I shivered at the intensity in his glare and the conviction in his voice.Not this time, Riley.
The way he was convinced he could have me, he could be my fake boyfriend, it should have made me mad, but I wasn’t. Instead, I was excited for the chase.
For that very reason, I should have gotten up and walked away, but I didn’t. I let him keep sweet talking, hoping that he would continue to try to convince me. My heart wanted something my brain didn’t. Even though my heart knew it would get hurt, it still wanted me to wait around to see how much Riley would try. It might be desire of a different type, but it was the first time I had experienced it as an adult.
“Can we hang out more? At least give my dad the impression that I am just not behaving in the business world, but my personal life, too? Come with me to the rodeo. Help keep me from the lifestyle that follows.”
“I will think about it,” I told him.
While my head had reservations about fake dating, it was also on the fence about hanging out as friends. No matter which way I looked at it, the more time I spent with him, either as acquaintances or friends, I could get hurt again.
Once upon a time, as a little girl I had a crush on Riley. Even then he was the bad boy wild child type. Even then I should have known where our path would lead, that I would get hurt. But I didn’t, and the day Shiloh was hit, I learned how bad Riley could really be.
He had crushed our friendship with unrealistic expectations and names. Riley was not the kind of guy that a girl like me should develop feelings for. Once he got his life in order, he would be going places, as a rodeo star and a businessman. He’s the hot cowboy; I would be left in the dust, not good enough.
“Come on, what are you afraid of?” Riley teased.
Again with the teasing.
“A lot,” I told him.
“I’m going out tonight, to test my limits. Do you want to come?” he pushed.
Riley was as stubborn as they came when he found what he wanted. Which was exactly why he apologized. He really wanted this farm one day. But now that he’d set his sights on needing a fake girlfriend, and he identified me as his target, he would never stop. I just needed to be more stubborn.I can do that,I thought.
“No, I am not going out.” Before I could stop myself, I added, “If you want, you can hang out here, with me.”
Emma, you shouldn’t have offered that, you dummy. You don’t even want to be friends. Why offer to confine him in a small space with you? Why invite that kind of trouble and chemistry?
“Doing what?” he asked with another charming smile.
“I don’t know, but you want your father to see us hanging out, without business. The best place to do that is here, where he can see you—us.”
God, I was so dumb.Save me from stupid choices and worse words.
“You are right, honeybee,” he said, using his old nickname for me.
It was the first time I had heard it in fifteen years, and it almost knocked me off my feet. I was called honeybee because my hair had been the same color as honey.
I was still recovering from his use of my nickname when he suggested that we could take a picnic lunch in the pool in the backyard.
“Don’t you think that’s crossing boundaries? I am an employee. I don’t get to use the pool. You know the rules. You used to taunt me about it.”
“But you would be with me. And screw that rule. You tell my father I told you that you could use the pool anytime you want.”
“You’d be a hypocrite,” I said, another reminder of his taunts.
“A reformed hypocrite,” he said with a smile.
That smile made me feel something that pulled at my cut. God, he was handsome. He’s handsome in the classic movie star way. He had the look that many tried to emulate, but he pulled it off flawlessly. That’s just Riley being Riley.
I smiled at his rebellion of the rule, something I had wanted since I started on the payroll here, when my parents died. I had spent summers as a little girl hanging out by this pool with Riley, and then suddenly with my first paycheck, it was banned. It had taunted me through the iron gate ever since.
“Emma, you know that I don’t mind you being in the pool; but I made a rule for all staff, and I can’t single you out,”William had said when I asked him about it years ago.
“Thank you,” I said to Riley with a small smile.
“You’re welcome,” he said back.
