“I want Riley to be happy,” I said defensively, and loudly. Loud enough that the other conversations in the yard stopped and all eyes darted to me—including Riley’s.
Jasper leaned over the arm of his lawn chair and whispered, “I know that, and so does she. But you asked how she was. She’s overwhelmed, Camden. People keep dropping things in her lap instead of trying to unload her burden.”
Before he even finished his statement, Riley was walking toward us, a worried expression on her face.
“Everything okay over here?” she asked, her eyes darting between Jasper and me.
“Everything’s fine,” I replied before Jasper had a chance, opening my arms and giving her the cue to sit on my lap. “We were just discussing work, and it seems Jasper and I both care very much about your happiness.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked sweetly as she took a seat, her legs dangling off the side of my leg. She wrapped an arm around my neck and looked at me like I’d just dropped another weight atop all the others she was already carrying around.
“Nothing, babe. I just don’t want you overworked or overstressed.”
Her hand came up to my cheek and her brow furrowed.
It still baffled me sometimes how strange the notion was to her that someone wanted to take care of her.
“I’m fine, Camden. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“The thing is, babe, you wouldn’t tell me if there was something to worry about.” She opened her mouth to argue but I continued. “And that’s mostly because you push and push and give and give until there’s nothing left.” My hand twined its way into the hair at her nape, pulling her closer. “You give so much of yourself to others, and I’m afraid you don’t have enough of yourself left over for you.”
“Camden,” she whispered, resting her forehead against my own.
“I’m worried about you.” My voice sounded even smaller than hers, and I realized it was because I was afraid that what I was saying was truer than I could even comprehend. Riley would push herself past her own limits and no one would ever know because she was so good at hiding it—even from herself.
“We’re gonna head out,” I heard Hadley say softly from somewhere behind us.
Riley started to sit up fully and make her way off my lap, but Jasper intervened.
“No, Riley, it’s fine. We’ll show ourselves out.”
“Thank you for coming,” Riley said softly. “And Hadley, thank you for everything. It was amazing.”
“Anything for you, best friend for life.” She blew Riley a kiss and then made her way into the house with Jasper following behind.
“I’m going to take Rachel home,” Tripp said as he and Rachel headed toward the house too. I noticed her hand was firmly clasped in his, and I tucked that away in the back of my mind as something to worry about later.
“Wait,” Riley cried. “We hardly got to talk at all.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“Camden said I could crash at his place.”
“Oh,” she said on a sigh, relaxing a little.
“See you later, sis,” Tripp said just before he placed a kiss on her cheek.
“Bye, Rachel. See you next week.”
Rachel gave a shy wave, and it was obvious she felt weird about leaving with Riley’s brother. But not weird enough to find a different way home. I gave Tripp access to my condo, but I suddenly wondered if he’d be staying there alone.
“Come on, let’s go upstairs.”
“What’s upstairs?”
“You’ll see,” I said softly as I brushed a tendril of her dark brown hair behind her ear.
She stood and I followed, her hand in mine as I led her to the house. I took her up the stairs to the master bedroom where the air mattress I’d purchased was fully inflated and covered in fluffy blankets and a mountain of pillows. I couldn’t get our actual bed there in time, but this would do.
“I wanted to spend the night with you in our new house,” I said when her eyes fell upon the setup.
Her mouth parted slightly but no words came out. She looked at the makeshift bed, then back at me. Then back at the bed for a moment. Then back to me.
“I can’t with you.” Luckily, she said the words with a smile, then wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her face into my chest. “Why are you constantly doing things like this? I can’t keep up with you. I never know what to expect.”
“Just expect to be happy,” I said against her head, running my hand down her soft hair.
“How happy?” she asked, pulling back and looking at me with all kinds of seriousness across her face. “On a scale of one to ten, where should I expect my happy-ometer to be?”
“If you’re not at a solid seven for eighty percent of the time, I’m not doing my job.” I pulled her closer, peppering kisses from one side of her jaw to the other. I couldn’t fucking handle it when she tried to be cute.
“And when should I expect to be in the eight-to-ten range?” Her words were breathy and she pressed her breasts into my chest as her hands slid up my shoulders and her arms wound around my neck.
“Whenever I’m inside you,” I growled.
“Can we arrange for me to be at a nine-point-five in about ten minutes?”
“I think I can make that happen.”
Chapter Eleven
Riley
“How come every time I come in this house, I find you sitting on your ass?”
Tripp’s voice caught me off guard, making me jump. Luckily, I’d just unpacked the box with the throw pillows for the couch, so I tossed one at him.
Of course, he caught it.
“I’m obviously in a supervisory role,” I said just before he tossed the pillow back at me. We both laughed when it smacked me directly in the face.
Camden and Justin went to return the moving truck we’d rented and were going to bring home pizza for lunch. We’d been moving all morning and afternoon, and even though there were a few things left here and there at the old places, we were pretty much done. And we were pretty much exhausted.
