by Lexi Aurora
“Owen...” she couldn’t keep the shock from her voice, and she was pretty sure that her eyes were wider than dinner plates at that moment. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello to you, too.” Instead of the grin she’d seen on him numerous times at the movie premiere, now he had a furrowed brow and a suspicious expression. “But uh...why were you talking about...babies? Why are you here? Are you really pregnant or is this just some giant joke?”
“What? No, I’m not pregnant. I’m just here to support Jess; she’s due in a few months, and we just want to make sure we’re prepared and everything, that’s all.”
Owen tilted his head, and his eyebrows slowly lowered. He was quiet for nearly thirty seconds before he said, “Uh huh. So I was just hearing things when you said you had a little person inside of you? You’re an even worse liar than Harrison.” He almost laughed, but then frowned. “Wait... is the baby Harrison’s?”
“Owen...” Riley took a small step closer to him, struggling to hold back her defensive nature; it was clear that he already knew, and upsetting him would only make things worse. When she saw Jessica open her mouth, she held out a hand and shook her head in an ‘I got this’ gesture. “Please don’t tell him; you can’t.”
“Holy shit, it is his? Are you serious? And he doesn’t know?” He raked fingers through his hair and stared at Riley incredulously. “Why haven’t you told him? He has a right to know, Riley.”
“Hey, you need to mind your own business, buddy.” Jessica had her hands on her hips, and she was glaring at Owen through hard brown eyes. “Seriously, you can’t just show up here and start drilling her; she’s been through enough.”
Owen shrugged. “I’m not ‘drilling’ her; I just overheard the conversation and I got a little concerned, that’s all. Riley, you seemed really upset and if I came across as callous or rude, I didn’t mean to. It’s just... Harrison is my best friend, and I really think he’s got a right to know if he’s got a baby coming into the world, okay?”
Jessica frowned and folded her arms across her chest, but seemed to calm with Owen’s words.
“Listen... I didn’t say one way or the other whether it’s even his, and I don’t have to. The bottom line is, Harrison isn’t even my real boyfriend, and I’m not his girlfriend. In the same token, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t tell him... please?” Riley held her breath and folded her arms loosely across her belly.
“That’s for her to do,” Jessica chimed in. “It’s her and Harrison’s business, Owen, and I understand that you’re his friend...but if you get involved, it could just complicate things further because you don’t know the whole story.”
Owen looked at the two of them, an awkward look in his eyes. It was as though he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be shocked, angry, confused, or all three. He rubbed a hand along his jawline and hefted a long, deep sigh. Finally, he briefly lowered his head. “All right... fine, I won’t tell him. But if I find out that the baby is his and you didn’t tell me, you’re both going to owe me way more than just one.”
Inside, Riley was in a near panic. She swore she hadn’t seen Owen when she’d come in here; if she’d known he was here, she never would have broken down the way that she had. Outwardly, however, she looked calm; while not exactly composed, she was at least breathing and functioning...for now. “Thank you, Owen, really. Thank you. We absolutely do owe you one, and I know how hard it is to keep secrets from your friends, believe me; but I just need more time to figure out what I’m going to do before I tell him.” She rubbed hands down her face before she asked, “on another note, what exactly are you doing here?”
Owen seemed perplexed about the subject change, but responded anyway: “One of my cousins just had a baby, so I’m trying to figure out what to get her. Shoes or toys most likely.”
“How about this?” Riley held up the little jumpsuit and smiled, giving it a bit of a shake.
“It’s cute, but...no.” He smiled back at her, and while it appeared genuine, Riley could sense the concern in the expression.
“Listen... Owen...” She gently took him by the arm and guided him closer to the back of the store; her voice was a low whisper. “I’m not trying to hurt Harrison... that’s why I need time to think about what to say to him. I really need a game plan here, so this needs to stay a secret. And it needs to come from me. Okay?”
He didn’t look convinced but nodded slowly. “I get that, I do...but the man’s been hurt enough to last multiple lifetimes. That’s all I’m saying, and you know I can’t go into detail. He’s just been through a lot, and you need to know that.”
“I do...believe me, I do. Please, just...try your best to not say anything. Not yet. Because I have no idea how he’s going to react, and that...almost scares me more than him finding out.”
A wobbly little smile appeared on Owen’s mouth, and he tilted his head. The worry was starting to ease away. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes...I do. I wish I didn’t, but...I do.”
“Well, just so you know, he really likes you, too. And when I say ‘like,’ I mean borderline obsessive. I’m serious, Riley. He might not talk to me much about it, but what he does say, well... I’ve known him long enough now that it’s obvious that he cares for you more than he wants to, which is why I really don’t want to see him get hurt over this; he doesn’t deserve that.”
She nodded and glanced over his shoulder at Jessica, who was watching them both while she pretended to browse. After a heartbeat, she looked back to Owen. “One day I hope he will tell me those things, but I want to hear them from him; just like he needs to hear about this pregnancy from me.”
