Riley
At ten to seven, my phone chimed with a text.
**Ready? I’m on my way to your room.**
I couldn’t remember a time when Rose had sent me a text message, so it surprised me to see one from her. It also surprised me how informal it was. Sure enough, a minute later there was a knock on my door. I stepped out, giving Rose a smile.
“You look as though you enjoyed the pool this afternoon,” Rose mentioned. “A little sun looks good on you.”
“Thanks. I did enjoy the pool. And the sun. Luckily I didn’t get burned.”
“You lived here before, right? So you’re used to the sun.”
“Well, I mean, one never really forgets the Arizona heat, but this is nothing. Try hanging out here in August,” I replied with a laugh. We continued idle conversation until we walked into the restaurant where Rose gave the maître d’ her name.
“Right this way, Ms. Finch,” the tall man in a very dapper black suit said, just before leading us to a table toward the back of the restaurant. I was following them, taking in the scenery and lavish décor of the upscale restaurant, but put a smile on my face as we approached the table.
“Here you are, ma’am,” he said, stepping to the side and motioning to the table.
“Rose, oh my gosh! It’s been so long!” I watched as a blonde woman stood from the table and wrapped her arms around my boss. They hugged and swayed, both laughing. I let them have their reunion, waiting quietly until they parted.
Rose stepped to the side and held a hand out toward me. “This is my associate, Riley Smith. Riley, this is Lily Jameson, my very best friend from college.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said with a smile, reaching out and shaking her hand. She returned my smile, but hers was so warm and inviting, I instantly felt at ease around her. “Congratulations on the wedding,” I added as we all took our seats.
“Yes, where is Adam?” Rose asked Lily.
“He got sent on a last-minute trip overseas for work,” she said on a sigh, placing her linen napkin on her lap. “He sends his love, obviously.” She gave Rose another warm smile. “How was the flight here?” Lily’s eyes shot to me. “Did you have to wheel her off the plane?”
“Oh please, I’m not that bad,” Rose insisted.
“I have pictures from spring break in Cancun our junior year that would absolutely prove you wrong.” My eyes widened at the thought of Rose in Cancun. The image of Rose as a carefree college student was hard to conjure. Lily laughed and turned her attention to me. “She’d been dreading the flight the entire week we’d been there and ended up drinking herself into a stupor on the plane. They literally had to call ahead for a wheelchair to even get her down the jetway.”
“Shall we start exchanging Cancun stories, Lily? Really?” Rose asked with a laugh.
“Okay, perhaps not. Besides, I think Penelope has the best stories—or the worst stories, depending on how you look at it. We should save the tales of college drunkenness for when she’s around.”
“Good plan. Will we be seeing her tomorrow?”
“Yes, definitely. She’d be here now but she had a date.”
“Penelope, Lily, and I were all roommates in college,” Rose said to me, filling me in. “Penelope and I are bridesmaids.”
“Co-maids of honor,” Lily corrected.
“I see,” I said with a smile.
“I brought Riley because she’s my best coordinator, but it hadn’t occurred to me that bringing her meant I would be subjecting her to embarrassing stories.”
“Well, let’s face it. You’re not Rose, her boss, right now. You’re just Rose, my best friend. I’m glad you’ll be helping to plan the wedding, but I don’t want hard-ass, boss Rose. I want my best friend who happens to be spectacular at her job.”
“Hey, I can totally appreciate that you have a life outside of work. And I promise I can definitely keep your confidence,” I explained, giving Rose a smile. To be honest, it would be fun to see a different side of her, or to see her in a different light.
“Well, we might not have a choice after tomorrow,” she sighed. “I love Penelope, but she can be a little over the top sometimes.”
“She means well,” Lily said softly.
There was the tiniest bit of tension falling over the table, so I did my best to clear the air. “Since I am obviously at a disadvantage here, can you fill me in on the plans you have for the event? Have you settled on anything yet, or are we on a blank slate?”
