RILEY HAD DONE HER best over the phone with Harrison to act as natural and as excited as possible, but the notion of going to his place for dinner after what she’d just been through with Owen was less than ideal. This dinner, she decided, would be the perfect opportunity to tell Harrison about the pregnancy. She was still on the edge of whether or not she would tell him the baby belonged to him, but either way, she was going to tell him about the baby.
She told herself to relax as she stood outside his condominium and pressed the buzzer, along with his number. Not three seconds passed before his voice came through the intercom:
“Hello?”
“Hey... it’s Riley.”
“Come on up.”
The buzzer sounded, and she took a second breath as she opened the door. That walk to the elevator, and then the ride up, felt like a lifetime. By the time she made it to his door, she was struggling with what to say.
Just act natural, she thought. Be yourself. Pretend everything is normal, you can do this.
When the door opened, she smiled at him and stepped in to hug him. His arms closed around her in return, and as she rested her chin over the top of his shoulder, everything inside of her stopped; the space she was looking at was vastly different than she remembered. The lights were dim, and there were candles flickering everywhere. The table had been set up professionally, and she could smell seasoned chicken or turkey coming from the kitchen. Roses were laid across nearly every flat surface, and the entire set up was beautiful.
As gorgeous as it all was, though, it made her heart drop into her stomach, and she suddenly felt as though she couldn’t breathe. What the hell was this? What was he trying? He’d invited her over to dinner and that was it; why had he gone through so much effort to set all of this up?
Because he thinks this is all a game, she thought to herself in a near panic. He’s just trying to win me over so that he can get me into bed anytime that he wants.
For Riley, the sight of all of this effort struck her as out of character for Harrison, and she just knew that he was up to something. She also knew that she didn’t want to involve her child with someone who couldn’t take the important things seriously, and the impact of learning what Harrison’s reputation was like weighed more heavily upon her than she realized.
“Harrison... what is all of this?” She pulled away from him, her stomach churning; she couldn’t tell whether it was the nerves or the hormones making her feel like hell – probably both.
Even before he could answer, Riley turned around and rushed down the hallway. Instead of using the elevator, she took the stairs all the way down to the main level. She listened as she half walked, half ran, but couldn’t hear him behind her; thank the lord. Her entire being was in tatters, and she fought against the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
As soon as she was out the door, she heard Harrison behind her, calling her name. “Riley! Riley, come back. Riley!”
Shit, shit! She didn’t look back as she waved for a cab and hurried down the street. The sound of the door opening as he came through made her heart jump, and she glanced back just in time to see him running onto the sidewalk after her. He looked frustrated, confused, and hurt, and even though that expression sent a pang of guilt through her, she knew that she couldn’t stay. Wanting to tell him about the baby was a mistake that she wasn’t going to make.
“Harrison, don’t you dare follow me. I have to go!”
She turned away from him as a cab stopped at the curb. The sensation of warm, wet tears rolled down her face, and she quickly wiped at them when she slid into the car and slammed the door. “Just drive, please.” She spoke as calmly as she could, unable to look back toward Harrison; she imagined him running after the cab, and she couldn’t get the look on his face out of her mind; she’d never seen him so unbelievably hurt. That she had caused that in him made her want to cry even more, but she wiped at her cheeks and her eyes, and held the emotions at bay. This was better for everyone; it had to be.
––––––––
“RILEY? WHAT THE HELL happened? You look awful!”
Jessica stood on her doorstep in shock. Riley had just shown up, and as soon as Jessica’s face had come into view, Riley hadn’t been able to hold the tears back any longer. She pressed her hands over her face and cried, even as Jessica gently gripped her by the arm, pulled her inside, and closed the door.
“Hey, come on.... talk to me.”
“It’s...” She swallowed thickly and shook her head; her eyes had never felt so painful and puffy in her entire life. “It’s Harrison...”
“Oh my god, what the hell did he do to you? I swear to you, I will kick his sorry ass, just tell me where he is. For real, I’m gonna grab my keys and go right now!”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” Riley tried and failed to smile, sinking down into a chair in the living room. After a little while, she was able to gather herself enough to at least talk: “Harrison invited me over for dinner tonight... but Jess... when I got there, it was all full of candles, roses, and the lights were dim. He was cooking. He never cooks, we always just go out. I feel like he was just trying to play more games with me, like he wanted to seduce me. This baby deserves a lot better than a man who is only interested in sex...you know?”
Jessica sat down next to Riley and took one of her hands. “I do know, but it sounds like he really does like you. Look at all the effort he’s put into keeping you interested. Taking you out on dates, inviting you to dinner. And hey, bonus? He’s not an asshole.”
“That’s the thing... I don’t really know him at all...”
“Well, I doubt he really knows you, either. Knowing you... Riley, I know opening up to people is tough, but you have to. It’s what life is all about, don’t you think? Life is about...taking those chances you’ve never wanted to take and just living. Do you want to be eighty years old and regret not making the choices you wanted to?”
“No, but–”
“There aren’t any ‘buts,’ hon... none whatsoever. Just...” She sighed and held Riley’s shoulders. “Just take the chance. I know you want to or you wouldn’t be crying right now. You wouldn’t be agonizing over what you’re going to say to him. But my advice to you is to not torture yourself. Just tell him and get it over with. You’ll feel so much better.”
“Jess... I don’t know...”
“Hey... think of it this way: what if telling Harrison about the baby will solidify things between you two? Maybe if he knew that he was going to be a father, he’d open up more... want a real relationship. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Yes...” Riley swallowed and wiped the last of her tears away. “More than anything, I want this baby to have a family. But Harrison isn’t father material. He likes nights out at the club and he likes taking women home. He likes sex, Jess. That’s all he wants.”
“Are you just saying those things to protect yourself or do you actually believe them?”
She groaned in frustration and pushed fingers back through her hair. “God, I don’t know... this is so stupid, I should be able to make a simple decision like this.”
“It’s a lot easier than you think: tell him. Boom, done. Finito!”
“No, it’s not... I don’t want to take the chance... as much as I want to trust him, after seeing all of that tonight, I just can’t. I’ll tell him something eventually, but he can’t know the baby is his; I don’t want him involved.”
Jessica pressed her lips together, but nodded and touched Riley’s arm. “It’s your choice. I don’t think it’s the right one, but I can’t decide that for you... and you know I’m always with you 100% of the way.”
“I know.” She sighed and fell back against the couch. “Can I stay here tonight? Maybe a few nights? If Harrison comes looking for me, I really don’t want to see him. Not right now. There’s way too much on my mind, and I don’t think he’d understand; he doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer very well.”
“Of course. Sit tight and I’ll go get the guest room ready.” She gave Riley a protective squeeze, then left for the guest room. As soon as Riley was alone, she curled her legs underneath her and wrapped her arms around the closest pillow. She squeezed it tight and rested her cheek against its plush surface, the tears of confusion and fear still stinging the corners of her eyes.