He sighed again. “He will, because I won’t say anything. You have my word.”
“Thank you so much. Thank you.” She gave one of his shoulders a brief squeeze before she turned and made her way back to Jessica.
“Well?” Jessica glanced over Riley’s shoulder toward Owen.
“He’s going to keep quiet on the grounds that I owe him for his silence. I have no idea what that means, and I don’t really want to know, but...we’re safe for now; Harrison isn’t going to find out from him.”
“Good.” She touched the back of Riley’s arm in a comforting gesture and dragged her into a brief, but meaningful hug. “It’ll be okay, Riley... everything will be okay.”
“I really hope so.” She hugged Jessica back and then stepped away and offered her the best smile that she could muster. “Ready to do some actual shopping now that that awkwardness is out of the way? I’ll even let you pick out some shoes.”
“Pfft, ‘let me?’ Please, you know I’m gonna go ahead and do it anyway!”
They both laughed again, the sound of their relieved joy reverberating throughout the small store. Riley found herself almost wishing that it had been Harrison rather than Owen, just because at least then she wouldn’t have to hold onto this immensely important secret. As she browsed through little pants and toys, her thoughts drifted back to the problem at hand: How was she going to tell Harrison that she was pregnant?
Chapter Fourteen
“YOU’RE GOOD TO GO, McCoy; just sign off right here, here, and here. And don’t forget to add in the dates.” The building inspector handed a pen over to Harrison, who signed in all the places he’d been instructed to. Once that was done, he handed both the pen and the paper back to the inspector.
“Excellent, thank you. When do you think I can get rolling on my alternative energy experiments?”
“As soon as I file this away.” She held up the paperwork. “It should take less than a week, and you will be notified. But everything looked good! Just make sure to keep a copy of everything that we send you; we will do routine and random inspections throughout the year, just like we do with all your other buildings.”
“Perfect; thank you again.” He gave the inspector’s hand a quick shake, just barely holding back his grin. This project had been tough to get off the ground, but now everything seeme
d to be coming together; he couldn’t wait to let Jeff know.
He looked the magnificent building up and down and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The smile on his face wouldn’t go away as soon as the inspector left, and he was quick to call Jeff on his cell.
“Hey, Jeff,” he said as soon as the other man answered. “My building just passed inspections; we’re good to go on this front, so I’ll let you know when I get everything started. Maybe in a week or so. In the meantime, what do you say to a drink?”
“Hey, Harrison. That sounds good, congrats! Come on over to my place in about thirty minutes and I’ll set something up for us. Would you like a good old-fashioned beer?”
“Sounds perfect to me; I’ll see you there.” He hung up the phone and looked over at the building again. That smile gradually faded away, and he allowed thoughts of Riley to enter his mind. They still didn’t know very much about one another, and while he wanted to tell her everything, he couldn’t help but ask himself if she was only in this for the sex. What was her motivation? Who was she, really? And what did she actually want? Why had she become so difficult to read lately? Was she just tolerating him? Or was she afraid?
He’d asked himself those same questions many times before, but still, there were no answers. He would try to get to know her better, he decided. Maybe try to entice the information out of her by telling her more about himself. If he wasn’t so guarded and mysterious, perhaps she would be more willing to talk to him.
“Just talk to her,” he murmured as he made his way to his car.
Within ten minutes, he arrived at Jeff and Tracey’s home. Without pause, he rapped the back of his knuckles against the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before Jeff opened the door and gestured for him to come inside.
“Nice to see you, Harrison. Come on in. And congrats again.”
“Thanks. I can’t wait to get everything started.” He shook his hand and stepped inside, kicking off his shoes as he did so.
“You and me both. Now tell me...how have things been going with Riley? I haven’t heard too much from her lately. Things going okay between the two of you?”
Jeff’s mention of Riley sent Harrison’s thoughts right back to her and all of those unanswered questions. He felt so torn between his own reservations and the feelings that he had for Riley that he almost didn’t know what to say. And Harrison didn’t experience speechlessness often. As he ventured further into the house and sat down on the living room couch, he decided to keep his feelings for Riley out of the picture for now. After all, he had no idea how she felt. Even though she had confessed that she liked him during their last romp, she was just so difficult to read; he needed solid evidence before he went around telling everyone.
“Not bad,” he ended up saying. “The media has sort of backed off, so we’re in a much better position than we were before. And she seems pretty happy with it all, too; I haven’t heard anyone call her a ‘serial dater’ in weeks. They seem more interested in our current relationship than what’s happened in the past.”
“Good, that’s excellent.”
“Everyone seems to have accepted that we’re a thing now, so...yes, I think it will benefit us in more ways than one.” He flashed Jeff a toothy smile and held up his beer. “To success.”
“Here, here, I’ll drink to that.” He lifted his own beer and clinked it with Harrison’s.
“This beer is amazing by the way; I’ve never had anything quite like it.”
“Thank you. Tracey brews it herself when she’s not busy with the kids or fundraising. We have our own brewery a few miles from here. You should come sometime.”
