"Wait a minute, Riley, what do you mean?" I asked, nearly breathless, feeling like I had just taken a punch to the gut. Her tremulous voice responded.

"I just… I just don't think this will work out, and… and it's better to end it sooner than later."

I stood in my bathrobe in the kitchen, cradling my phone between my ear and my shoulder, holding the coffee pot in one hand, a mug in the other as I prepared for my first of many cups of coffee in the morning. My hand shook a little bit and coffee sloshed over the edge of the mug onto my hand. I winced, put the coffee pot back in the machine, and placed the mug on the counter, feeling an unusual chill sweep through my body.

"What?" My brain couldn't catch up with her words. Didn't want to. What was she talking about? What was happening? Gradually, my brain processed the emotion in her voice, the disappointment, and the pain, but I just couldn't grasp what she was saying. It'd come out of the blue, taking me completely by surprise.

"Please, don't make me repeat myself," she said. "This is difficult enough as it is."

An awkward silence followed as I tried to grasp what she was saying. "I don't understand." My words felt awkward and hollow, my tongue not wanting to form them. I stared at the steaming mug of coffee, frowning, trying to absorb them. To absorb the shock.

"You know, Wyatt, we come from such different places, and I like you, very much so and I've enjoyed our time together, but…"

"But what, Riley? You like me a lot and enjoy our time together, but what is this?" I almost chuckled, but the sound caught in my throat. "Is this what I think it is? You're breaking up with me?" I couldn't believe it. Too many thoughts raced through my head at once. "What brought all this on?"

I felt a knot in my stomach, an unfamiliar feeling, especially when it came to do with relationships. I had been enjoying myself with her; enjoying her company, her wit, her intelligence. I loved her devotion, her loyalty, and her character. It had gone way beyond sex for me. It was at that moment that it hit me.

Had I fallen for Riley Hunt? I shook my head. Wouldn't that be ironic? The minute I realized I was falling in love with the woman of my dreams, dreams I didn't even know I had, she broke up with me? How's that for ironic? I heard a sniffle on the other end of the line. If this was so upsetting to her, why was she doing it? I couldn't understand it.

"Riley, what happened?" I strove for calm but even I heard the tremor in my voice. I cleared my throat. "What brought this on? You can tell me, I'm not going to get angry. I'm just trying to understand."

She made a squeaking sound and I imagined her biting her lower lip, deciding whether she should say anything or not. I urged her on, softly but firmly. "Riley, don't you think I have a right to know?" A surge of dread and unfulfilled desires prompted my heart to skip a beat. What could possibly have caused Riley to do this? I know she didn't care about my money. I knew she wouldn't have had sex with me if she wasn't attracted to me. Or would she? That damned agreement. But no, we'd enjoyed each other's company after that. That was real. So, what was it?

"When I got home from work this afternoon…"

I waited for her to continue but she didn't. I gently pressed. "When you got home from work this afternoon, what happened?"

"There was a car waiting in front of my house."

A niggle started working at the base of my brain. "What kind of car? Who was in it?"

"A black Escalade. Your mother."

I barely refrained from cursing, loud and long. I should've known. My mother couldn't mind her own business if her life depended on it. Based on Riley's tears, whatever had happened at her house had precipitated her breaking up with me.

"Wyatt, she found out about our agreement."

Confusion for a moment. "Our exclusivity agreement?"

"No." She barely managed on a choked sob. "The first one."

Oh my God. How? I hadn't told anyone, but the agreement was still in my desk. First side drawer. Unlocked. I'd forgotten about it, forgotten to shred it. My heart sank. "Riley—"

"She told my parents, Wyatt," she cried, her voice filled with despair. "She told my parents that I sold my virginity for the zero-interest loan!"

Her voice grew quiet, tremulous, filled with shame and horror. "She threatened me and my parents, telling us, and I quote, there will be no further exchanges of finances, bribes, perks, or other benefits from this moment forward… and then she calmly left. Just like that. My parents… they're so disappointed in me. I can't… my dad told me I had to stop seeing you."

For a few seconds, I saw red. My meddling mother again. How did she learn where Riley lived? What could possibly, possibly prompt her to go to Riley's house, waiting for her to get off work? Didn't she have anything better to do? This was way over the line. My mother often pushed personal boundaries, I knew that, but this?

I frowned. "You're an adult, Riley, you don't have to—"

"You don't understand!"

I froze, stunned and angry beyond belief at my mother for sticking her nose once again where it didn't belong, for Riley's parents treating her like she had done something horrible when all she was trying to do was help them. And a little bit with Riley for bowing to their wishes.

"I'm trying to, Riley," I said. "Let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Wyatt. I live with my parents, under their roof. They’ve supported me all these years, never once telling me I needed to move out. And they rely on my income too. We're in this together, Wyatt. If I leave, they'll never be able to afford the mortgage payments, my mom's medicines, and even though I don't make that much, every little bit helps."

