by Brenda Novak
She wasn’t sure whether to comment on his celebrity. Should she compliment him on his last movie?
She figured that would be polite. He had to know she recognized him. There couldn’t be more than a handful of people in America who wouldn’t. But she’d never seen him act, never seen any of his movies. She’d only seen him in the tabloids that were sometimes available in the prison library—if one of the correctional officers, or someone else, donated them. And she didn’t think it was a good idea to mention that. “You have a lovely place,” she said instead.
“Thank you.” He tilted his head as if something about her didn’t quite add up, but she’d expected that type of reaction, so she wasn’t offended by it.
“I’m sorry to disturb everyone this late,” she said. “I couldn’t get away any sooner.”
“It’s no problem.” He set her bag in the entry. “We’ll just...leave that here for now. My wife will show you to your room in a few minutes. Until then you can get yourself a giant marshmallow and make some s’mores along with everyone else.”
She was grateful he was being so courteous. “Sounds delicious,” she said, but was afraid she’d choke if she tried to eat anything before she could get her nerves under control.
“Right this way.”
He led her through several expansive rooms that had been, no doubt, professionally decorated. She tried not to stare, but she’d never seen such an opulent home. Or maybe opulent wasn’t the word. It wasn’t pretentious; it was quality.
The living room area contained a huge stone fireplace and a glass wall that looked out onto a deck. Phoenix could see a large group of people gathered around a fire pit, but she didn’t get a chance to determine who they all were. She didn’t dare make eye contact with anyone for fear she’d find that person staring back at her in horror and disdain. Because even if that was the case, she had no choice except to walk out when Simon opened the door and ushered her through it.
“Riley, you have another well-wisher.” Simon had to raise his voice against the din but, one by one, Riley’s guests turned to face her and fell silent.
Phoenix’s face burned so badly she felt as though she were standing in the fire instead of beside it. And that was before the person in front of Riley stepped aside, and she saw him sitting with a beautiful woman draped across his lap. That made her slightly nauseous, as if it had been an intentionally cruel joke to invite her up here.
But then she realized that everyone had a date...
What had she stumbled into? When he’d asked her to come, he’d made it sound like a mixed group, a big party. She’d assumed there’d be some couples. A lot of his friends were married. But she’d had no idea that he and Kyle would have dates. No wonder Simon hadn’t known what to say about sleeping arrangements. He had to be wondering what the heck he and his wife were going to do with her—and if Riley really expected to have two women stay over.
“Phoenix!” Riley stood up so fast he almost dumped the blonde onto the floor. “I—I didn’t think you were coming.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to, and then...and then...” She couldn’t finish that sentence. She didn’t have a good excuse for changing her mind, since her only reason was her desire to be with him. But she had to say something. Everyone was gaping at her. So she took his present out from under her arm and shoved it toward him. “I just wanted to give you this.”
He was obviously taken aback. She should never have surprised him. His date and everyone else exchanged questioning looks of What’s this?
Fortunately, Eve Harmon, whose parents had owned the B and B in town when they were in high school—maybe they still did—jumped up right away.
“Phoenix! It’s been so long! I’ve hardly seen you since you, er, moved back. Sit over here.”
Callie and her husband pushed the chair they’d been sharing closer to Eve, so that she could sit next to her. All the other chairs were taken.
Phoenix blinked helplessly at them. She didn’t want to take their seat, didn’t want to disrupt their fun. At this point, she wished she could just melt into the deck. But there was no escape. Not yet. “Thank you.”
She promised herself she’d sit there for thirty minutes or so and go through the motions of making s’mores, since Kyle was already pressing a fancy-looking roaster into her hands. She’d only ever used an old hanger, which told her as much as anything that she was way out of her element.
Thirty minutes, she reminded herself. She couldn’t rush off immediately, not without creating even more embarrassment. First, she had to smooth over her mistake by acting as if it was no big thing. Then she’d figure out some way to escape the party and go home—even if she had to walk.
* * *
Riley felt the weight of Phoenix’s present in his hands and wished he could pull her off to one side so he could reassure her and thank her for coming. But with his date standing beside him, looking as astonished as everyone else at the sudden intrusion, that wouldn’t be polite. The only way he could ease Phoenix’s mortification was to draw everyone’s attention to him by opening the gift. “This feels heavy,” he said. “I have no idea what it could be.”
He’d been hoping to receive a bracelet, had nearly ordered one half a dozen times. But this was too heavy, too bulky.
Everyone moved closer as he tore off the paper, as curious as he was to see what she’d brought. They’d heard so much about her, some of it from him. He’d bought into her guilt so completely—not that he’d ever wished her ill or intended her harm, but he’d justified distancing himself and Jacob.
He wished he’d remained in touch, or at least reached out to her at some point. He realized now that cutting her off had been his loss as much as hers. If anything had become apparent to him since her return, it was that.
