle she tried to set us up.”
“What?” The words were out of Will’s mouth before he could stop them. “You went on a date with your boss’s nephew and didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone,” Riley said in surprise. “Mainly because it wasn’t a date, it was just a favor for Gloria. And since Calvin was a bit of a bore, there wasn’t anything much to say. But this morning she told me Calvin was going to be in town next week, and asked if I’d go out with him again. But, look, I get that you’re mad I called you gay—”
“Riley, I don’t care two hoots that you called me gay,” Will cut her off. “This is about you and your boss. I know that you want your promotion, and while I personally think that babysitting a guinea pig is insane, I get it. But you can’t go on a date with her nephew just to impress her.”
“Why not?” Riley blinked as her lower lip formed a mulish line, which for some reason made Will even more annoyed. “After all, I’m going on a date with you. Two actually, one tonight and one on Saturday. What’s the difference?”
“What’s the difference?” Will spluttered. “How can you even ask that? We’re friends and this is a favor; I’m not holding a promotion over your head. I’m not making you jump through hoops.”
“I know that, but it still doesn’t give you the right to dictate what I do at work,” Riley said, two small balls of red rising up on her cheeks.
Will opened his mouth and then shut it again.
She was right.
She was absolutely right and instead of acknowledging it, he was sitting there judging her and Gloria while ignoring the fact that he was in the wrong too. For a moment he was silent before he turned to her and mustered up an apologetic smile.
“I’m an idiot and I’m sorry. It’s none of my business who you do or don’t date, or what your reasons are for doing it. Forgive me?”
“Of course I forgive you.” Some of the tension left her mouth. “I know you think that I’m being dumb about the work stuff, but it’s important to me.”
“I don’t think you’re being dumb.” Will was filled with guilt. He’d met her parents numerous times and while they were warm, kind and caring, he also knew that between their many marriages Riley had been dragged around from place to place and family to family, never quite sure where she belonged. He also knew that money had always been tight and thanks to her mom’s latest misadventure, it was tighter still. He was a dope for making her feel bad about wanting to get ahead. “I’m sorry I put you in a bad position with your crazy boss. That was never my intention. Do you want to fake dump me? Would that help?”
For a moment Riley was silent before letting out a small giggle. “No. This whole thing’s already ridiculous. We don’t need to make it worse by getting involved with a fake breakup. Let’s just make sure we get through it unscathed.”
“Deal,” he said, feeling considerably better as they both stood up.
He knew that when he wasn’t in town, Riley normally got a lift home with Italy or caught the bus, but when he was around it had long been their habit to make the half an hour walk together, often stopping at a coffee shop or bar along the way. He smiled as they began to stroll in companionable silence. If he was going to have a fake girlfriend he was glad it was one who wore motorbike boots with floral dresses and who wrapped up books in newspaper to inspire young kids to read. And, as the late afternoon sun shone down, he realized that maybe there was a silver lining to this day after all.
Chapter Five
“Wait, he dropped a spider down your shirt just before he kissed you for the first time?” One of the bridesmaids leaned forward, her perfect lips forming an O-shaped pout as they all sat around the long restaurant table, the remnants of the delicious meal all but cleared away.
“Fake spider,” Riley corrected in a serious voice, which caused even more startled looks. It wasn’t her best work, but when one of them had asked her how her and Will’s first kiss had happened, it was the first thing that she thought of. Still, as she took in the dark looks the girls were all sending Will, she knew that he no longer had to worry about Tucker trying to set him up on a date.
And she hadn’t even been forced to kiss him again.
She peered over to where he was talking with Tucker and smiled. A lot of people thought that Tucker was the more handsome of the two brothers but Riley had never been able to see it. While his brother might have a couple of inches on him and a stronger jaw, Will’s pale sea-blue eyes were more intense and showed his emotions like a barometer, and she loved the curve of his throat.
Stop. Her face heated and she let out a soft groan.
What was wrong with her?
For two years she and Will had been blissfully happy just being friends as they both chased their own goals. But suddenly after one kiss, everything that she cared about and believed in had gone out the window.
This was getting ridiculous. She needed to focus on her job. On the kids in her book club. On all the things that made up her everyday life. And, as much as she adored Will as a friend, he wasn’t one of those things.