"I can help—"

"No! You can't! It's over. I'm sorry, but… it would never work, Wyatt. Your mother doesn't like me, thinks I'm just after your money. My parents are very angry at me and I can't defy them… I have to… I can't… I can't do this!"

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised at my mother's actions. I should never have assumed that our relationship could get any better. The only way she could have found out about that agreement was if she'd snooped in my desk. But why would she? She never had before. Was it possible that my secretary, or someone else had been rummaging around in my desk? I didn't know who had found the agreement, but I would. Eventually. I just hoped my mother or whomever found the document kept it to themselves and didn't broadcast it to the world.

"I understand you're upset now, Riley, believe me I do. But you also have to realize you can't live in your parents' shadow forever. They'll get over it, you'll see. They'll calm down." Silence, so I continued. "What we had was real, and I'm telling you, in pure honesty, that I've never felt the same way about anyone else before. You know my reputation, Riley. And I'm telling you the truth."

"I can't go against my parents wishes, Wyatt. It would be like... it would be like stabbing them in the back after all they've done for me—"

"And you've done a lot for them too, Riley, don't forget that."

"That's the way we are. We're family. We help each other out. We lean on each other when times get tough. I don't know if this is going to blow over, and I'm sorry, Wyatt, I really am, but this just isn't going to work anymore. I'm sorry. This was a big mistake and ending things like this is best for both of us."

The call abruptly disconnected and I lowered my phone, staring at the screen for several moments, stunned speechless. I turned to look out the sliding glass window in my kitchen, past the pool and to my yacht. How would I ever forget the enjoyable day at the resort that I had spent with Riley? Or making love to her, enjoying something so different, so intense, evoking feelings that I never knew I had? And now it was over, just like that?

My temper grew and anger collided with it. I realized I was flinching and purposely tried to relax every muscle in my body, tried to slow my racing heartbeat. I was a grown man, and yet I wanted to… I wanted to what? Throw a temper tantrum? Tell my mother I hated her and never wanted to see her again? That I wanted to go to Riley's house and beg her to change her mind? None were viable options, nor would they produce beneficial results. Unfortunately, I had to deal with my mother, now and into the future, until she sold all her shares in our stocks, retired from the boards, and if not gracefully, turned her back on the business. I was doubtful about any of that. I would have a moment with my mother, but on my terms and not in such a high state of emotion.

Throwing a temper tantrum would do no one any good. Besides, while I could definitely be ruthless and driven, how do you force someone to love you just because you love them? I watched my yacht floating gently in the canal, trying to distract myself from my very real emotions that just kept repeating, I love her, I love her, I love her.

Irony. This was the epitome of irony. Me, the player, the playboy, the user, the one who took advantage whenever possible, took what I was offered, treating most of the women I knew, whether they deserved it or not, as nothing more than materialistic objects. And Riley? She was like no other woman I had ever met before but I couldn't make her love me if she didn't want to. I couldn't force her to ignore her parents' wishes. Their loyalty and dedication to one another was too strong.

And oh, did I envy that. I had no idea what that felt like. I had only been loyal to me, myself, and I. Which made me wonder. If something happened to my mother, how far would I go to help her? And if the shoe was on the other foot, how far would she go to help me?

She had gone behind my back, and instead of talking to me about the agreement Riley and I had originally made, she'd done the unthinkable. She'd gone to Riley's house and openly humiliated her in front of her parents. What kind of a person did that? How could my mother be so vindictive? She didn't even know Riley.

I continued to pace through the house, trying to calm myself, trying to convince myself that I wasn't miserable, that I would move on, and that Riley was nothing special. Unfortunately, my heart as well as my brain knew that I lied. I finally headed upstairs to get dressed, pausing as I entered the master bedroom to glance at the bed. The bed where Riley and I had enjoyed numerous and passionate bouts of lovemaking. Not just sex anymore. And now it was over, just like that? It couldn't be. I couldn't let it. My growing sense of desperation appalled me and took me by surprise. I sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to figure out why I was so emotional. Couldn't you love someone without feeling like this? This felt horrible.

Okay, so it's obvious that I'd never fallen in love with someone before, but if this is what it felt like, I wasn't sure I wanted to go there. At the same time, I wanted to be in that place more than anything, more than anything I ever wanted before. And my mother had ruined it. Stomped on it like a piece of shit, apparently not caring enough about me to even talk to me first, to get my side of the story. This is what she had done to my dad for years, treating him like he didn't matter, like every decision he made was a foolish one, like his feelings meant nothing.

I quickly dressed, my movements jerky as adrenaline pounded through my veins. Uncertainty, anger, and desperation all lathered up together. I tried to calm myself, to tell myself that I would take care of this, that everything would work out, but I wasn't sure how.

I wouldn't be going into work right away. No. First, I needed time to think. In the mood I was in, the last thing I needed to do was run into my mother.