As the wrapping paper fell away, Riley found a photograph book that featured a picture of him and Jake on the front cover—from when Jake was two and Riley was carrying him on his shoulders. As he turned the pages, he saw that Phoenix had included most of the pictures he’d sent her. There were some of Jake alone, like the one when he was three and had a bowl on his head with spaghetti dripping down his face. There were pictures of them together. And there were group photos from Jacob’s various sports teams or birthday parties. One of those showed Riley dressed up as a clown, since the clown he’d hired had backed out at the last minute.
Only true love could have made him put on that costume, he mused, remembering.
“Wow! That is really nice,” Gail said.
Several others murmured similar praise. Riley had seen books like this before but had never gone to the trouble of creating one. He wouldn’t even know where to start. It was obvious that Phoenix had put thought and effort into the project, which made it that much more meaningful to him.
He coaxed his date into taking the chair they’d just vacated, so he could finish looking through the book. When she wasn’t ogling Simon, she was being too friendly with him, which he’d tolerated for the sake of “giving her a chance.” As Kyle said, they had to cut these women some slack. Most women would be starstruck by Simon. He’d ignored her behavior because he didn’t really care about her. But that overfamiliarity bothered him now that Phoenix was here. He didn’t want her to see Candy standing so close to him. It made everything look different from the way it really was.
He loved watching Jake grow up again before his eyes, loved the graphics and quotes about fathers and sons Phoenix had added.
The last two pages weren’t filled with pictures he’d provided. They were taken by Phoenix when he had her over for that barbecue and they’d wound up wrestling in the pool. This was the first time he’d seen them. They reminded him of how much fun that night had been, so he felt his smile brighten—and then fade when his eyes moved to the last one. He’d thought everything was leading up to the selfie he’d taken of the three of them together. That picture was there, as expected. But Phoenix had cropped herself out, as if she believed he’d like it be
tter without her.
That upset him. She refused to acknowledge that his feelings were changing, as though she couldn’t take him seriously. As though he’d only change his mind again. But this book was special and served as evidence that she wasn’t as over him as she wanted him to think. So he propped up his wilting smile. “Thank you. This is...the best present anyone could have given me.”
Although she nodded, that movement seemed slight and defensive. Her eyes kept darting to the door; he could tell that she regretted coming and couldn’t wait to run out.
“Seriously,” he said, hoping to convince her. “I love it.”
“I’m glad,” she told him. “Jake’s a good boy, and you’ve been a good father to him.”
“How’d you do this?” Gail asked. Gail had loads of money and could hire someone to make as many photo books as she wanted, but she questioned Phoenix about the program she’d used as if she might try it herself. Callie, Olivia, Levi, Noah, Addy and the others admired Phoenix’s creation, too, and for that, Riley was grateful. His friends were doing what they could to make her feel welcome. But once their questions died down and the conversation turned to Baxter, a friend who’d gone through a recent breakup with his boyfriend and couldn’t attend, Phoenix stood, and Riley knew what was coming next.
“I’d better get going,” she said in an aside to him, suggesting she’d slip out without anyone’s noticing.
But Eve heard and said, “You’re not leaving yet, are you? You just got here!” Then everyone grew quiet again, and Phoenix found herself the center of attention, a position Riley knew she hated.
She cleared her throat. “I’m afraid so. I was never planning to stay.”
That had to be a lie. Riley would’ve bet any amount of money that she hadn’t come up here so late just to deliver his present. But he understood why she was leaving. She was trying to get them both out of an awkward situation. What astonished him was that she ventured to address Candy before she left.
“I’m sorry to have interrupted your night,” she said. “I really am. That book came in the mail today, so I...I wanted him to have it in time for his birthday. But he and I aren’t...seeing each other. I mean...we have a son together, but we haven’t been a couple in seventeen years. We’re just friends—and even that only happened recently.”
Candy spread her arms, obviously surprised that Phoenix had made the effort to explain. But for all Phoenix knew, he and Candy had been dating for months. It didn’t matter that, at the barbecue, Jake had implied that Riley wasn’t involved with anyone. Jake wouldn’t necessarily know what Riley did when he went out.
“Thanks for letting us all know,” Candy said as if she was about to laugh, and that made Riley grit his teeth. His date didn’t understand their history, didn’t understand that Phoenix was making sure she wasn’t getting in his way again, wasn’t doing anything to interfere with whatever love interest he might have.
Once again, Eve made an effort to ease the awkwardness. “I’m so glad you came. I wish you could stay longer.” Riley couldn’t tell if she’d manufactured the disappointment in her voice, but he was relieved that she sounded sincere—and that she was attempting to support Phoenix.
Not that it would convince Phoenix to stay. She was in flight mode, and he doubted anything would change that.
Phoenix dipped her head politely. “Maybe next time.”
Several of Riley’s friends shot him a look as if they were asking, Do you want us to waylay her?
He wished he could give them some indication that he did. He wasn’t ready for her to leave, wanted to make her feel better before she took off. He hated the thought of her going home kicking herself for having trusted him again. This was his fault, not hers. But detaining her wouldn’t be fair to Candy—or to Phoenix, either, since he couldn’t really be with her as he wanted. So he gave no sign one way or the other and focused on more practical concerns. “You have a ride, then?”
