Page 33 of Riley

I needed to come clean to Riley about my job, about who I really was, if only because I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass if I didn’t. I hated lying, and I wasn’t ashamed of what I did.

But I worried that coming clean would be a deal breaker for Sunday’s Best Professor, and I didn’t want to think about the reality that my truth might push him away. Like it pushed others away.

So, instead of thinking about derailed fairytales, I answered Julie with asure.

When I arrived atRose & Evelyn’s, Jasper Springs’s “upscale” spot—which was about as upscale as aRed Lobster, Julie was already waiting, mimosa in hand.

“Good morning,” she said with a grin, twirling her flute.

“Afternoon,” I said, flashing her with a grin of my own. “It is eleven am, you’re already drinking, and this is brunch, so I think we’re well past morning.”

Julie smiled as the waitress came by, and I put my coffee order in.

I barely had a look at the menu before Julie was off.

“It’s five o clock somewhere, darling,” she said with a kissy face that made me roll my eyes.

“So, how did it go the other night?” she asked sweetly.

I peered up at her from my menu. “What?” I asked, feeling self conscious all of a sudden. I hadn’t mentioned to anyone other than Chris about my date-not-date with Eric, but that didn’t mean Julie couldn’t have known. The woman had an uncanny knack for gossip and was often in the places you least expected her. It would be just like her to spot me in a compromising position, only to bring it up later.

“I mean, it’s not every day someone beats you at a game of pool,” she said, sipping her drink again.

Oh, of course... M’s Place... the other night.

“Uh, yeah, I know. It’s crazy, right?” I asked, breathing a sigh of relief. “It was fine. I guess. Riley gave me a ride home. Got all embarrassed when his smutty audiobook came on over the speakers. Was kind of funny actually.” I chuckled at the memory.

“Shut up! He did not!” Julie exclaimed, her eyes wide, faced filled with excitement.

I shook my head, my own grin spreading across my face. It felt good to laugh, to just let out the things that had been rolling around in my head.

“We, uh, actually hung out the other night too. Had a good time.”

Julie’s face was practically glowing. “I knew it,” she said, beaming with pride.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, and took a sip of my coffee.

“I knew you two would hit it off,” she said as the waitress came by to take our orders.

After putting in for a tower of cinnamon spice pancakes, I did not relent.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Jules?”

Julie shrugged, smirking at me over her mimosa. “Oh nothing, just saying that’s why I arranged the blind date in the first place. I had a feeling you two would get along,” she shrugged.

What?

Is she saying...

“Riley... he was the guy you tried to set me up with? The one who blew me?—”

“Well, not even fate could keep you two apart, it seemed. I mean, you did still both show up at M’s Place—completely of your own accord, might I add?—”

“I don’t fucking believe this,” I said, feeling a fresh wave of panic.

He was the guy who stood me up!

Julie dismissed my shock with a wave.

---