Page 63 of Unraveling the Truth About Love
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DAMN!JOSH STOMPED through the apartment, up and down the hall, through the living room, and finally, into the master bedroom, where he leaned on the dresser and stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess; his eyes were bloodshot and angry. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to scream. He wanted to rewind time andwitnessRiley draw that original drawing. Hegritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, and paced the floor until his chest and stomach hurt so badly he had to get the poison out. He raised his arms toward the ceiling and cursed.
The veins in his neck pressed against his skin. His face felt white-hot. How the heck would he fix this mess? He stomped to the front door and swung it open. He’d apologize to Riley. He’d take her in his arms and workthis mess out.Then what?What if he’d been wrong about her? What if she did steal the design?I’m not wrong. She’s a good person.But what if…
He closed the door, taking relief in the fact that it was Saturday. He had time to think. To plan.To mourn.
RILEY FLUNG HER clothes on the foyer floor and crumpled onto the livingroom couch, sobbing. How could this happen? Yesterday she was on cloud nine, and now her career—and her relationship with Josh—were over. Kaput. Done. She sobbed until her chest and throat ached and she had no more tears to cry. She punched the couch pillows, then stood and paced. She wished she could climb out of her skin and hide. Riley threw herself onto the center of the living room floorand curled up in the fetal position.How could anything hurt this much?
She couldn’t think past the ache of mistrust Josh had shown. He should have come to her first. Now everyone knew that she’d been accused of something she didn’t do—of something Josh believed she did.
She dialed Jade’s number. Jade answered on the first ring, and the sound of her voice drew more sobs from a well deep withinRiley’s body that she didn’t know existed. How could something hurt so much?
“Ri? What is it, hon? What can I do?” Jade urged.
“I…I wanna come home.” That was it. She had to go back to her safe existence. No one in Weston would ever accuse her of something so vile.
“Oh, honey, of course you can come home. Ri, honey, tell me what’s going on. Did something happen? Did Josh do something?”
Rileypushed through the pain and humiliation and told her best friend exactly what had crushed her will to go on.
“Oh, hon. I just can’t believe Josh would believe any of that,” she said. Her voice was like a warm hug—an embrace that part of Riley wanted to rebel against and push away from so she could wallow in the ache of Josh’s faltering faith in her and another part of her wanted to run back intojust to feel that she was loved.
There was no hiding from the excruciating pain. She had to face Josh head-on or give up. How could she love someone who didn’t trust her? But shedidlove him.
“Well, he does,” she said to Jade. “What should I do? Should I talk to him some more? I mean, what can I say? There was no one watching me draw Max’s dress. I mean, I had to hide it from Claudia or dealwith her wrath. There were no eyewitnesses.”
“Take a deep breath, Riley. Let this mess blow over, then talk to him. It’s Saturday. Talk to him tomorrow, when you’re less upset. That way you can fix things before Monday.”
“I don’t know if I want to fix things. I’m not sure I’m cut out for this backstabbing business after all.”Or a relationship with Josh.
“I can’t give you the answers, but Iwouldn’t make any final decisions today,” Jade said.
“I told Josh to get someone else to run the show,” she admitted.
“Then Cruella wins. Hands down.”
She knew Jade was pushing her in the same way that she might have pushed Jade if she were in a similar situation, but it hurt so darned much.
“So come home. Give up,” Jade urged.
Riley wiped her eyes as reality dawned on her. Jade was right.If she gave up, Claudia won. Even if she didn’t carry on her relationship with Josh, she couldn’t let Claudia define her career. “Sometimes I hate you,” Riley said.
“I can accept that. Now get your butt in the shower, show up on Josh’s doorstep, and tell him that you’re doing the show. Then hold that beautiful head up high and don’t let all this bull weigh you down. You’ll figure this stuff out.And if you don’t, you can come home to me. I’ll open a bottle of Middle Sister margaritas, and we can drink all the hurt away.”
She heard a forced smile laced with worry in Jade’s voice. Riley sighed. “And what about Josh?”
“That’s a hard one. I get why you feel he doesn’t trust you, but also, he’s a businessman, and there’s that to consider. He has a company and a reputation to protect. Riley,without talking to him, you can’t know where he’s coming from. Maybe he’s as confused as you are.”
Riley wiped her remaining tears and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll try, but I might end up on your doorstep tomorrow.”
RILEY STOOD IN front of Josh’s door with her hand perched to knock. There wasn’t much she could do abouther red-rimmed, puffy eyes or the deflated feeling in her chest, but at least she looked good. She wore the other JBD outfit Mia had picked out for her, and the form-fitting navy dress gave her a modicum of confidence. She’d been practicing what she was going to say for the past thirty minutes, but when Josh opened the door wearing his wrinkled clothes, his eyes also puffy and bloodshot, hishair still askew, it completely derailed her.
“Riley,” he said in an exhausted whisper. He stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in, please.”
The little confidence she’d mustered shattered with his broken voice. Her eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed them shut. “Shoot.”
His arms were around her then, holding her against his chest. His lips on the top of her head, kissing her ina way that pulled more tears from some invisible well deep within her.
