“Leave it to me. I’ll call him later once he’s had a chance to think about what he did.” Briar pushed the phone back into her jeans pocket and nodded at the mug in Riley’s hand. “Drink up.”
Riley took another gulp of her tea. She suddenly felt near to tears again. So much for her foolish dream that Steve would be the man to walk with her beneath a fragrant awning of cherry blossoms. How stupid could she be?
“Talk to me Riley,” Briar said softly. “Let it out.”
Riley wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and sniffed. “I feel like such an idiot. I really wanted it to work out. I’m not getting any younger.”
“None of us are getting any younger,” Briar pointed out drily. “I’m a couple of years older than you. Age has never bothered me.”
Riley searched for a tissue in her handbag. “But you seem happy with your life.”
“And you’re not happy with yours?”
“This probably sounds silly to you, but my dream has always been to have the whole white picket fence scenario, the Hallmark movie happy ending.” She looked down, embarrassed to admit her fantasies to someone as pragmatic as Briar. “I want to marry my dream man, I want a honeymoon in Japan where we’ll stroll beneath the cherry trees, and I want to be a mother to a couple of cute kids.” She dared to peek at Briar through her lashes, trying to gauge her reaction. “You probably think I’m stupid to hanker after fairy tale stuff like that, especially after what happened with Michael.”
Briar didn’t laugh at her or agree with her comment that she was stupid. Instead, she solemnly nodded. “I can understand your feelings even if that’s not the kind of life that I want for myself. Kids have never been part of my own agenda.”
“You don’t want a family?”
“I think I’d have far more fun as a kept woman. I’ve always been more of a Jessica Rabbit than a Mrs. Mopsy with fuzzy dreams of baby bunnies.” She reached over and squeezed Riley’s hand. “Michael wasn’t the right man for you. I never thought he was the right man for you, but that doesn’t mean the right man isn’t out there somewhere.”
“I think my parents’ divorce made me even more determined to create a stable family unit of my own. Sometimes I feel that time is running out.”
“You have plenty of time.” Briar’s phone pinged from inside her pocket but she didn’t move to get it.
Riley pulled herself together, rousing herself out of her pointless melancholy. “I’m interrupting your evening. I appreciate that you dropped everything to come over, but you don’t have to stay.”
“Are you sure? I did promise a friend that I’d call by to see them tonight. That’s probably them now, checking on where I am.”
“Yes, go. You’ve done more than enough.”
“Don’t get up.” Briar left her armchair and bent to brush her lips across Riley’s cheek. “I’ll see myself out. Ring me if you need anything, ok? I don’t care what time it is. If you need someone to talk to at 3 am, I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, Briar.” Riley gave her a tremulous smile. “What would I do without you?”
Chapter Nine
“Are you seeing anyone?” Morgan somehow managed to make her question sound as if she was enquiring about a contagious infection, some dire ailment that her sister might never recover from.
Riley watched her nieces as they lay on the floor squabbling over the Argentinian jigsaw puzzle that Ruth had brought for them during her last holiday away. It was Mother’s Day and Ruth was in the country for once instead of off on one of her interminable cruise vacations. Ruth had said that she didn’t want a fuss so Morgan had arranged an afternoon tea get together, although she’d been tense ever since Riley and her mother arrived at the house in the suburbs that she shared with her husband and daughters. Kevin had made himself scarce for the afternoon and Riley couldn’t say that she blamed him. The infrequent Preston family get togethers were seldom calm or relaxing affairs and this one seemed to be on course for more of the same. Morgan was tense, Ruth was moody and distracted, the girls were quarrelsome, and Riley would much rather be stretched out on her own sofa watching a movie as the commercialized awfulness of Mother’s Day rolled past without her.
Morgan’s question had gained Ruth’s interest and she finally looked away from the window, where she had been watching the raindrops run down the pane and ignoring her granddaughters. Ruth had never been a wholly maternal person and she preferred showing her affection for Samantha and Jessica with expensive gifts rather than expansive hugs. “Yes, tell us about your love life. Is there anyone interesting on the scene?”
