by Amanda Ashby
“Neutral territory it is.” Will sat down across from her, so close that if she wanted she could touch him. Instead she put all of the things on the ground between them and folded her arms to stop herself from adding to her humiliation by reaching out. “So, I wanted to say that I’m sorry I didn’t keep my word. I told you that I’d stay and then I left.”
“You didn’t just leave, Will. You stopped us from being us. I thought we worked,” Riley whispered as her throat tightened. This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted to do this. Because two minutes in his company and she already felt like crying. And he’d given her his college sweater. He didn’t play fair. “I thought we worked, then you just cut me out completely. You didn’t even give us a chance.”
He bowed his head. “I know. It’s complicated. Part of it was Lisa. She said she wanted the life I was offering her and then she didn’t. I guess I thought that’s what you were doing too. Telling me that my life wasn’t good enough for you. Plus, I was so scared of turning out like my old man that I pushed you away. Of course the irony is that in doing that, I was acting just like he does. It’s just I’ve never had anyone like you, and the idea that I might put you through what I went through . . . Riley, that’s not the kind of man I want to be.”
“So why are you here, then?”
“Because it turns out that hiding out halfway across the world isn’t the kind of man I want to be either.” He took a deep breath and finally looked up at her. There were no dimples, no smiles, no head titling. Just Will. “So I came back to fix things. I want to fix things.”
Riley’s mind began to spin. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? Did he want what she thought he wanted? But then the memory of the last month crept back up. He’d taken it from perfect to misery once before. She licked her lips.
“How do I know it won’t happen again?”
“Because you’re not the only one I came back to fix things with. I went to see my father.”
“Your father?” All the pain was forgotten as she let out a soft gasp. “After everything that’s happened, why would you do that?”
“Because I knew if I didn’t face him, I’d never be certain of how I would react. And while we didn’t exactly hug it out, we’ve come to an understanding. And I’ve taken him up on his offer. Sparrow Street is now safe and I’m working for my father. Well, actually, that’s not quite true. I’m heading up a separate arm of the company and I’ll mainly liaise with Tucker.”
“Will, no. You didn’t have to do that.” Riley let out a gasp. “Please tell me that you didn’t do it because of me. Because if you could ever think I’d want you to do anything that would make you unhappy—”
“The only thing that makes me unhappy is not being with you. And the fact that I behaved so badly toward you has made life pretty unbearable. If it were anyone else I would’ve kicked them out of your life so fast and warned you to never give them a second chance. Or, in my case, a third chance. But, Riley, I just don’t know how to do things when you’re not around. I was hoping you’d forgive me.”
It was no good. Despite her best intentions, tears prickled in her eyes. “You always had my forgiveness. I get why you had to leave. It’s just all the other stuff. You and your dad being in business? That’s kind of scary. What if you flip out again? The way you treated me then—when you just left like that . . . without giving me a chance . . . That was hard.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Because here’s the thing. It wasn’t just my boyfriend who left, it was my best friend.”
Will rubbed the bridge of his nose and once again studied the carpet in front of him. “And as your best friend, I can’t in good conscience tell you to say yes to me, because quite frankly, I was a jerk. But as the guy upstairs who’ll do whatever he can to make sure he doesn’t mess up again, I’m kind of hoping you do.”
“You’re not the only one who has changed. Going away made me realize that I can choose to do the things I want to do. Not just what other people want me to do. And, Will, that includes you. You can’t just walk away when things don’t suit you.”
“Trust me, that’s one lesson I’ve learned the hard way. According to Danni, if I keep closing doors behind me I’ll be stuck in a room on my own, getting lonely. That’s why I’m here. I’m opening a door.”
“Danni’s pretty smart.”
“Yeah, she seems to know her stuff. But then again, so do you. Riley, I can’t promise not to be a moron again, but I can promise that I’ll never leave again. I hope that’s a start.”
Riley’s heart hammered in her chest and all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms. She licked her lips and resisted the urge. She had to be sure. “Did you really go and see your dad?” she said and then studied his face for any telltale signs. But instead of a clenched jaw, she was rewarded with a small smile.
“Yeah. And I’m not going to lie. It sucked. I almost left about three times. But then I saw he had a bunch of irises on his desk.”
“The biggest decision of your adult life was based around some flowers?” Riley leaned forward, almost forgetting they were sitting at the top of the stairs discussing their relationship. Instead it felt like it had always felt from the day she met him. That talking to him was the easiest thing in the world.