“I’ll be sure to.” He raised the bottle once more before taking down a few more sips. Even as he chatted with Jeff about the business and investments, his focus was only half there. He couldn’t stop Riley from entering his thoughts no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. In fact, the thought of Riley’s body, her mouth, her very presence, excited him even more than passing the building inspection today. That alone begged the question that scared Harrison the most:
Had he fallen for Riley Byrne?
HARRISON HAD TAKEN a cab home since he’d had a few drinks with Jeff in celebration of passing the building inspection; the new business was good to go. Still, the celebration was bittersweet in the wake of Riley. Harrison wished he knew without any doubt how she felt about him, and as he sat there alone in front of the fireplace, he knew that he had to know; there was no way around it.
Harrison got up and walked into the kitchen. He looked out the window and took in the view of the city below him, something he knew Riley loved. She’d seemed really taken with the view from the rooftop terrace.
He weighed his phone in his hand a few times and looked down at its glossy surface. Debating whether or not to call her was absolute torture, and as he strode up the stairs to the roof, he dialed Owen’s number instead. As he held the phone to his ear and waited for an answer, he got his friend’s voicemail instead.
“Hey, call me,” was all he managed to say before he hung up. He tossed the phone down on a cushioned chair and went to the black metal railing that surrounded the terrace. He leaned his forearms against the railing, the wind breezing gently through his hair. He stared off into the distance for what seemed like the longest time and thought about his beginnings. While he didn’t remember much, he was very aware that his own parents had abandoned him not long after he’d been born. He’d learned from social workers and family members that his parents had both been heavily addicted to heroin; they’d chosen drugs over their own child.
That reality sent a pang through his chest, like a pain he’d never be free of. Before his thoughts could take him further into what had been his childhood, his phone rang.
He turned from the view and answered without looking at who was on the other end: “McCoy.”
“Hey, it’s Owen. You called?”
“Oh... yeah, I was just.... It’s complicated.”
“Let me guess: Riley?”
“How did you know?”
“Come on, man, I’ve known you forever; it’s to the point now where I probably know you better than you know yourself. So what issue is so ‘complicated’ that you can’t tell me about it?”
Harrison was quiet for a long time, and as he turned his back to the railing and leaned against it, he thought of his and Riley’s last few nights together. “You’re right,” he admitted. “It is Riley. I just...really have no idea what to do about her. Or how to tell her exactly...how I feel.”
“Shit, dude... are you in love?” Owen sounded incredulous.
“No... maybe... I don’t know. Probably? I don’t know how to answer that... it’s–”
“Complicated, yeah. I heard you the first time. Listen, first of all, it’s super weird that I’m actually about to give you girl advice because that never happens. Second, call her. Invite her over for dinner, set everything up the way you do, sit down with her...and tell her how you feel. Talk to her about you, ask her about her. Just get a conversation rolling and see where it takes you.”
“And this is why you never get any of the ladies and I get them all.” He paused, then continued, “all jokes aside, you’re probably right, I just... yeah, I have no idea.”
“This is officially the most awkward phone conversation we’ve ever had. Seriously, Harrison, it is. But if you have feelings for this girl, then tell her. Open yourself up to her even though it’s hard and it sucks, I know. Been there. Rejection is hell, but if you don’t take that chance...” When Harrison didn’t respond, Owen kept talking to him. “I know what happened with your parents was unfair. I know it hurt you, bad. But man...you can’t let shit like that define you for the rest of your life. Harrison, you just can’t. So get off the damn phone and call Riley over for dinner. I’m telling you, you need to do this.”
Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Deep down, he knew Owen was right, but that made it even more terrifying than it alr
eady was. “You’re right... okay... I’ll call her and invite her over and...”
Owen burst into laughter. “You sound like some chump on his first date; you know what you’re doing better than most of us. Good luck, man.”
Click.
When Owen hung up, Harrison sank down into one of the chairs and stared down at the phone. He swore he could hear his own heart beating against the silence up there; in the near distance he could just barely make out the sound of traffic.
“Just call her,” he murmured. “Just call the damn girl...”
He got up again, in mental agony, and moved back over to the railing. Leaning a hip against it, he licked his lips before he dialed Riley’s number. As he placed it to his ear, he closed his eyes... and waited.
“Harrison?”
“Hey, yeah. It’s me. How’d you know it was me?”
“Speed dial?” He could hear the soft amusement in her giggle.
“Right... of course.”
“So... what did you call me for?”
“I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my place for dinner tonight? My treat, I’ll have everything cooked and ready to go by the time you get here. Also, do you like French wine?”
“Um... sure.” She was silent for a breath. “Yes, I would love to come... I can be there around seven?”
“Seven is perfect; I’ll see you soon, Riley.”
Even as Riley hung up on the other end, Harrison’s heart was pounding with excitement and anticipation. Tonight, he decided, would be the night.
Tonight, he was going to tell Riley that he’d fallen for her.