Lily clearly enjoyed talking about her wedding and the next two hours was filled with animated conversation about it. The drinks were flowing and the food was amazing.
“So, I think I want a blush dress and then I want the whole theme to be, like, rose gold. Very soft and feminine, but opulent.”
“That sounds gorgeous,” I said sincerely. It did sound breathtaking.
“And we can have the whole reception in a big tent with white draping, and use lighting to get the right effect. With gold embellishments and light pinks and reds, plus a few pops of sparkle, I think it’ll be perfect.”
“Dang, Lily, are you sure you don’t want a job in event planning?” Rose teased.
Lily waved a hand at her friend. “I’m not a professional event planner. I’m a professional Pinterest abuser. Can I get paid to look at Pinterest?”
We all laughed as I was sure we could all relate.
“So, Riley, I know Rose is single because she’s in a committed relationship with her job, but how about you? Seeing anyone special?”
A smile formed on my face thinking of Cam, but before I could answer, Rose spoke up for me. “Riley is recently engaged to a very handsome man, who happens to be the mayor’s son.”
“Oh really?” Lily said with enthusiasm.
“Show her the ring,” Rose said while nudging me with her elbow.
I shyly held up my left hand and both women inspected the ring carefully.
“It’s beautiful, Riley,” Lily said softly. She was obviously a hardcore romantic. “So, tell me how you met your fiancé.”
“Yes,” Rose exclaimed. “I still haven’t heard the story.”
“Oh well, that’s actually a pretty funny story.” I took a sip of my cosmopolitan and then dove right into the best day of my whole life. “I’d just gotten a promotion, so I was celebrating by taking my best friend to a basketball game. Well, the couple sitting next to me broke up right before halftime, like, right next to me. And it was really awkward because I could hear everything. So, anyway, his girlfriend—well, ex-girlfriend—left in a huff and we’re just sitting there next to each other. I felt bad for him because the woman seemed like a complete crazy handful, so I just kind of told him he’d dodged a bullet and was better off. We started talking a little, and then we noticed our faces were up on the Jumbotron for the Kiss Cam. You know, where they make people kiss in front of the whole arena?”
“No,” Lily gasped, smiling.
Rose’s hand was covering her mouth in surprise.
“So, I kissed him.” My words came out all breathy and I knew I had a dreamy expression on my face. I always got all love drunk when I thought about that kiss.
“Must have been some kiss,” Lily said with a laugh.
“The best kiss I’d ever had. Ever.”
“Wow,” Rose said wistfully.
“Yeah, after that he pursued me relentlessly.” I laughed at the memory. “We’ve been together ever since.”
“She had a ring on her finger within five months,” Rose shared.
“Really?” Lily asked, looking to me for confirmation.
“Best kiss I ever had, ladies,” I replied pointedly, raising my eyebrows. “That translates to all other pertinent areas of concern.”
“Oh my,” Rose said, fanning herself. She’d had at least three drinks and her boss walls were dropping.
“Oh yes,” I said just before taking a sip of my drink, which I found to be empty. Bummer.
“Another round?” Lily asked, her voice hopeful.
“I’m down,” Rose said in a very un-Rose way.
I looked at my empty glass—my third empty glass—and then thought about Camden.
“I should probably head back upstairs.”
“Oh really? Just one more?”
“No,” I said, making it sound as though I really wanted to stay, which wasn’t hard because a big part of me did. I liked Lily and I enjoyed watching Rose be normal. And the two of them together was very entertaining. “I think I probably got a little too much sun this afternoon, and that third cosmo is totally hitting me. Time for bed.” I turned to Rose. “What time are we starting tomorrow?”
“A car will be here to pick us up at ten. We’re going dress shopping and then looking at a few venues.”
Lily squealed and bounced in her seat. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
“I can’t wait,” I said with a smile. And I meant it. I couldn’t remember a time when I was looking forward to planning a wedding more. “Okay, I’ll see you then.” I opened my clutch to put some money on the table, but Rose’s hand covered mine.