She sucked in a breath and was just about to excuse herself from the table when her cell phone beeped and a text message from her father flashed up on the screen. Tom had only just learned how to text, thanks to his last job delivering pizzas somewhere in Memphis, and had taken to sending h
er random positive thoughts. This one read, Every problem is a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, someone else must’ve shown him how to add emoticons and the message was accompanied by two dancing pigs.
A second text came in a moment later from him, asking her to call her mom.
Riley put away her cell phone and rubbed her brow. Her mom had left several messages saying that she had a big surprise, but Riley hadn’t quite mustered up the energy to return any of the calls, mainly because it could be anything from a new boyfriend to getting a tattoo on her shoulder. It also highlighted the problem of having parents who stayed friendly after their divorce. It meant that they could gang up on her.
She made a mental note to call as soon as the wedding was over.
“Is everything okay?” Tucker’s fiancée, Danni, suddenly asked. Riley resisted the urge to explain that her family was crazy, she was in a fake relationship with her best friend and that her head hurt from where Italy had insisted on pinning her hair into an up-do. Instead she just nodded.
“Oh, um, yes. Totally,” she said. “I was just thinking about how lovely the meal was. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome.” Danni beamed. Despite Riley’s thoughts on love and marriage, it was easy to see why Tucker had fallen for the schoolteacher with the warm smile and the short dark curls that framed her face, making her look more like a pixie than a bride-to-be. “I feel like I already know you—whenever Tucker talks about Will, your name comes up. And speaking of Will, I just wanted to say thank you for convincing him to come back for the wedding. Tucker was worried that he wouldn’t be here.”
“It wasn’t anything to do with me,” Riley said truthfully, not bothering to add that until yesterday she didn’t even know about the wedding. “Will decided all on his own.”
“Oh.” Danni let out an apologetic gasp as her smile faded. “Now I feel terrible for thinking he needed convincing. It’s just I know how awkward it is in their family, and Lisa told me that he’d sworn never to be in the same room with her again. I guess I just jumped to conclusions. Not that I can blame him. It’s a pretty terrible situation to be in.”
“It’s not ideal,” Riley agreed in a diplomatic voice, especially since it was the reason she’d been roped into the whole wedding thing in the first place. Not that she could tell Danni that. In fact, normally she wouldn’t tell Danni anything since Will despised being talked about, but she hated the idea that anyone might see him as a victim. Yes, his father and Lisa had hurt him in an unbelievable way, but instead of letting that destroy him, he’d gone on to do amazing things with his life.
He’d proved to everyone that he was so much more than just Lisa’s ex-fiancée or his father’s black sheep of a son. She took a deep breath.
“Look. This really isn’t my business, but it’s important you know that Will would never let down someone he loves, and he loves his brother.”
“I appreciate you telling me,” Danni said, her blue eyes filled with remorse. “And I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusions. I’m always reminding my kids at school not to judge people at face value and here am I doing exactly that.”
“It’s okay.” Riley took off her glasses and was about to rub her eyes before remembering she had makeup on. She sighed instead. “I guess it’s hard to get to know Will when he lives thousands of miles away. But trust me, he’s amazing, kind and funny.”
And a great kisser.
“You don’t need to convince me.” Danni gave her a soft smile. “He has a lot of fans. Tucker, his father, Lisa—”
“Lisa?” Riley stiffened. “I can only imagine what she would say about him.”
“I take it you haven’t met her,” Danni said.
“No. They’d broken up before I moved into Will’s building,” Riley said. But while she might not have ever met Will’s ex-fiancée, she’d seen firsthand just how much damage her betrayal had done to him. How his relationships never lasted and how much of a problem he had trusting people. Then, despite herself, Riley found herself leaning forward. “What’s she like?”
“From what I can tell, she feels genuinely bad about what happened. I think she’s tried to reach out to Will a couple of times to apologize but he refuses to talk to her. Of course now that he’s got you, it’s hopefully all water under the bridge.”
“Right.” Riley obediently nodded, not bothering to correct Danni about Lisa. After all, she supposed in a weird way Lisa and Danni would soon be related, so Riley didn’t want to be the one to say what had really happened. How Lisa had ruthlessly gone from son to father, following the money like a truffle hound.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to even bring her up. What I really wanted to ask was if Will actually was as crazy as he sounds. Did he really do a fun-run dressed up as fairy godmother?”
