by Brenda Novak
Phoenix tilted her head to look around him. “At least someone’s making sense.”
Riley had to lean over to see her, too. “It wouldn’t be safe to leave! That makes me a bad guy? Because I want to keep you from being hurt?”
“I haven’t even tried to call for a car,” she argued. “How do you know I wouldn’t get one?”
“It’s nearly eleven and we’re in the middle of nowhere! It’ll be a waste of energy.” Chances were, she’d had a hard time getting a driver to bring her here in the first place. She was just trying to save face. Besides, she hadn’t been heading for the phone; she’d been heading for the door. So when, exactly, and how did she plan to call limousine companies? “It’ll be easier in the morning.”
“In the morning?” She threw up her hands. “You have a date! Both of you have dates.”
“Not really,” Kyle said. “I mean, Riley’s is only sort of a date, since I’m the one who asked her, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “There can’t be enough room for me to stay here, anyway.”
Kyle gestured at the house. “This place is huge.”
“And you guys have a lot of friends, all of whom need a bed.”
Riley wasn’t concerned about that. He’d figure out some place for her to sleep, even if he had to take a couch. But he let Kyle respond, since Kyle seemed to have a better chance of convincing her with his kinder, gentler approach.
“Not so many that we can’t squeeze in one more,” he said. “Riley and I have been assigned a couple of bunk beds. We’re too tall for them, anyway. You can have our room and we’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”
She shook her head. “I appreciate it, but...”
“But nothing.” So much for letting Kyle handle this. Riley pushed him out of the way. “You might as well stay. Because if you insist on leaving, I’m going to drive you home myself, party be damned.”
“No,” she said. “You can’t leave. It would be weird for the guest of honor to take off. And it’d be really late before you could get back. I don’t want to ruin your party. You’re overreacting.”
“You’re overreacting! What can it hurt to spend a few more hours here? I’ll give you a ride—or arrange one—tomorrow.”
“I invited Candy. Riley didn’t,” Kyle added.
She scowled at him. “Please, stop saying that. There’s nothing going on between Riley and me, so none of that makes any difference.”
“You didn’t come here because you want to be with me?” Riley demanded.
She was obviously shocked that he’d call her on that statement. “N-not like that.”
He rested his hands on his hips. “Then why’d you come?”
“What do you mean?” Her throat worked visibly as she swallowed. “It’s your birthday. I—I wanted to give you your present.”
That wasn’t all of it. An ex didn’t make the effort she’d made for no good reason. She could easily have waited until he was home to give him that photo book. “Then why won’t you stay?” he asked. “If you’re not interested in me, it shouldn’t matter that I have a date, even if I decide to make out with Candy later.”
When their eyes met, he could see the defiance his words had sparked. But he’d meant to challenge her. Maybe she’d stay just to prove she didn’t care...
“You can do whatever you like with Candy,” she said.
“He’s not going to make out with Candy,” Kyle said. “He doesn’t even like her.”
Riley slapped Kyle on the back. “No need to explain. You heard her. She doesn’t care what I do because she doesn’t care about me.”
“In that way,” she clarified.
“Maybe it’s time to face the truth,” he said. “You care even though you don’t want to. I can feel it.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
To be honest, he wasn’t sure. This certainly wasn’t going to get him what he wanted. The need he felt to force her to commit herself, to respond to him, was making him push too hard. He had to ease off on the emotion and play it cool.
He didn’t know how he’d gotten so far off track, anyway. “Nothing. Never mind. It’s all decided. You can have my bed.”
“Fine. I’ll take it, even if it means you have to squeeze in with Candy!” she snapped.
He cocked his head to one side. “Maybe I’ll do that.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Kyle said. “He doesn’t want Candy.”
“Kyle, I don’t need your help.” Riley was frustrated enough, and having Kyle step in, trying to patch things up, only made it worse.
But Kyle went on, undeterred. “The truth is, Candy and my date are both more interested in spending time with Simon. I’m guessing they’ll be making s’mores as long as he’s out there.”
“That’s too bad,” Phoenix said. “I’d hate for Riley to be deprived of her company. He’s pretty used to getting whatever he wants.”
“I’ll be able to live with the disappointment,” Riley said. Or was she trying to tell him he wouldn’t get what he wanted from her?
“Great.” Kyle clapped his hands with feigned enthusiasm. “So why don’t we go downstairs and play some pool before you guys really get into an argument? I’ll tell Candy and Samantha that they can wander in whenever they’re ready.”
Phoenix rubbed her arms as if she hadn’t yet decided and didn’t like her options.
“Should I get my keys?” Riley asked. “Are we leaving?”
She dropped her hands. “No.”
“You’re staying, then.”
“Only until morning,” she said grudgingly, and turned to Kyle. “Who will we be playing?”
“Riley and Lincoln.”
Riley nearly laughed when she grimaced at his name. He’d made her mad, but he was through with pretending. They had a history, and that history might be difficult to overcome. But he couldn’t believe the next guy would treat her any better than he would. He’d never intended for everything to go so wrong, had never actively tried to hurt her. He was beginning to think they’d just met too soon...
“Who’s Lincoln?” she asked.