“This is all covered by the company, Riley.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. See you in the morning.”
“Okay,” I said sheepishly, feeling a little guilty for drinking with company money. “See you ladies tomorrow.”
They both waved and then I made my way upstairs.
Walking into an empty room was unsettling, especially since I knew I was going to be there for the whole night. Alone. I hadn’t spent a night alone in months. Even though I’d had a few days to prepare for this trip, I hadn’t been able to prepare for the feeling of having something missing. It hadn’t occurred to me that spending a night away from Camden would seem so foreign.
I pushed back the lonely feeling, changed into my pajamas, and washed my face. Only when I was deeply ensconced in my big, fluffy, mostly empty bed did I call Camden.
“Hey,” he answered, his voice sleepy and gruff. “I was about to give up on you.”
“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting our business dinner to turn into a girls’ night.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, it was fun though. Seeing Rose in a whole new light. She’s not all work and business. She’s just like any other twenty-something woman with girlfriends. Weird.”
“So it went well, then?”
“I think so. How was your day?”
“Boring, but that’s to be expected. What I wasn’t expecting was to miss you this much after just a few hours.”
His words absolutely melted me. He missed me too.
“I know what you mean. This big bed is too empty. Feels weird to not be with you.” I rolled on my side and brought the fluffy comforter under my chin.
“It’s stupid is what it is. No more work trips.” He sounded like an insolent, crabby child. His tone only made me laugh.
“Unfortunately, work trips are in my future. But only a few. Besides, we lived for twenty-some years without each other. We can make it a few nights.”
“The difference, Riley, is that before, I didn’t know what I was missing. Now I’m completely aware that you’re not next to me. I can’t just roll over and pull you against me, can’t lean over and smell you or feel your warmth on the sheets.”
“Cam,” I whispered, moved beyond words by his declaration.
“It’s pretty fucking stupid, babe.”
That made me laugh. “I know, and I agree. But we’ll make it.”
“Speak for yourself,” he said gruffly.
I laughed a little more, enjoying the sounds of his voice, even if it was irritated and grumpy with my absence.
“Did you call your mother?”
Suddenly I wasn’t smiling anymore.
“I have not.”
“Babe,” he said in a warning tone.
“What?”
“You’ve got to call your mother.”
“I will. I’m planning on it.”
“When?”
“I don’t know, when I’ve got time.”
“How would you feel if you found out your mother had made a trip to Portland but didn’t call you or try to see you?”
It would hurt my feelings. A lot.
“I don’t know. I’d probably figure she’d been really busy.”
“I know you hold some resentment toward your mother, babe, but you can’t not call her.”
“I know,” I said, exhaling a large sigh. “It’s just hard. I know she’s going to want to see me.”
“It won’t be that bad,” he said, his voice softer.
I knew down to my bones he was right, that I had to call my mother, but he was wrong when he thought it wouldn’t be that bad. It might have been illogical, but the horror of my high school years and my mother were inexplicably linked in my mind. Even though she saw me suffer, watched me experience a horrid four years at that school, surrounded by those people, she never once stepped in to help me. She’d isolated me from the life and friends I’d had before, then left me to figure everything out on my own.
“I’ll call her tomorrow,” I concede.
“I think you’ll be angry with yourself if you don’t.”
He was right, but I didn’t need to tell him that.
“We’re going to look at wedding dresses tomorrow. The bride wants a blush dress.”
“Riley, you know that means nothing to me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It means pink.”
“A pink dress? For her wedding?”
“You don’t like the idea of a pink wedding dress?”
“I don’t know.” He sounded contemplative. “I guess I just always imagined my wife walking down the aisle to me in a white dress. There’s something picturesque about a bride in white. Something classic. I don’t know, maybe that’s stupid.”
A slow smile spread across my face. My fiancé was a romantic.
“So, I should cancel the yellow dress I ordered?”