Steve’s nasty smirk flashed up in her mind but Riley knew that Morgan and Ruth would be the last people with whom she would share that incident. She could picture their reactions now; Morgan would be horrified because Kevin was the only man she’d ever dated and such raw realities of life were well outside her sheltered realm of experience, and Ruth with her brash lack of a filter would ask far too many intrusive questions. “No,” Riley said shortly. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
Morgan pursed her lips. “You don’t want to leave motherhood too late.”
“And what do you suggest I do about that, Morgan? You might recall that the man who I’d expected to spend the rest of my life with cheated on me, shattering my dreams of parenthood at the same time. It’s not as if I can walk into a store and pluck a suitable father for my future children off the shelf.” Riley instantly regretted allowing her emotions to show. She should have ignored her sister’s comment, just let it slide off as if it didn’t matter. She’d said almost the same thing to Briar just a few days ago so why had she allowed Morgan’s jibe to get to her?
Morgan sniffed and Ruth eagerly leaned forward, her eyes shining. “You could always be one of those independent single mothers. Those ones who use a sperm donor and a turkey baster. If I had my time over again, that’s what I would do.”
“Some of us are happy in our choice of husband, Mother.” Morgan crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Riley.
Riley slipped from her seat on the sofa to lie on the floor with the girls. “Do you want Aunty Riley to help?”
Samantha, the spitting image of her mother with her serious blue eyes and bobbed blonde haircut, tossed her head. “Jessica keeps trying to put the wrong pieces together. Don’t, Jess! I’ve already told you that piece doesn’t go there.”
Riley smiled at the younger girl. “It is the right piece but you have it the wrong way around, Jess. Turn it around and try again. There you go! Aren’t you clever?”
Ruth tapped Riley’s leg with her foot. “Have you spoken to your father lately?”
“No.” Riley pushed herself up onto her knees. “Not for weeks. Why?”
“Just curious. I heard that he’s taken up with another girlfriend who’s young enough to be his daughter. I honestly don’t know what they see in him.” She fastidiously picked a tiny piece of cotton from the front of her cardigan and dropped it onto the carpet.
Morgan shared a glance with Riley in a rare moment of sisterly fellowship. Ruth never missed the opportunity to take a dig at Bill and the girls were careful not to share any details of his life with her. However, this was the first that Riley had heard of Bill’s new relationship. She raised her eyebrows at Morgan, hoping for more information but her sister mutely shook her head.
“Who told you that?” Riley asked casually as she returned to her spot on the sofa, lifting herself back into the adult conversation.
“Mommy, when are we going to have the cake? You said there would be cake.” Jessica placed herself stoutly in front of Morgan, blocking her from Riley’s view.
“Soon, darling. I’m just having a wee chat with Nanny and Aunty Riley.” Morgan gently pushed her daughter to one side. “Yes, who told you that?”
“No cake for me,” Ruth said, patting her flat stomach. “I put on three pounds on my last cruise. Too much of the highlife.”
“It’s a Mother’s Day cake,” Samantha said loudl
y. She had inherited not only her mother’s looks but also her inherent bossiness and ingrained sense of self-righteousness. “It’s Mother’s Day and you’re Mommy’s mother so you have to have a piece.”
“Who told you?” Morgan prompted Ruth, taking no notice of Samantha’s indignation. “He’s not quite the catch that he used to be. I can’t imagine how he still manages to get scores of young women throwing themselves at him.”
“I heard it on the grapevine,” Ruth said vaguely. “Someone who Dot knows saw him out for dinner with a young woman. Legs up to here, she said.” Ruth hovered her hand at an impossibly short distance below her chin. “It doesn’t take more than two guesses to know what he sees in her.”
Riley had no wish to draw out this conversation any longer. Hearing the gory details of Bill’s love affairs always made her uncomfortable. She had never met any of his paramours, refusing all of his offers to do so. She hadn’t even met the first one, the girl who had destroyed their family and ruined her relationship with her father forever. Jacqui was the girl’s name, she knew that much, a cheating lowlife with thoughts for no one but herself. Riley rose to her feet and held out her hand to Jessica. “Come on, darling. You can help me to get the afternoon tea things ready. I’m starving.”
