by Renea Porter
“Great,” Bea says.
Nathan and I follow Alex and Bea down the stairs, and I see him grab her hand gingerly and their fingers interlock. The basement is completely finished with carpeting, a pool table and a small bar off to the side.
“Can I offer you ladies a beer or something?” Alex asks.
“Sure, I’ll take one,” Bea says, and I nod.
Handing us both a beer, he moves to give his brother each a cigar and then takes one for himself. I catch Nathan’s eye as he lights his up and he winks at me. I wink back and we watch them play a game of pool.
Because we are completely clueless when it comes to pool, the guys try to show us, and we try to be seductive, but it just doesn’t look good on us. Instead, we giggle a lot and do a lot of high fiving when we get the ball to go where we want.
After a few rounds of pool, Nathan suggests that we should go.
“Thanks for having us, Alex,” I tell him, as we head to the door.
Alex has his arm around Bea, and she looks quite comfortable. “I think I’m going to hang back,” she says, leaning in to hug me.
“Oh, okay. Call me later or whatever,” I tell her.
After saying our goodbyes, Nathan and I walk out the door toward the car.
“Yeah, you probably won’t see or hear from Bea for at least a week,” he says as he opens my car door.
“Oh my god,” I say, shaking my head, but I smile huge. I can only imagine. I’ll be lucky if I hear from her at all. I laugh at the thought. I’m glad she was able to come out of her shell after our little talk. She probably needed that.
Nathan grins. “So it looks like I have you all to myself for at least a week.”
“Before I know it, school will be out for the summer and you’ll have me for a full three months. What are you going to do then?”
He grins devilishly. “Oh, the possibilities Riley.”
EPILOGUE
NATHAN
Three months later…
Riley and I settled on a little cottage. The house is closer to my new job and a short commute for Riley to college.
Summer is in the air and we are hosting a house warming party. We wanted to do the party early, because Bea and Alex are going on their bonding retreat soon. Riley and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.
Not only is this a house warming party, it’s also Riley’s surprise birthday party. This is an important day for her, and I wanted to make it special by inviting her parents. In order for it to be a surprise, I had to coax Bea into taking Riley out for a few last minute things.
As if right on queue, the doorbells rings. Swinging the door open, I smile in greeting the guest.
“I’m so glad you came,” I tell them.
Mona leans in to hug me while balancing a cake in her other hand. “This is Riley’s dad, Richard.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Nathan.” I shake his hand. “Come on in. Riley will be so happy to see you.”
I walk them to the kitchen where Mona sets the cake down. I introduce Alex to them.
“I just texted Bea to let her know they should head back,” Alex says.
“This is such a lovely place,” Mona says while looking around. “It’s quaint.”
“Come on,” I motion, “I’ll show you around.”
We walk through each room, and Mona ohhs and ahhs at everything. “It’s a nice little place for you two.”
We head back toward the kitchen. “Can I offer you both a drink? We have beer, water, soda.”
“A beer sounds good,” Richard says.
“I’ll just have a soda for now,” Mona answers.
“I hear the car pulling up. Everyone hide in here and we’ll yell surprise when she comes in,” I tell them, handing them each their drink.
“Babe, we’re home,” Riley says. The house remains quiet. “Babe?” she says again.
Riley peeks around the corner to the kitchen.
“Surprise!”
She jumps back, clearly in a state of shock.
“Happy Birthday, sweetie,” Mona says, hugging her.
“Happy Birthday, honey,” Richard says.
“Wow, I had no idea you guys were coming. I’m definitely surprised.”
“Surprise I organized the whole thing without you even knowing,” I tell her.
Riley and her mom have been working on their relationship as mother and daughter. Mona has been a lot better, as she is trying to mend the hurt she caused Riley. I know Riley is apprehensive, and I don’t blame her. So we agreed to keep our eyes open whenever Mona is around, more on guard.
Mona and Richard aren’t aware that Riley is immortal. It’s important to her that, that secret remains between us. For now, we will keep up appearances until Riley can no longer hide that fact that she isn’t aging.