“Ha-ha-ha,” he deadpanned. “Wait, have you ordered a dress? I didn’t even know you’d tried any on.”
“No, I haven’t. You’d know if I’d found a dress. Besides, I need to know when we’re getting married to pick an appropriate one.”
“The date affects the dress choice?”
“Well, yeah. If it’s a summer wedding and we’re outside it’ll be different than if we get married in the winter.”
“So, when do you want to get married? What kind of dress do you want to wear? Summer or winter?”
His question, although completely in line with the conversation we were having, caught me off guard. I didn’t think when I called him that evening we’d be trying to pin down a date.
“I’m not sure. I’m also three cosmos deep right now, so selecting a wedding date might not be the best idea.”
“True. Do me a favor?”
“What?” I respond cautiously.
“FaceTime me.”
“Really?”
“Come on, I miss your face.”
Why did he always have to be so sweet?
“Okay, but I already got ready for bed. I’m in my granny pajamas. There’s nothing sexy happening over here.”
“Babe, you’re always sexy to me.”
I rolled my eyes but gave in to his request.
“There’s my girl,” he said when we finally connected on FaceTime. Something about him calling me his girl always made my insides tremble. He said it with such warmth and tenderness, as though I was his most treasured possession.
“Hey,” I said, smiling at him. He was lying in bed, propped up against his headboard. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, the bastard. Suddenly I missed him so much more than I had a minute before. “I miss you.”
“I know, babe. It’ll only be a few more days, and then you’ll come home and we’ll stay in bed all weekend.”
“That sounds divine.”
“You look like you got a little sun today.”
“Shit, did I burn?” I asked as I inspected my face in the little window on my phone screen.
“No, you just look like you were in the sun. Tan, I guess.” I watched as a slow smirk crept across his luscious lips. “Are there new tan lines for me to inspect?”
“Tan lines?” I laughed.
“Fuck, Riley, I promise I wasn’t planning on getting all turned on. I just wanted to see your face. But now you’ve got me thinking about tan lines across your ass. Fuck,” he groaned. I watched on the screen as his arm moved, looking like he was reaching for his pants.
“Hey, hand check! Hands where I can see them, mister!”
He laughed but didn’t comply.
“You know you like it when I touch myself.”
This was true, generally speaking. There’d been numerous occasions when Camden would be paying special attention to me, whether it be fingering me or going down on me, and the very distinctive sound of his hand on his cock, swiftly moving up and down… well, that sound could send me over the edge. Him being so turned on that he couldn’t take it anymore and just had to touch himself was pretty fucking sexy.
“I like it when I’m there with you and we can enjoy each other. This just feels cheap and dirty.”
“Feeling dirty?” He said the words on a gasp, and by the way his arm was still moving I could tell he was touching himself. Damn. I tried not to get turned on, but it was useless. He was shirtless and I could see all his muscles moving in sync as he ran his hand up and down his shaft. Well, I assumed that’s what he was doing. I couldn’t see him from the belly button down.
“I think you’re feeling dirty enough for both of us.”
“Fuck,” he groaned, his head dropping back to lean against the headboard. I watched for a few seconds, fascinated by the visual, but then his eyes met mine again. “I don’t want to do this alone, babe.”
I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. I wanted to give him what he needed, wanted to be the sexy fiancée who’d have FaceTime sex with him and fulfill this new fantasy, but I didn’t have it in me in that moment. Maybe it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was the loneliness I felt in that big suite all by myself, but I didn’t feel sexy. I was actually a little sad.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered with a wince.
He sighed loudly and it was clear his hand dropped whatever it had been holding. He looked at me with concern in his eyes. “You okay? I mean, is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just tired and homesick.” I shrugged. “I think I’m just going to go to sleep.”
“Okay,” he said, sounding worried. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Cam. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I disconnected the call and pulled the covers up to my face.
There were so many things in my life that were right—my job was going great, my romantic life was practically perfect, and I had the best friends anyone could ask for. So why did it feel as though everything was so close to falling apart?