Kyle answered again. “Eve’s fiancé.”
“He any good at pool?”
“Yeah.” Kyle jerked his head toward Riley. “He and Riley have been unbeatable so far. They’re the reigning champs. But we can give it a try. It’s all for fun, anyway.”
“Don’t count us out too soon,” she said drily. “You’ve never seen me play.”
Kyle pursed his lips as he sized her up. “You haven’t seen them play, either.”
“I don’t care. A hundred bucks says we win.”
Riley picked up her suitcase. “I wouldn’t place that bet if I were you.”
“I’m not worried.”
As she glared up at him, he wished things weren’t so complicated between them. There was such a strong attraction. He felt it even now. Knew she felt it, too.
“Suit yourself,” he said.
As they went back inside, he deposited Phoenix’s suitcase by the door, thinking he’d deal with it later. “Grab Lincoln,” he told Kyle. “Phoenix and I will rack the balls.”
21
After three beers, Phoenix wasn’t feeling the same urgency to get home. Kyle’s and Riley’s dates hadn’t come to find them, although it had been an hour or more since they’d started playing pool, so that helped ease her anxiety, too.
She and Kyle had won the first game. She still relished the surprise on Riley’s face when he realized she could play as well as he could. But after that stellar start, they’d lost the second game. They would’ve won both, putting her a hundred bucks ahead, except Kyle had missed a couple of key shots.
Now they were competing for best out of three.
She could feel Riley watching her as she prepared to take her next turn and wondered what he was thinking. Was he wishing he’d let her leave?
Probably. He scowled every time she looked at him. And yet, whenever they passed each ot
her, he touched her if he could do it casually, nonchalantly—and she felt his hand linger a second more than necessary.
She was afraid he was trying to make a point, and that he’d succeed. She was beginning to brush past him on purpose, just to feel that touch.
“Where’d you learn to play?” Lincoln asked. He wasn’t quite as open and friendly as Riley and Kyle, but, like her, Riley and Kyle had had a few beers and Lincoln wasn’t drinking. So there was that.
“Prison.” She banked the ball she’d targeted twice before sinking it in the right corner pocket.
She paused long enough to bestow a victorious smile on Riley, who lifted an eyebrow at her in return. That slight reaction was an acknowledgment of her skill. But he was also challenging her in a way she’d never expected. He was making his interest in her so plain that even his friends could tell what he wanted.
“That’s interesting,” Lincoln said.
She pocketed another ball. “To someone like you, my background must be more shocking than interesting, wouldn’t you say?”
“To someone like me?” Lincoln repeated.
Normally she wouldn’t have been so forthcoming about her past for fear of embarrassing Riley. But she was throwing out her own challenge. If he hoped to get back with her, he needed to understand everything that was part of the package these days. “Someone who’s part of the ‘in’ crowd,” she explained and, sadly, missed her next shot.
Studying what she’d left him, Lincoln circled to the other side of the table. “Given that I’ve served time myself, I wouldn’t say I’m too shocked.”
When he saw her surprise, he chuckled. Then he sank two stripes in rapid succession and walked to the far end for a third.
“Is that where you learned to play pool?” she asked. “Inside?”
“We didn’t have a table. But I can take just about anybody in basketball, thanks to many hours in the yard.”
She’d been wearing her past like armor, using it to deflect any offer of friendship, so this made her feel a bit foolish. “How long have you been out?”
“Awhile.”
That was vague, but she figured he didn’t enjoy thinking or talking about his past any more than she did hers.
“A lot longer than you,” he added. “Which is why I brought it up—to tell you that getting out is an adjustment. It takes time.”
She conjured up a grateful smile. “Okay.”
“Wow, be careful how you wield that thing,” he said.
“Wield what thing?” she asked in confusion. “My pool cue?”
“No, that smile of yours. I’m in love, so I’m immune.” He patted Riley on the back. “But I’m afraid this poor bastard has no defense.”
“Mind your own business,” Riley grumbled.
Lincoln didn’t seem offended. He just laughed.
“What about this poor bastard?” When Kyle pointed to his own chest, Phoenix could tell he was doing it to goad Riley.
“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re not even in the running,” Lincoln replied, and laughed again when Kyle flipped him off.
They teased like that as they finished the game. Without Kyle as a partner, Phoenix believed she would’ve won, but he couldn’t hit a clutch shot at the end, and that left room for Riley to finish the game before she could get another turn.
Kyle and Lincoln were talking about a book their friend Ted had written as they climbed the stairs to get something to eat. But Riley didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave the room. He came up behind her as she was putting her stick in the rack. “I guess you owe me a hundred bucks.”
She didn’t bother to look back at him. “I keep trying to give you money, and you won’t take it.”
His hand settled on the curve of her waist, and his lips brushed her neck. “There are other things I want more.”
She caught her breath. Would this be the spark that set fire to all her good intentions—and once again burned down her life? “Like...”
He didn’t have the opportunity to answer. His date came into the room, and he dropped his hand and moved away.
“There you are!” she said. “I wondered where you’d gone.”
Phoenix bit her tongue. Candy couldn’t have wondered too much, since Kyle had told her.
