On the Outside (Caught Inside #3)
Page 23
“Harper,” she repeated in a firmer tone.
She’s going to kick me out. I know it.
Her big eyes drooped a little and I couldn’t tell if it was from sadness or exhaustion. I mean the woman did just have a baby.
“Harper, I forgave you a long time ago. In fact, I forgave you about a week after all that happened.”
My mouth dropped open as a wave of different emotions rushed through me. I was relieved, angry, hurt, confused and…I don’t even know.
“What? But why did you wait so long to talk to me?” I demanded.
She shut her eyes and sighed. “I forgave you for sleeping with Aaron. I mean, what would I care? I had Blake and he is such an awesome guy!”
“He is.” I nodded my head in agreement.
“But what I couldn’t forget about was the fact that you—another sister to me as well—could hurt me like that. After all the bullshit I went through with Aaron I didn’t want to risk allowing people I couldn’t trust to stay in my life. Sure it was an ‘accident’ or whatever, but how could things be the same between us knowing that you could so easily do that to me?”
“I’m sorry…”
“It was a question of trust, more than anything. If you could do something like that, what else could you do?”
I rushed over to her bedside and grabbed her hand. “Riley, you know me—you knew—me. I was in a fucked up place, and again that’s not an excuse, but I would never hurt you on purpose.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“How?”
She pulled her lips into a smile. “Because you even had Kacy vouching for you. If she could see the good in you, then there was no reason not to believe you.”
“Then why did you wait this long to talk to me?” I demanded.
“I…I was scared.”
“Scared of what?”
She looked down and sighed. “I was scared of being seen as another pushover. That’s what I was to Aaron and I let go of that aspect of my personality. I didn’t want it back.”
“How could I ever make you feel like a pushover?”
She looked at me pointedly. “I almost gave up my life here in Mistcoast to follow you to Joy In and Joy Out, remember?”
“I thought you were going to do that because it was a dream,” I whispered uncomfortably.
“That and I didn’t want to let you down,” she admitted.
“But you chose Mistcoast and you didn’t let me down.”
“But I felt guilty about it,” she explained. “Every time I heard you joke around about how you wish I took the job it killed me a little bit inside. That’s when I realized you never congratulated me on my success here and you never asked me how I was doing. All you wanted was for me to return to New York and I guess…”
“Yeah?” My stomach dropped. Damn rollercoasters.
“Once you slept with Aaron I thought it was the final proof that you didn’t really care about me as much as I thought. Why would I need that in my life?”
If it was night time there would certainly be crickets. I gasped, allowing a few tears to fall.
“I’m so sorry, Riley! I never meant for it to seem that way. The only reason why I kept insisting that you come back to New York and the only reason why I never once asked how you were doing here is because I didn’t want to think that we’d never live in the same place again! You are my sister, my only friend ever.”
Riley’s nose began to redden. “We had friends in New York.”
“They were there for you. Remember? Once you moved away they stopped contacting me too.”
“How about all your coworkers? All your fans?”
“You can be surrounded by a huge group of people and still feel alone. I needed someone who understood me and that was you.”
I watched her eyes darken. “Is that why you slept with Aaron?”
My jaw dropped. “Huh?”
“Because he gave you attention.”
My lips curled into a circle. “Um, yes…I mean the alcohol had something to do with it, but I guess that’s the reason why we ate dinner.”
Riley arched her eyebrow. “So you never were into him when I was with him.”
“I would never betray your trust!” I squeaked.
There was another slight pause before Riley patted the space beside her thighs. In shock, I sat down and looked at her nervously.
“I missed you, Harper…and I think we can start over again. In fact, I’m a bit sad myself that I waited for you to reach out to me again.”
“What do you mean by start over?”
She nodded. “We’re two different people now and I think it will be a lot of fun to get to know these new versions of ourselves…deal?”
I smiled in relief. “Deal.”
She reached out for me and brought me in for a hug. Not since my wedding to Xavier did I feel as if my stars had aligned. I had my family back. My sister was with me again.
Riley pulled back and grinned. “You do know that we’re too old for the best friend title, right? No more fighting between you and Kacy.”
“Kind of hard to fight my sister-in-law.” I laughed.
Riley nodded happily and gestured toward the bassinet. “Do you want to meet him?”
“Can I?” I whispered happily.
She grinned and carefully plucked the beautiful boy from his bed. She held him in her arms as if he were a treasure, and that he was. “Meet Brody James Reynolds.”
“He’s beautiful.” I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead. “And he’s sure to be loved every day of his life.”
“That he will,” Riley agreed.
“And he’ll have an awesome best friend who he’ll think of as a brother.”
Riley blinked quickly. “Harper, what are you saying?”
I rubbed my belly and felt tears welling up in my eyes. “I’m due in six months.”
“Oh my gosh!” Riley hastily returned Brody to his little crib and leaned over to hug me tight. “Congratulations!”
“That’s why I had to make things right between us. I couldn’t let both our kids grow up without knowing each other. Two future surfers.”
A sheen of water covered Riley’s eyes. “I’m glad you had more guts than me. You’re a brave woman, Harper.”
“Sometimes you just got to be.”
A light knock at the door interrupted our hug. The door slowly opened revealing a disheveled but handsome Blake gripping a greasy paper bag. He stepped back and admired the sight. “Aww, I knew I’d see you two together again.”
Riley grinned. “Blake, she’s pregnant!”
His mouth went wide. “Well, good on Xavier for finally getting some! He was such a nerd in high school.”
“Blake!” Riley hissed disapprovingly, but I couldn’t help but laugh. My friend shot me a wink and looked up at her husband. “Blake, can you call the rest of the group in here?”
I threw her a confused look.
Reaching over for her phone, Riley wiggled it in the air. “Miss Celebrity doesn’t care if I take another photo of her, does she? I want to get a group picture of us all. If this is the beginning of a new lifetime, I want to commemorate it.”
I laughed. “Only if you promise not to sell it to the tabloids.”
“Hey, no guarantees there. We need money for this kid’s college fund,” Blake joked.
Soon all of us squeezed into the tiny room, and after flagging down Riley’s nurse to take the shot, we all settled in, enjoying everyone’s company.
Riley and Blake, Kacy and Miles, and of course Xavier and me. We were all so different but similar at the same time, but that’s how everyone was, right?
Each of our lives is nothing but an unpredictable ocean. It ebbs and flows and crashes. The only thing we can do is ride the waves as they come to us, and I’m okay with that.
The End
Acknowledgments
Wow, I still can’t believe Caught Inside was turned into a series! What was originally supposed to
be a standalone has definitely grown and blossomed, and it is all because of you, dear readers!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for embracing Riley, Blake, Kacy, Miles, and now Harper and Xavier. When I started writing Caught Inside last year, I could never have imagined it taking off like it did, and for that I can’t thank you enough!
Thank you to God, my family, my friends, and of course my Limitless family for continuously supporting me in my writing endeavors.
Shakas, everyone!
About the Author
Thanks to her Mom’s unwavering devotion to read a childhood bedtime story to her every single night, S. BRIONES LIM’s love for books began before she could even speak.
Raised in Southern California, Lim initially dreamt of becoming an artist. After a Psychology Degree (Summa cum Laude), a stint in Art School, and a career in Advertising/Media she is finally diving back into her first love—books. As a self-renowned bookworm, Lim’s love for reading has inspired her to pen her own novels and hopes her readers will fall in love with her stories as much as she enjoys writing them.
Her obsessions include time with family, Cherry Coke, popcorn with jalapeños, watching movies and her dogs, Tobi and Roscoe. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband.
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Goodreads:
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Website:
http://www.sbrioneslim.com/