“I’ll help.” Morgan went to get up but Riley waved her back into her seat. “No, you stay and talk to Mom. You hardly ever get the chance to be waited on and it is Mother’s Day. We’ll bring in the coffee and cake.”
Morgan stood up anyway. “I’ve been drinking coffee all day. Does anyone else want a glass of wine?”
“I’ll have coffee, and I only want a thin slice of cake,” Ruth called after them.
Jessica swung from Riley’s hand and skipped along by her side as they walked out to the serviceable family kitchen. Morgan pulled a red wine bottle from the full wine rack by the living room door and took a glass down from the large selection on the wall unit.
“I can help too.” The jigsaw forgotten for now, Samantha scrambled to her feet and scampered after them.
By the time Riley returned to the living room, carrying in a tray of coffee cups and a stack of small plates while her nieces proudly bore a platter between them containing the gaudily decorated chocolate cake, Ruth and Morgan were deep in what looked to be a serious discussion. Riley handed her mother a cup of black coffee as Morgan, wine glass in hand, went to supervise the cutting of the cake.
Ruth cocked her head and turned her sharp gaze on her youngest daughter. “Have you heard about him?”
“Who?”
“The Peeping Tom. The Condo Creeper. Everyone’s talking about it.”
“I heard something about it. I haven’t paid it too much attention. There’s been a lot going on with work and stuff.” She smiled at Jessica as the little girl handed her a large slice of cake on a plate. “Lovely. Thank you sweetie.”
“I said I only wanted a thin slice.” Ruth stared down at the plate in Samantha’s hand, managing to look as horrified as she would have done if the child had just handed her a live tarantula. “That’s far too much for me.”
“Just eat whatever you can,” Morgan said briskly. She plonked herself back down in her chair with her own serving of cake and turned to Riley. “He’s been seen around several of the inner city suburbs. You’d better watch out – he might target your neighborhood next. They said he prefers apartment buildings and condos rather than suburban dwellings, which at least means that we’re safe here.” She curled her lip. “Disgusting man.”
Samantha, who was now sitting cross-legged on the floor with her own slice of cake, looked with precocious absorption from her grandmother to her mother. “Who’s a disgusting man?”
“Never you mind.” Morgan threw a warning glance at Ruth and Riley. “Would you just look at that rain! The tomato plants will be loving it. Kevin only put them in yesterday. He’s been spending a lot of time out at garden centers, buying plants and potting mix and whatnot. He must have known something.”
All heads turned to look at the window as the rain battered against the glass. Disgusting man. Riley cut a mouthful of cake with her fork, disconcerted that an image of Steve’s face had once again insinuated itself into her mind. Briar had reported that she’d phoned Steve’s number and read him his pedigree in no uncertain terms. She’d assured Riley that he wouldn’t bother her again, not after the threat she’d made of getting the police involved and having him charged with sexual assault.
“Riley? What do you think?”
“Hmmm?” She looked up to see her mother watching her expectantly. “What did you say?” She sat back against the cushions, put Steve firmly out of her mind, and allowed herself to be drawn into an undemanding conversation about Ruth’s next cruise destination.
Chapter Ten
“I think the book was better. They chose the wrong actor as the leading man. Ryan James would have been better.” Megan gave a dreamy sigh. “I’ve been half in love with him since seeing Sun Over Paradise.”
“I think most women have been. I have to admit that he’s a favorite of mine, too.” Riley said absentmindedly. She had switched on her phone again as they left the movie theater. No new messages or missed calls, but it wasn’t as if she’d been expecting any.
“Where do you want to eat? Not Burger Town. You got sick from eating there last time.”
“It wasn’t the food that made me sick but I honestly don’t care where we eat.”
“Italiano’s? I wouldn’t mind a dish of pasta and it’s only a block from here.”