She smoothed the sundress he and Kyle had bought her. She wore that whenever she wanted to look her best—more proof that her coming to the cabin hadn’t been the whim she pretended it was. “Yeah, I have a driver waiting for me.”
He could see her being cautious enough to ask whoever had brought her to wait until she checked out the situation, so he nodded. “Okay. I’ll call you when I get home.”
She ducked her head and disappeared through the crowd, and Riley tried to let her go without chasing her down. If she had a car waiting, she’d get home safely. He could always reimburse her for the expense, which he planned to do. Driving to the lake would’ve cost quite a bit.
But at the last second, he sent Candy an apologetic look and went after Phoenix. It wasn’t the most courteous thing to do, but Candy hadn’t been all that courteous about her obvious interest in Simon. And he couldn’t let Phoenix leave without apologizing for Candy’s presence, without telling her that he was glad she’d relented and come to join him. He also wanted to be sure she had enough money to pay the driver who was taking her home. “Phoenix!”
She hadn’t yet cleared the living room when she turned. “Don’t interrupt your evening,” she said, gesturing that he should return to the fire pit. “I’m sorry I surprised you. I didn’t realize this was...that kind of party.”
Because he’d thought he’d have a better chance of getting her up here if he described it a different way... “Of course you didn’t. I was afraid if I told you that, you wouldn’t come. Then you turned me down, so Kyle had his date invite a friend. I’ve never even seen Candy before. She was only in my lap because we were out of chairs, and she’s the one who insisted on that arrangement when I got up to offer her my seat.”
“You don’t have to explain,” she said, as if she had no stake in his love life. “I shouldn’t have changed my mind at the last minute.”
“But I’m happy you did. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have...made other plans.”
“It’s okay. Go back.”
He didn’t want to go back; the wrong woman was leaving... “Let me walk you out at least.”
She blocked his path. “There’s no need. Your friends are waiting. I’ll be fine.”
He’d already left the others. Another few minutes wouldn’t make any difference. “I’d rather see you off. It’ll give me some peace of mind.”
He wondered if she’d let him take her someplace next Saturday to make up for this and planned to ask as he helped her into the car. But when he opened the front door, he found that there was no car.
She sighed as she stepped out behind him. “I guess my driver had to leave.”
He frowned at her. “You knew there was no one waiting for you out here, didn’t you?”
She didn’t answer.
“So what were you going to do?” he asked. “Try and walk? In the dark? Getting home would take all night—and that’s if you made it safely!”
Again, she said nothing.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?”
“I can look after myself.”
“Not if this is any indication!” How could she even consider taking such a risk? Why wouldn’t she just tell him she had no way home and allow him to handle the rest? Her safety took precedence over the politeness he owed Candy; it took precedence over everything.
Since she’d come back to Whiskey Creek, Phoenix was so sure he’d let her down, she refused to rely on him for anything. He understood why, but he hated it. Hated that she wouldn’t trust anything he said or did. She’d judged him emotionally unreliable and he couldn’t cry foul, even though he’d been only eighteen when he broke up with her.
Kyle walked through the door with her suitcase. “Hey, you forgot this!”
She hadn’t forgotten it; she’d known there was nowhere to put it. And Riley hadn’t even considered the possibility of luggage. He’d been too preoccupied with the shock of having Phoenix show up tonight and trying to figure out how to salvage what little progress he’d made with her.
Couldn’t
anything go right? If Candy wasn’t here he could’ve spent some time with Phoenix in a situation that established romantic interest, a situation in which she couldn’t tell him, or herself, that she was only with him because he was connected to Jacob. That was exactly what he’d wanted when he invited her—to build her trust.
Instead, he’d mishandled the whole thing, and she’d be very unlikely to take another chance on him.
“Where’s your ride?” Kyle asked, looking around.
Riley didn’t answer him. “You and your damn pride,” he muttered to Phoenix.
“I was going to call someone,” she said. “No big deal. I’m sure I can get a car.”
“Not at this time of night, you can’t—and I think you know that.” He pointed at the thin ribbon of road winding around the mountain. “If I hadn’t come out, you would’ve started down in the dark, on foot and...”
“And I would’ve been fine. People get around without cars all the time.”
“Tell me, in this situation, how are you planning to do that?”
“I’ll walk to the main highway and hitchhike from there.”
The dread that some psychopath or rapist might get hold of her made him angry. “Like hell you will!” he said. “Do you really believe I’d let you do that?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have no say in what I do!”
Someone had to look after her. She thought that because she’d endured prison she could endure anything, but he remembered how easy it was to toss her around in the pool. She wouldn’t stand a chance if some asshole set out to hurt her. “Try walking away from me and see,” he said. “I’ll carry you back if I have to.”
Casting him a look that suggested he not strong-arm her, Kyle stepped between them. “He doesn’t mean it. What he means is that you should stay for a game of pool. He understands you can take care of yourself, and that what you do is entirely your business, but I need a partner, and—” he lightened his voice to persuade her, which made Riley feel like a boor because of his own behavior “—that’s a real problem.”