“He sure did. I even have the photographs to prove it.” The tension in her shoulders loosened as she flicked through her cell phone. The library had entered a team in the fun-run to raise money for the local hospital, but when Riley had been forced to pull out with an ankle injury, Will, who’d only been back for two days, immediately volunteered to take her place. The costume had looked ridiculous, but the fact that he was doing it at all caused the donations to flood in. They had ended up raising twice as much as they’d hoped. Plus, he’d kept the rest of the team in good spirits with his energy and humor.
“That’s hilarious.” Danni grinned at a photograph of Will wearing a full silver dress and glittery wings, holding a winner’s trophy above his head while he had one arm casually draped over Riley’s shoulder. “You two are so adorable together. It’s easy to see even then that there was chemistry between you.”
“You can see chemistry?” Riley said in surprise, but as she studied the photograph all she could see was what she always saw. Will proving to the world that he was more than the person his father had tried to make him become. That he was funny, kind and loyal.
“Um, yeah.” Danni gave an emphatic nod. “Look at the smile on his face and the way his eyes are focused only on you. Those Henderson brothers sure know how to make a girl feel special.”
“I guess they do.” Riley suddenly wished she’d picked a different photograph, because it was one thing to trick people about their relationship in theory, it was another thing to have to do it face-to-face. Especially since what she’d seen of Danni so far, she really liked. However, before she could answer, Will appeared at her side and her whole body tingled in response.
“Really, Riley? Out of all the photos you could show my future sister-in-law, you decided to choose one of me wearing a dress and tiara?” Will said as he leaned over her shoulder, his full mouth twisted into a mock frown. His arm grazed hers and heat climbed her body.
“It was my fault,” Danni said as Tucker dropped down into the chair next to his fiancée. “I was asking about it. Tucker might not have mentioned it, but I’m an incurable snoop. Sorry.”
“Hey, future wife, don’t apologize for being snoopy. If you weren’t then we might never have met,” Tucker scolded before spinning Danni around and thoroughly kissing her. It went on for quite some time until Will finally coughed. Tucker grinned as he pulled away.
“Sorry, it’s an occupational hazard. You should’ve seen us on our date night. The waiter had to bring our starters back three times.”
“Tucker, I’m not sure everyone needs to hear that story.” Color mounted on Danni’s cheeks but Tucker just laughed some more.
“I’m sure they’ve done worse. Will never was one for following the rules. Come on, brother, tell us what you two have done on date night.”
“Um, nothing, on account of the fact that we’re not a married couple with four kids. We don’t have a date night.”
“What do you mean you don’t have a date night? That makes no sense. Everyone needs a date night.” Deep lines marked Tucker’s brow, making him look almost comical.
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br /> “You’ll have to excuse my romantic fiancé.” Danni gave Tucker an affectionate pat on the arm. “He thinks that what works for us will work for everyone. Besides, Will and Riley only get to see each other in person for a few weeks at a time. I’m sure that every night is a date night for them.”
“Er, yeah.” Riley tried to look as loving as she possibly could. It probably wasn’t a good time to mention that her idea of a date night normally involved re-reading Pride and Prejudice while wearing her sweats and eating ice cream. “Every night is date night for us.”
“I still don’t like it,” Tucker muttered.
“Nonsense,” Danni cut in before giving them both an apologetic smile as she dragged Tucker toward her. “Besides, right now all I’m interested in is how romantic you are.”
“Challenge accepted,” Tucker said as he kissed her again. This time, he showed no sign of stopping. Will groaned as he nodded for Riley to join him over by the bar. She followed, careful not to touch him. Since when did her best friend need to come with a warning label?
“I think we’re going to be getting a lot more of that over the next few days,” he said. “So, what were you two talking about before I came over?”
“Oh.” The swirling sensation in the pit of her stomach disappeared as she recalled their conversation. “Nothing. Just stuff.”
“Riley, you are many wonderful things, but a liar isn’t one of them,” Will chided as his dimples danced around his cheeks. “Let me guess, she mentioned my father and Lisa.”
“I’m sorry.” She sighed while making a mental note to work on her lying skills. Tomorrow she’d have to check out the non-fiction books about body language. “She didn’t mean to. She was just thanking me for convincing you to come to the wedding. Tucker thought you might not make it. Then Lisa’s name came up. Apparently she’s been trying to apologize to you.”
