by Natasha West
Mike smiled, relieved. ‘Great.’
They all went into the kitchen. Mike put the kettle on. ‘How’s work?’ he asked.
Riley tried not to laugh out loud at her dad’s attempt at being nice. She just nodded and said, ‘Fine. Big campaign coming, on TV and everything. How’s yours?’
‘Ups and downs, you know,’ he said casually.
Riley checked her watch. Mike saw it.
‘Got somewhere to be? You can get off now if you need to. Me and Mia have got colouring to do.’
Riley grinned. ‘Cheers, Dad.’ She leaned down and planted a smacker on Mia’s forehead. ‘See you soon, Little Rabbit.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ Mia said. ‘I don’t like rabbits anymore. I like tractors now.’
‘Tractors, OK,’ Riley smiled. ‘I’ll work on a nickname for that.’ She said goodbye to the pair of them and ran off home—a nice two-bed shared with a very chill guy named Sid, an Uber driver with a sideline as a stand-up. He was out most nights, either at work or trying to get open mic slots.
‘Sid?’ she called, as she let herself in. She had the place to herself, as usual. It was about as close as you could get to living alone while still splitting the rent. Wonderful.
Riley got to work. She cleaned the flat, top to bottom, then got to cooking. She was checking her watch constantly. She wanted this to be perfect.
There was a knock at the door. ‘Shit!’ Riley cried. She went to answer it. ‘I’m not even ready!’ she complained as Juliet kissed her on the cheek. ‘Hello to you too.’
‘God, sorry. I was just planning this whole thing where dinner was gonna be on the table, and then I was gonna…’ Riley pursed her lips, embarrassed. ‘I was gonna do this super cheesy thing where I put rose petals on the bed and be on it, like, you know, naked…’ She shook her head. ‘Now that I’m saying it out loud, it’s stupid.’
Juliet chuckled. ‘I would have loved it. But you don’t have to do anything special. You in a bin bag would drive me wild.’
Riley rolled her eyes, though she was smiling as she did. ‘You’re a smooth talker.’
‘I’ve never been that,’ Juliet said, taking her coat off. Riley took it and hung it up as Juliet went on, ‘But we got things wrong for a long time by not just talking. I just want to make sure I don’t forget to say something I should.’
Riley smiled, but it was tinged with remorse. ‘Makes me sad to think about what could have been. Ten years, everything we might have done.’
‘That makes me sad too. But on the other hand, we’re more grown-up now. What if we’d have mucked it up the first time? Can you imagine that?’
‘What do you mean, can I imagine it? It happened,’ Riley said with a sad smile.
Juliet laughed but added, ‘I guess I mean if we’d gotten together and really and properly ruined everything with our insecurities. In a way there was no coming back from because we were still kids.’
‘I hate to say it, but we still might,’ Riley said, going to the kitchenette and turning off the heat on the stove. ‘I mean, my dad’s in his fifties, and he’s still trying to get his shit together.’
‘I think you started from a much more evolved point than him right out of the gate,’ Juliet said. ‘But I’ve got to hand it to him, he’s trying. He told me he was happy I was Mia’s nanny again yesterday. He said, “You’re a good influence. On both my daughters.”
Riley laughed loudly as she plated up. ‘Oh, is that right?’
‘Yeah. I don’t think I’d mind if Amanda took him back, if he was around a bit more.’
Riley was stunned. ‘You’d be OK living with him after everything he put you through?’
‘I think he belongs there. And anyway, I’m happy living there, but it’s not forever. It’s a family home. I want my own home one day.’
Riley liked the sound of that. She liked living with Sid, but long term, she hoped… Well, she didn’t want to get ahead of herself. They hadn’t even swapped the big L yet. Riley wanted to say it though. It had been on the tip of her tongue for months. She loved Juliet, and that was alright now because she was exactly the person Riley had always thought she was. She was Juliet Sullivan, and she was wonderful.
But there was a time and a place for everything. Riley was waiting for it, and when it came, Riley would say it. She just needed a sign.
Riley brought the food through, putting it onto the table in the corner of the living room. ‘Sit at the table for this, the least I can do is light a candle.’
Juliet sat down, and Riley joined her, lighting the candle, opening a bottle of wine. She poured a glass for both of them. Riley sat down, and they clinked. ‘To… I can’t think of a toast,’ Riley frowned.
Juliet raised an eyebrow. ‘How about to India coming out on Instagram?’
Riley put her glass down. ‘Come again?’
‘Yeah. I saw it today. She’s got a girlfriend. Some model. She posted pics of them at some fancy shindig.’
Riley thought about it for a moment. ‘Wow. Good for her. And still so very on-brand.’ She looked at Juliet. ‘Sorry. I don’t wanna… I know you hate her. I’m not sure why I don’t.’
‘Because you’re a good person. And anyway, I don’t hate her, not now. She was in love with you. Like I can’t understand that?’
Riley’s heart palpitated. ‘Oh?’
Juliet looked abruptly nervous. ‘Oh. Um. I mean… I didn’t mean it to come out like… Shit. I’ve scared you off, haven’t I? It’s way too soon.’
Riley smiled and took Juliet’s hand. ‘I love you too.’
Juliet let out a long, ragged breath of relief. ‘You do?’
‘You think I’m giving everyone cheesy rose petals and sweating over details of every date?’
‘So we’re in love?’ Juliet said, smiling.
‘Yeah. We’re in love,’ Riley agreed, deeply and irrevocably happy.
‘Who’d have thought it ten years ago while I was crying under my duvet,’ Juliet said. ‘God, I want to go back and tell that girl…’
‘Tell her what?’ Riley asked.
Juliet thought about the question and said, ‘That everything’s possible. That anything can happen. That it was all still to come.’
‘It’s all still to come,’ Riley said. ‘I’ll drink to that.’ They clinked their glasses.
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In the meantime, feel free to enjoy these other books by Natasha West
Hawke’s Prey
Hawke’s Game
Hawke’s Flight
The Plus One
Plus Two
Something for the Weekend
A Marriage of Connivance
Joined at the Hip
A Mistletoe Moment
Real Love
Waiting for the Punchline
Chase Me
Close-Ups and Mess Ups
Meet You at the End of the World
By Any Other Name
Never the Bride
The Dropout
Only Ever You
The A to Z of Girlfriends
Just Married?
The Matchmaker
200 Hours
Sweetest Thing
Lost and Found
Ride the Wave
Captive Hearts
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