Tripp came over to the couch and plopped down next to me, letting out a large sigh.
“Moving all your shit is hard work.”
“I know, right?”
“Did you pull any muscles carrying the pillows?” he asked sarcastically.
“No, but I broke a nail.”
Suddenly, his big arm was wrapped around my neck and my face was shoved against his side, his other hand purposefully messing up my hair.
“Hey,” I cried out. “Knock it off.”
After thirty seconds of struggling against him, trying my hardest to break his hold and being completely unsuccessful, he finally let me go.
“When did you get to be such a bully?” I said with mock irritation as I tried to fix my hair.
He shrugged. “Just making up for all those years you were bigger than me and used it to your advantage.”
“Remember how Mom used to always warn me that one day you’d be bigger than me and that the roles would reverse?” I let out a loud laugh. “Guess she was right.”
“Funny how when you’re young you think your mom knows nothing. Turns out Mom is pretty smart.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, pulling my hair through the rubber band and then leaning back against the couch, my arm touching Tripp’s.
“Did you guys have a good visit when you were down there? I know things have been tense between you two for a while.”
“I think so. It was definitely cathartic.”
“How so?” he asked, looking over at me.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, nibbling on my bottom lip, trying to think of a clear and concise answer to his question.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s fine, I’m just still trying to process everything.” I took in a deep breath and decided to let my thou
ghts out, unrestrained. “I guess for a really long time I’d been a little selfish in blaming Mom for how horrible the four years in Arizona was. When I finally vocalized everything that had been bothering me, she put me in my place.”
“What do you mean? Was she mad?”
“No, she just made me see a different viewpoint.” He gave me a questioning look, raising one eyebrow dramatically. “It had never occurred to me that Mom was just trying to give us a good life. I was so wrapped up in my unhappiness that it clouded everything else around me. I was so focused on what I didn’t think I had I was blind to everything she was trying to provide. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah,” he replied thoughtfully. “To be honest, Smiley Riley,” he said, using his childhood nickname for me and bumping my shoulder with his, “I can see both your points on this one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I was four years younger and I could still tell you were unhappy. And maybe Mom should’ve done something more to help you. But she was also a single parent and doing her best. For what it’s worth though, I think you turned out fine.” He said the last part with a shrug, as if he was talking about lasagna, not his sister.
“Thanks,” I said, slapping him lightly.
“All I know is that neither one of you is malicious, so if her actions hurt you, it wasn’t her intent, and vice versa.”
“I know that too,” I said quietly. “And thank you.” My baby brother had done a lot of growing up since I’d left Arizona. When he moved to Oregon I thought I’d see more of him, but obviously that wasn’t the case. “I miss you, you know.”
“Aw, shucks, sis,” he said goofily. “I miss you too. You and Camden should come visit every once in a while.”
“I know. We should. Hopefully things will calm down soon and we can make a trip.” I looked over at him. “Is it possible that you have a new reason to come to Portland more often though?” I asked, batting my eyes at him, my tone teasing.
“Shut up,” he said, pushing me again. Although the blush creeping over his face told me I’d hit a nerve.
“Did Rachel stay at her own place last night?” I waggled my eyebrows at him.
“Yes,” he insisted, but his cheeks just grew a deeper shade of red.
“Uh-huh. And what time did you end up getting to Camden’s condo?”
“I don’t kiss and tell, sis.”
“So there was kissing?”
“Shut up, Riley.” He smiled, but I knew I was pushing my luck.
“Rachel’s a friend of mine, okay. And you’re my brother. I understand not everything has to be serious, but I don’t want either of you hurt. So be careful with her.”
Tripp gave me a withering look. “I’m not some playboy dick, you know. I don’t just sleep with women and then drop off the face of the planet.”
“You slept with her?” I cried, eyes shooting wide open.
“Oh my God,” he said, exasperated, and stood up from the couch. “I’m not talking about this with you anymore.” He started walking toward the stairs.
“If you’re going upstairs, could you take a box with you?”
He didn’t answer me, but he did use his hands to make a rude gesture.
I just laughed. “Love you,” I called out after he’d disappeared.
It took a moment, but I heard him yell, “Love you too.”
Yeah, I missed my baby brother.
Chapter Twelve
Riley
Oh holy hell.
My alarm was blaring and I was too sore to roll over and turn it off.
“I think I’m dying,” I groaned into my pillow. The bed shifted and I felt Camden lean over me and grab my phone off my nightstand.
“Time to get up.” Camden’s voice was raspy from sleep. Super sexy. He rolled back over me but gave my ass a sharp slap before he was completely clear.
I yelped and then moved my hand to the spot, rubbing it but then groaning because moving hurt even more than the stinging on my butt cheek.
“I’m never moving again.” I rolled onto my back, whining the whole way.
“That’s the idea, babe.”
“You be quiet. You don’t have to get up for another two hours. I’m not talking to you.”
“Don’t you need a ride to the airport?”