“I never told you, but the day I left, I went to my mom’s grave. It was the first time I’d been there since she died. Anyway, there was a bunch of wilted flowers there. Irises. Her favorite. They must’ve been a few weeks old, so I just figured that Tucker had taken them there. You know how sappy he can be.”
“Will, taking flowers to someone’s grave isn’t sappy,” Riley retorted before realizing that he was joking. Heat rose to her cheeks. “Oh, sorry. Carry on.”
“Only three people knew that irises were my mom’s favorite flowers. Me, Tucker and my father.”
“He told you that he went to her grave and took her flowers?” Riley’s eyes were wide.
“He told me that he’s been going there to talk to her. I guess I’m not the only one hoping for some forgiveness. But that’s him, and I’m not letting my fear of turning into him rule my life anymore. What I need to know, though, is if that’s enough for you. I’m trying, Riley. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to be better. “
Riley tightened her grip on the sweater and tried to focus on staying calm. But it was useless. When Will was close to her she couldn’t breathe properly. When he’d left her, he said that neither of them had changed. And he’d been right. But now was different. He was different, and so was she. And she knew that while he’d broken his word and left her, he’d also come back to her. Because that’s what Will did. When he messed up, he course-corrected and tried to fix it. She’d seen him do it a thousand times before. That was why she loved him.
“It’s enough for me. You’re enough for me.” She was rewarded with both dimples as he smiled.
“Riley, I’m going to ask permission to kiss you.”
“I’m going to say yes.” She let out a gasp as his mouth found hers. It had been a month since she’d kissed him, but her body had forgotten nothing. Shockwave after shockwave raced through her veins as his mouth opened up. Riley groaned as Will dragged her toward him.
“What about naked?” he managed to say, his lips hardly leaving hers.
“Naked works for me,” she murmured as they both stood up, still interlocked. Will picked her up and walked her toward his apartment door, stopping only to kiss her neck. “I hope this isn’t an O’Neill vampire thing?”
“No, it’s definitely only a Riley thing,” he laughed as he kicked his door open and they half walked, half fell into his apartment. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“You have no idea,” she panted, shutting the door behind them, her hands moving to tug at the buttons of his shirt. Then she pulled away and looked around. “Have you painted? And are those my mother�
�s photographs up on the wall?”
“Yup.” Will busied himself easing her T-shirt over her arms. “I can show you around later. But right now—”
“And is that a reading chair?” Riley looked over to the far corner to where a green wingback chair was perched. There was even a throw pillow on there with a picture of a cat on the front. “It doesn’t look like your sort of thing.”
“I didn’t buy it for me.” He planted a trail of kisses along her collarbone, making her shudder and melt into him. But then there was a small rustling noise, and this time it was Will who broke away. “Oh, man. I forgot about Mr. Woodhouse.”
“Mr. Woodhouse?” Riley said as she wrapped her arms around his torso, determined never to let go of him again. “What are you talking about?”
“I bought you a guinea pig. I thought it would be romantic to get you one and call him Darcy.” Will nodded over to a large cage in the corner where a small guinea pig was staring at them both, a forlorn expression in his guinea pig eyes.
“He doesn’t look like a Darcy,” Riley said, then groaned as she understood. “Hence the name. Will, you thought that buying me a guinea pig would fix things?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Will’s lips once again found hers. “But he’s a lot of work, so I’m thinking of palming him off to the girl downstairs. She’s an expert at looking after guinea pigs.”
“Not anymore she isn’t,” Riley retorted. “She’s changed and finally learned how to say no, which means Mr. Woodhouse is all yours.”
A slow smile spread across his face as he began to walk backward into the bedroom, his eyes never leaving hers. “I can live with that. As long as you don’t mind dating a guy who has a pet more suited to a fifth grader.”
“Sounds perfect to me,” Riley said as she finally managed to tug away the last of the buttons on Will’s shirt and fell into his arms. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was exactly where she was meant to be.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a book is always more enjoyable when you’re surrounded by amazing people and I’m lucky to have had some of the best on my side!
I’d like to thank Leis Pederson, Bethany Blair, Isabel Farhi and everyone at Berkley for all of their help. This book is so much better because of their care and attention.
A big shout-out to Susan Hawk, agent extraordinaire.
And, as ever, nothing much gets done with the help of Sara Hantz, Christina Phillips, and Rachel Bailey. Big hugs all around.
Finally, lots of love to Barry, Molly, and Arthur. Thanks for sticking around despite the bad cooking and terrible puns. That’s what you get for living with an author.
Amanda Ashby is the author of Dating the Guy Next Door and You Had Me at Halo, which was a Romantic Times Top Pick and was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award.
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