Page 14 of Assigned

Riley comes closer and extends a hand, which Mason takes into his own. “Nice to meet you, Mason. Your dad told me a bit about you.”

“Does your family really own a horse ranch? How many horses do you have? Does it smell like poop?” Mason blurts out.

My eyes widen. So much for worrying about my son being anxious. Seems like informing him about Riley’s family has given him something to focus on. Though, quite curious where the poop question came from... oh, wait... Tony. Gotta be. Sometimes I wonder why I ever allow my teammate to babysit.

Riley kneels down so that she’s at eye level with Mason. “Yes, my family has a horse ranch with about twenty horses. Sometimes it does smell like poop, but not in the house. Well, you sort of get used to it, so maybe.”

Mason’s face scrunches up. “You get used to smelling horse poop?”

Riley chuckles and nods. “Yup. After a while, you don’t even notice it.” Then she stands up and looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes that I got lost in growing up. I worry that I’ll see a storm brewing in them for not telling her about bringing Mason over, but she offers me a smile. “Made some waffles if either of you are interested.”

Mason takes off his jacket and hands it to me, then follows Riley toward the kitchen. “Okay, but we shouldn’t eat a lot, since we have to go to Bear’s house this afternoon.”

My new wife stops dead in her tracks and spins around, pinning me with a glare. Apparently throwing in the barbeque is a bridge too far on the surprise front. “Mason, why don’t you go take a seat at the table while I talk to your dad for a moment?”

What I wouldn’t give to rewind the clock and walk back out the door. Shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans, I straighten, then start to close the distance between us. Except Riley holds up a hand, palm facing me, and I stop in my tracks. Then she points to the front door. “Outside.”

“Excuse me?”

“We need to talk and I’m not doing it in here.” She indicates the kitchen with a head nod.

Fair enough. Gotta give her credit for not chewing me out within earshot of my son. Growing up, Riley certainly didn’t care which of our friends was around when she read me the riot act, which she did on a couple of occasions. She could have a short fuse. Like her dad.

We step out into the cool April morning. A soft breeze envelopes us, the smell of wet grass filling my nose. No sooner do I turn my eyes skyward when Riley growls. “What were you thinking?”

I turn to face her, but before I could get a word out, she steps closer, poking me in the chest. “You blindsided me. How is this fair?”

Defensiveness wells up in my chest and the best defense is a good offense. I push back instead of backing down. “The paperwork included the fact I had a child, and it was mentioned when you moved in. If it was a problem, you shoulda told the committee.”

Her faced turns red. “That’s not what I mean. A heads-up would’ve been nice about both meeting your son and going to Bear’s house, whoever that is.”

I quirk a brow. “Who said you were invited?”

Her mouth opens and closes, no sound coming out, and she takes a giant step back. She turns to face the door, then back to me, hand flailing about in the air. “Mason... I thought...”

While it was cute to rattle my new wife, something I used to do when we were younger as well, there will be hell to pay once she realizes what I’m doing. And that moment just arrived, courtesy of the grin I can’t stop from spreading across my face, no matter how hard I try.

“Are you kidding me right now?” She places her hands on her hips. “How do you know I don’t already have plans?”

“I don’t. And if you do, that’s fine. Don’t have to come along.” Might be easier if she didn’t. Breaking the news to everyone is going to be nerve-wracking enough, let alone having her there. And Tony will surely ride her last nerve the way he jokes around. I sigh. I know she’s right about how I handled this. “Didn’t think this through well enough.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

I narrow my eyes. “Try working the hours I do and balancing a new wife and a child.”

Riley straightens. “Figured you were just hiding out at work. You’ve hardly been around for a week and a half. Sort of got used to having the house to myself.”

“Hiding? You wish. This is my life. Part of the reason Lisa left in the first place.” My throat tightens at the admission. But I refocus my attention, watching my new wife for any tics, any sudden movements. “Why’d you sign up to get married if you were just looking for a roommate?”

And again, not the best move. Riley’s face goes from red to a deep crimson. There might even be smoke coming from her ears, but I’d rather keep my distance than lean in closer to look. Instead of biting my head off, she closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. Definitely never expected that.

“Lucas, I’d appreciate it if in the future you inform me about events we need to go to. And a heads-up on when Mason normally comes over as well. Not that I would ever object, but I wouldn’t want to be caught walking around the house naked.”

My breath catches in my throat as a mental picture begins to form. My dick begins to grow in my jeans. While I certainly noticed Riley’s beauty—because it was hard not to—I’d done a decent enough job not picturing her naked. Until now. Now I can’t picture anything else. “You walk around the house naked?”

She rolls her eyes. “No. But I have darted from the bathroom to my room and vice versa without any clothes on. It takes four steps to go from one to the other.” Riley slaps my arm. “You better not be picturing it.”

“Kinda hard not to.” Our eyes meet and something passes between us, something hot.

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