Alex slides the glass door open so he and Bea can go outside.
“I’m going to get started on the grill. Mona, Richard, help yourselves to drinks and food. Stay and enjoy the day with us.”
I put my arm around Riley as we step outside.
“Thank you,” Riley says.
“For what?”
“For everything. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I say before kissing her.
My eyes snap to a surprise guest I invited for Riley. “I hear there’s a birthday girl around here.”
“Oh my god. Ace! I’m so glad you’re here.” Riley wraps her arms around Ace to hug him. Obviously, she’s ecstatic he’s here to celebrate her birthday. With everything that’s happened, she’s remained close to Ace. Even though he and I aren’t best friends, I put up with him for her sake, and he did keep her safe, so I can’t be mad for that.
Riley turns her head to me and mouths thank you.
I nod.
Pulling away, she throws one arm around Ace’s shoulders. “So any new girlfriends yet?” she questions.
“I might have my eye on someone. But I’m here to celebrate your birthday, not talk about other girls. What’s up Nathan?” Ace nods.
“Sup, Ace? Thanks for coming.” We shake hands. “Help yourself to a drink; the food will be ready in a minute.”
I plate the meat and set it on the picnic table where everyone has gathered. Bea and Alex are tucked into each other. I overhear Mona telling Richard how proud she is of Riley. Ace plops down next to Riley, while I sit on the other side of her.
With full plates, everyone starts to eat when Riley interrupts.
“I’d like to make a toast. Everyone is here that I love. You each have touched me in some way or another. For that, I’ll forever be grateful.” She raises her glass. “To my parents, who created me. To my best friend, who’s there through thick and thin. To Ace, my dance partner for life…”
“Hey now,” I interrupt.
Everyone laughs.
“To Nathan, the love of my life. Thank you for always being by my side, making me the happiest girl in the world. I love you. Cheers.”
“Cheers,” we all say in unison.
The one thing we all have in common is Riley. She’s my life, my confidant, and my lover. She pulled me out of the loneliness that I had felt for so long. It takes me a moment to realize I’ve been waiting my whole life for her. But it was worth the wait. It’s always been her and it always will be.
THE END
About The Author
Renea has always had her nose inside of a book ever since she could remember. She has wrote ever since she was young enough to write, never showing anyone what she was writing. Initially she started writing Coming Back to You without intending to publish it, but her hubby of 15 years encouraged her to publish it. And she did. She couldn't imagine never writing. It’s in her blood.
Her mind is always wondering, plotting and full of ideas. Even her husband questions her sanity sometimes, because well her characters are real. They feel real.
Contact the Author:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7072981.Renea_Porter
Facebook: www.faceboo
k.com/AuthorReneaPorter
Twitter: @Renea_Porter
*Be Sure to Check Out the Other Books by the Author*
-Coming Back to You (a contemporary romance)
-Bare Hearts (a contemporary romance)
-Driving Layne-Unspoken Truth Book One (A new adult romance)
-Switching Lanes-Unspoken Truth Book Two (A new adult romance)
-Outbound Lane-Unspoken Truth Novella (A new adult romance)
-Undefinable (A new adult romance)
-Mirror Mirror (A male/male country music romance)
-Sunk (contemporary romance)
Stay tuned for her upcoming Coming of Age novel, The Summer of Love:
With her best friend heading to Maine for the summer, Caitlin imagines she'll be spending her days with her nose in a book. Instead she and new neighbor River start spending a lot of time together. He insists that he's only keeping her company until Charlie comes back. But she knew better.
Charlie had always loved Caitlin. He never admitted it out loud, fearing it would ruin their friendship. They've been best friends since birth. They did everything together, even planned to attend the same college.
Cutting his vacation short, he comes home intending on finally telling Caitlin how he feels. But instead he finds a grieving Caitlin. He remains by her side while she grieves.
Just as her heart starts to mend, Charlie makes his feelings known. But then drops devastating news to her, changing the course of their lives. Things will never be the same.
Is Charlie hiding a bigger secret? Can Caitlin handle the truth? Will they face their future together or will they go their separate ways?