Page 25 of Unraveling the Truth About Love
“Yes, I did. Oh, Jade. I’m such an idiot. He was ready to talk to her and tellher that we were seeing each other, and I kinda freaked out about being seen as the woman who slept her way to the top.”
“Well,” Jade said, “if you’re gonna sleep your way to the top, you skipped all the in-between steps.”
“Shut up. You know what I mean. I want to be taken seriously. Yes, I’m sleeping with Josh, but I’m not doing it to advance my career.” Riley wondered if she’d made a mistakefollowing her heart instead of her head. “I should end it, shouldn’t I? Before we get any closer?” Even the thought of ending things with Josh brought a lump to her throat.
“Look, if Rex and I can overcome a family feud that had gone on for longer than we’d been alive, then you and Josh can survive rumors. Tell me this. What do you really feel for him?”
Riley shook her head. “I don’t know. Ilike him. A lot. Maybe more than a lot, but maybe that’s just because it’s new and exciting. You know how that works. Sometimes, after a month or so, that initial glow wears off. What if it does and then I’ve ruined my career for good?”
“You know you’re only kidding yourself, right?” Jade asked. “You’ve liked him since grade school. This isn’t new. It’s just nowrevealed. How can you deceiveyour own mind like that?”
Riley sighed. “I’m not. Okay, maybe I am. It’s like all those years of watching him from afar—”
“Fantasizing about him late at night,” Jade said.
“Maybe.”
“I did about Rex, so I know you did about Josh.”
“Fine, okay. I fantasized about him since the day my hormones kicked in, and the fantasies only grew stronger every time I saw him. It was easier when I was awayat school. Then I could sort of put those thoughts away for a bit,” Riley admitted.
“I know the feeling, but, Ri, this is real. This is happening, and you know you don’t want to end it,” Jade said.
A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.
“Someone’s at the door. That has to be him. I gotta go. Talk later?” Riley asked.
“Yes, and, Ri?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s nothing wrong with followingyour heart. Let yourself be happy.”
Riley set the phone down and answered the door.
“Hi.” Josh kissed her on the cheek and handed her a warm Starbucks cup. He breezed past her like he’d been handing her coffee every morning. He wore a pair of jogging shorts and a sweaty T-shirt and carried a garment bag and a gym bag over his shoulder.
“Hi.” Riley closed the door and leaned against it, holdingthe warm cup between her hands.Let me be happy.The warmth of the cup didn’t compare to the warmth in her heart as she watched Josh in all his incredible handsomeness swing the bags onto the couch and come toward her with open arms. When he wrapped her in his strong arms, his skin was icy cold and slick with sweat, and still, when he kissed her, she nearly melted, and when he whispered, “I missedyou,” into her ear, she was a goner. There was no way she’d end things with Josh to save herself from gossip. She froze against him. What was she supposed to do now? Go to work and act like nothing happened between them, like she’d basically asked him to do? How could she do that when what she really wanted to do was fall into his arms again and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.
“You okay?”he asked. “Is the coffee all right?”
“Yeah, perfect,” she said.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” His brow furrowed, and the concern in his eyes was genuine.
How could she tell him what was racing through her mind?
“Riley? Am I missing something? Should I have not come back?” he asked.
“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just…”I like this too much. I want to wake up to you. I want you to bring me coffee.I just don’t want to be known as the woman who made her career by sleeping with you.
“Babe? What is it?”
Babe? I love that.
Riley turned away so he couldn’t read her expression. She knew her eyes revealed her emotions. Jade had told her that hundreds of times.
She felt his arms around her. He rested his cheek against hers.
