Page 25 of Passionate Hearts

River made a little moan and stuck out her lower lip. Willow handed her back her house keys. She leaned in and gave River a tiny kiss on the cheek before pointing at the front door.

“Putting it off isn’t going to make it any easier.”

River sighed, she knew Willow was right. But that didn’t make the moment any less difficult. Brianna sat on the couch watching TV. River’s mind travelled back to the night of their last talk. That had been a disaster, but River hoped she could course correct now.

“Hey,” River said with a smile.

“Hey,” Brianna answered back.

“I thought you were working from the office today?” River asked. She slowly walked closer to the living room.

“That was my plan. But honestly, you and I need to talk. So, I came home.”

The thought struck River that Brianna was the type who would always come home. Brianna would always work things through. River was embarrassed, why hadn’t she realized that sooner.

“I’m glad you did. I want to talk to you, too.”

Chapter 10

Brianna sat listening as River explained her side of their encounter. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around River. But that couldn’t happen. Not the way things were between them now.

“I care about you so much. I never meant to cross any lines with you,” River said.

“But you have developed feelings for me?” Brianna asked.

“Yes. I mean how could I not? I think if I’m honest I’ve always had feelings for you. But we lived together.”

“And have a girlfriend,” Brianna added.

“Exactly. Stepping over that line always felt too risky.”

“How about now?”

Brianna tried to not hold her breath. She needed to be okay with whatever River was about to say. Unfortunately, her heart wouldn’t tell her lies. Brianna knew she was invested, past the point that she should be.

“I’ve thought about that for the past two weeks. Tiff and I have been in a stable, committed relationship. And up until theaccident I thought things were okay. And now, there’s no way I can pretend that you haven’t shown up for me in a vastly more significant way than she has.”

“It’s good to hear you say those things. I appreciate the acknowledgement. I’m just wondering what that means for the two of us moving forward?”

“We’ve talked a lot about my side of things. I think before I go any further, I want to hear what your thoughts are on everything.”

Brianna sighed loudly and locked eyes with River. She loved the deep brown of River’s eyes. But she was torn. There was no way around the fact that things were up in the air. Brianna shook her head, her eyes made friends with the floor.

“I think we both can agree that there are a lot of moving pieces to this. One big moving piece is Tiff. I like you. I like you a lot, River. And nothing would make me happier than seeing where this thing between us could go. But with you already involved, that’s a line I’m not willing to cross. I need to know where you stand with Tiff and with me.”

Brianna watched River’s face fall. She knew the answer before River opened her mouth, but she listened anyway.

“Tiff and I have been together for a little over nine months now. Recently, things haven’t been great. But that hasn’t always been the case. Tiff and I have been happy together. I feellike I owe her a conversation, and a chance to change course before I break up with her.”

Brianna released the breath she’d been holding. There was something oddly settling about having an answer.

“So, you want us to go back to being friends?”

River rubbed her face with a hand. She pinned Brianna with a stare. There was no mistaking the expression of sadness on her face.

“I think we have to. I should at least try to work things out with Tiff. Give her a chance to change before I simply write her off.”

“If that’s what you think is best,” Brianna kept her tone even. The last thing Brianna wanted was to betray her own disappointment to River.

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