“Sure.” Riley put her phone away and fell into step beside her friend. She’d deleted the dating app after the debacle with Steve but the messages had been fun before he showed his true colors. Her romantic life looked dull and bleak from this angle and watching that romantic movie hadn’t helped her state of mind. The women in movies always found their happy endings by the time the credits rolled, which was a little unfair. Why couldn’t real life mimic the movies? It would make everything a lot less complicated and whole lot less drawn out.
“We haven’t been out like this for ages.” Megan looped her arm through Riley’s and snuggled up close. “Not since the night at Burger Town.”
“You were still with Dan then. Have you heard from him?”
“He texted me on Monday to see how I was getting on.” Megan gave her a quick sideways glance as their hips bumped together. “What about that awful Steve? Has he kept his distance?”
“I haven’t heard from him again.” She laughed. “I think Briar’s threatening phone call must have frightened him off.”
Megan abruptly removed her arm and made a subtle space between their bodies as they waited on the corner for the lights to change. “Yay for Briar,” she said cheerlessly.
“I don’t know why you don’t like her. She was so good to me that evening. She kept me on the phone until I got home and she arrived at the apartment only minutes after I did. She made me feel safe.”
Megan stared resolutely ahead as they crossed the street on the green light. “You should have phoned me rather than her. You know I would have done the same thing for you.”
“I know that but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make quick decisions. I phoned Briar because I’d been speaking to her just before I left for the date and it was easy enough to hit redial. I wasn’t thinking straight but even so, I’m proud of Briar for doing what she did. She was a good friend to me when I needed her.” Megan’s irrational dislike for Briar was beginning to irritate Riley, especially as there appeared to be no real reason for it. “You should take some time to get to know her. Maybe we should invite her on our next night out.”
“I doubt that the two of us will have anything in common,” Megan said primly. They had reached the Italian restaurant now, with its neatly latticed front windows through which Riley could see round tables covered with red-and-white checkered cloths and the warm yellow glow from the lamps on the walls. Riley followed Megan into the temperate, fragrant interior, t
he air rich with the scent of tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
“I didn’t stop for lunch at work today and I’ve just realized how hungry I am.” Riley sniffed the air appreciatively as the smiling waitress led them to a table.
“You shouldn’t let them work you into the ground,” Megan scolded her lightly. “There’s no need to work the hours that you do. You’ve always let that company take advantage of your good nature.”
“No I haven’t. Besides, it’s not as if I have a whole lot else going on in my life right now to take up my time, despite what I told Paul.” Riley scanned the menu. “I might have a Margherita pizza.”
“I’m not too fond of pizza. I’ll have the fettucine.” Megan pushed the menu aside. “On the subject of Paul, what are you going to do about your sorry lack of a love life now that you’ve deleted the dating app? A honeymoon in Japan won’t be quite the same on your own.”
Riley wrinkled her nose. “Obviously Mr. Right isn’t going to walk up and knock on my door, but how am I supposed to meet someone? You’re in the same boat as me anyway, so you’re well aware of the difficulties of finding romance.” She waited as the waitress delivered their drinks and took their order before turning back to Megan. “Why are you grinning like that? I know that look! Is there anyone new in your life?”
Megan giggled. Her cheeks were pink as she concentrated on making an uneven origami swan out of her paper napkin. “There might be.”
“Tell me more. Have you been keeping secrets from me?” Riley teased.
“There’s not much to tell yet,” Megan said cryptically. She coiled a strand of hair around her finger. “It’s still at the ‘maybe’ stage.”
“Sounds like a Beatles song.” The two women put their heads together and sniggered. Riley felt more relaxed than she’d done for days. Tonight was just what she’d needed to enable herself to feel like herself again. The altercation with Steve had shocked her but it was more that – the incident had also made her hyper-aware of her self-sabotaging ability to ignore the warning signs when it came to men. For instance, Steve’s constant messaging should have alerted her. He had jumped in too far too fast but then again, hadn’t she done the same thing? Steve aside, she’d certainly ignored Michael’s increasing distance and distraction after he embarked on his affair and don’t get her started on her father...
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