“I was just going to take an Uber.”
He rolled back over and gave me a searing look. “I’ll drive you.”
Even though my whole body was sore from lifting boxes and walking up and down stairs all weekend, I relaxed a little at his words.
“Okay,” I agreed. It was pretty sweet that he wanted to take me to the airport, even though an Uber would do just fine. I wasn’t going to argue with him. “I’m going to go take the hottest shower known to man.” I stood up slowly, feeling every muscle stretch and strain along the way, and padded into the bathroom. I’d only spent the weekend at the new house, but fuck if I didn’t fall in love with my new bathroom. If I wasn’t trying to catch a plane that morning, I would’ve drawn a bath, but instead I turned on the waterfall shower head and made it as hot as I could stand it.
Ten minutes later, I was still standing under the hot water when I heard Camden’s voice.
“I’ll never again live in a house without a glass shower.”
Opening my eyes at his voice, I saw him leaning against the doorjamb, a sexy smirk on his face.
“You perv,” I said, even though I really liked the idea of him watching me shower. And even more, I looked forward to the day I could do the same to him.
“Pervy and proud,” he said with a laugh. “Here.” He walked to the opening of the walk-in shower and held out his hand, showing me two pills. “Advil.”
“Ugh,” I groaned, taking the pills from him. “You’re the best.” I popped them in my mouth, then filled my mouth with water and swallowed them down.
“Also,” he said, holding out his other hand, which was wrapped around my phone, “it’s been going off like crazy for about five minutes.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t look.”
“Well aren’t you the good fiancé who doesn’t invade my privacy.” I made a loud and exaggerated kissy face at him. “But will you check it for me? It’s probably just Hadley with some crazy story from the weekend.”
I watched as he swiped across the phone screen and tapped it a few times.
“It’s Rose.”
“Rose? What did she say?”
“There’re, like, ten texts from her.” I watch as he scrolls up on my phone and it’s obvious he’s reading. After a few moments he says while still scrolling, “Looks like she’s sick and can’t make it to Arizona.”
“The trip is canceled?” I asked hopefully, the idea of crawling back into bed for a few hours totally bringing a smile to my face.
“Uh, no, she wants you to go without her.”
“What?” I cried out. “By myself?”
“Looks that way.”
“What?” I cried again, only that time more hysteria laced my words. “I can’t go alone.”
“She thinks she ate something bad and has food poisoning. She can’t fly.” He keeps scrolling and reading. “She already had a car to chauffeur the two of you around, so there should be a driver waiting for you when you land. They’ll take you to the hotel and then wherever else you need. She says she’ll email you the itinerary.”
“Oh my God,” I sob dramatically into the water. “This is going to suck so bad.”
“Maybe it’ll be better by yourself,” he supplied, his voice hopeful.
“No, Rose was a really good buffer between Penelope and me. Now I’ll have to be the point person and I’m confident it’s going to suck.”
“Well, at least it’s just two days. Tomorrow night you’ll be home and it’ll be over.”
“Uhhhh,” I groaned. The day just seemed to be getting worse and worse. Only the thought of a nice alcoholic drink by the pool that evening made the idea of going to
Arizona the least bit palatable.
As the morning progressed, I made the conscious decision to just grin and bear it. I gave myself a silent pep talk all the way to the airport, telling myself that if I thought it was going to be a horrible trip, it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I had to put positive vibes out into the universe.
Camden pulled my small carry-on bag from the trunk of the Batmobile and set it on the ground next to me.
“Are you going to be all right going by yourself?”
I waved his question away. “I’ll be fine. It might be fun even. Everyone loves meeting with caterers. Free samples of yummy food—what’s not to love?”
Camden clearly saw right through my positivity ruse but was smart enough not to comment on it. “Call me when you land, okay? I might be in a meeting, but leave a message.” His hand came up to cup my face and he leaned in, kissing me softly. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” I replied with a sigh. Turning and grabbing the handle of my bag, I walked into the airport, repeating under my breath, “It’s just two days. It’s just two days.”
Much to Rose’s credit, even though she wasn’t there to manage the trip, it went off without a hitch. I was still placed in first class—with free champagne—and there was a driver waiting for me with my name on a sign and everything. This driver, Richard, was friendly and professional and didn’t make me feel weird one bit that I was a woman traveling alone. When I climbed into the town car, I turned on my phone and immediately called Camden.
As he’d warned, he didn’t pick up, but I left a message telling him I’d landed safely and would call him later. Then my phone pinged with emails and I opened the one from Rose. She’d laid everything out for me with times and addresses; all I had to do was be where she wanted me to be and act on her behalf.
I can totally do this.
I took in a deep breath and tried to keep the positive thoughts rolling through my head.
Richard brought me to the same hotel Rose and I had stayed at previously and waited while I checked in and took my bags to my room. I freshened up a bit and put on a new blouse, then headed back to the car.
Riled Up (With A Kiss #2) Page 11