* * *
Phoenix sat outside, staring into the fire while, across from her, Brandon, Kyle and Gail talked about Simon’s latest movie. They’d tried to include her in the conversation by encouraging her to move closer to them, and by asking her a few questions. But when she didn’t contribute more than was absolutely necessary, they let her sink into her own thoughts. She was happy just to enjoy the murmur of their voices, the cool breeze coming off the lake and the expanse of stars glittering overhead.
At least Riley had gone inside and was no longer sitting around the fire, too. It hadn’t been easy to ignore his date. She’d been all over him, had even perched on his lap again, despite the fact that half the party had wandered off to different regions of the house to play pool, watch a movie or grab a snack, leaving plenty of chairs available.
Riley did nothing to stop her. He just gazed over at Phoenix as if to say, Are you sure you don’t care?
The door opened and Eve came out. Phoenix assumed she’d join her friends, who were talking nearby, but she came around to where Phoenix was sitting and pulled up a chair. “I hear you’re quite the pool player.”
“I’ve had years of practice. Your fiancé’s good, too.”
She seemed pleased by the compliment. “He’s good at a lot of things.”
“How’d you two meet?”
Phoenix had been careful to keep to herself whenever possible tonight. She didn’t want to impose on anyone who might not care to have her around. So she’d spent most of her time intermittently sipping a glass of wine while tidying up the kitchen. Despite Gail’s protests that she’d worry about it in the morning, cleaning made Phoenix feel useful, gave her something to do.
Although everyone was polite, most people socialized with those more familiar to them. Eve was the exception. She kept seeking Phoenix out. Maybe, because she was engaged to a man who’d served time, she was more understanding of the things that could go wrong in a person’s life, and that not everyone locked in a cell deserved it.
“Lincoln was visiting Gold Country for a little...break from work, and I ran into him at Sexy Sadie’s,” she said.
“He just...caught your eye?” Phoenix asked.
“That’s how it started. I saw this gorgeous man across the bar and was instantly attracted.” She smiled, as if there was some element of humor to the story, but she didn’t expand on it. She simply added, “It was meant to be, I think.”
Phoenix gave her an approving nod. “You seem happy together.”
“He’s been through a great deal to get to this point. He had a messed-up childhood, which set him on the wrong path. But he’s put all of that behind him.”
Did that mean he’d deserved to be sent to prison? Phoenix liked him so much it wouldn’t change her opinion of him, but she was curious about what he might’ve done. It couldn’t have been as bad as what she’d been accused of doing. “He didn’t have to tell me he’s had...similar experiences. I know he did it to help me feel comfortable, and I appreciate that.”
“A few hard knocks makes you more sensitive to the needs of others.”
Phoenix didn’t want to talk about hard knocks. She’d had a few too many to be anything like the people she was currently with. Other than Lincoln... She gestured at the cabin. “This is a gorgeous place.”
“It’s generous of Gail and Simon to share it with us.”
“Definitely.”
“Has anyone shown you where you’ll be sleeping tonight?”
“Gail did, about an hour ago.” Instead of having her take Riley and Kyle’s room, Gail had picked up Phoenix’s suitcase and shown her to a small nanny’s quarters.
“Are you downstairs, then?”
“Above the garage.”
/>
“Will you be comfortable there?”
Phoenix chuckled. “Of course.” Surely Eve had to know that sleeping on the floor in a house like this would be fancier than any place Phoenix had ever stayed.
“I’m glad.” She squeezed Phoenix’s hand. “I’m sorry it’s so hard to walk into something like this when you don’t know very many of the people.”
“It hasn’t been too bad,” she said. “Everyone’s been very kind. Riley’s lucky to have such close friends.”
Eve studied her. “He seems to think a great deal of you.”
Phoenix wasn’t sure how to respond. “We’re doing what we can to support Jacob. It’s easier on everyone if we can be friendly.”
Eve tilted her head. “Is that what’s going on between you? You’re just being ‘friendly’ for Jacob’s sake?”
Suddenly too hot, even though she’d been chilly a few seconds earlier, Phoenix slid her chair farther from the fire. “Yeah, that’s about it. I didn’t mean to crash the party. I wasn’t aware it was for couples when I came.”
“Riley knew it was for couples when he invited you.”
Phoenix hadn’t let herself think about that. It didn’t make sense that he’d want her with him in public. But she was new in his life, and somewhat interesting because of that. And Riley felt safe to do as he pleased. Whiskey Creek had never been the harsh and unforgiving place for him that it had been for her. “He was trying to be nice since...since I don’t get out much.”
“You’re saying he invited you out of pity?”
“That’s my guess.”
With a chuckle, Eve stood. “I know Riley well enough to say that isn’t the reason he’s spent most of the night watching you while trying to get Candy to stop feeling him up.”
Phoenix refused to acknowledge her jealousy of his date. “Candy’s had a little too much to drink. But she’s pretty, and she seems interested in him. They make a great couple.”
Eve grimaced. “Are you serious?”
“Excuse me?”
“Have you talked to her?”
“Not really, but...it doesn’t matter what I think. It’s all up to him.”