“It does to all of us.” Riley says the words like a statement. “Wait … the night you gave her a ride home, did you …”
“Not that night,” I say, hoping he’ll connect the dots and back the fuck off her once he realizes that I’ve been with her.
I made her scream out my name; she’ll never scream out his that way.
I fucking hope anyway.
“So, you’ve already been with her,” Riley mutters, and I might not be able to look at him, but I’m sure he’s hanging his head. “I wish I had known that before I brought myself on this long-ass ride to the airport. Because if your dick has been near her, there’s no fucking way I’m interested. I’m not Jeremiah.”
“Jeremiah?” I ask. “Who the hell is that?”
“It’s a show I watch. Too complex for you.” He pauses. “Now that I think about it, you’re Conrad. But still … no way in hell am I Jeremiah. I consider myself more of a Steven really.”
Riley has always loved a lot of the same shows our mom does, and he also loves pop music. He once went to a Taylor Swift concert and raved about it to other fishermen over the radio fordays. So, hard to say what this show is that he’s talking about. All I know is, I’m not sure what my being Conrad means, but I have a feeling he’s a dick.
And the closer we get to the airport, the more I keep thinking how I shouldn’t have even come. I don’t know what I’m expecting to gain here, and yet … here I am.
When Riley texts me that he’s here, I’m not surprised at all when he walks through the airport doors. What is surprising—no, actually, what sends me into full-on shock mode is when Ridge walks in behind him. His eyes instantly find mine, and my stomach does that stupid thing it always does when he’s close by. Despite the fact that he’s a dick, he still gives a girl butterflies like no other.
Trudging toward them, I wheel my bag behind me.
“I’m so sorry that I had to make you come all the way here. I’m sure it was an awful ride. Thank you so much,” I say, stopping in front of Riley and giving him a hug. “But I had returned my rental car, and there’s literally no motels nearby to stay at, so my only option is to go back to the rental house.”
“Don’t even worry about it.” Riley smiles, but there’s a hint of sadness in his eyes that I don’t understand.
When I release him, I find Ridge’s stare on me, and his blue eyes are swirling with anger. I suppose I should hug him, too, but I’m not going to do that. Hell no. With Riley, it’s a friendly hug. If I hug Ridge, I’ll end up dry-humping him.
Ridge steps around his brother and takes the suitcase from me.
In true mysterious Ridge Adams form, he jerks his chin toward the door. “We should go. It’s only going to get worse out there.”
And as he starts toward the exit with Riley and me following close behind, I exhale. All I know is, I came here, trying to make a big move that would make my boss and coworkers notice me and give me some credit, but now, I’m going rogue, no longer giving a shit about closing this deal and also spending an inappropriate amount of time with the people who are supposed to be our potential sellers.
I dare to say, I’ve completely sunk my career. Or at least my career at Ironbound.
Istare up at the ceiling, my eyes feeling gravelly because I only got a few hours of sleep.
Merry fucking Christmas.
We dropped Stella off at her rental house just before midnight. Everything inside of me screamed to demand she stay with me in case the rental lost power, but seeing as she had spent the entire ride chatting with Riley and ignoring me, I didn’t bother. So, for the entire night, I lay here, wondering if she’d lost power because the wind had been whipping so fiercely.
But now, it’s Christmas, and I can’t stand the thought of her being all alone. So, despite my mixed feelings, I’m going to ask my mother if she can come to Christmas at my parents’ house.
I don’t believe in instant love. I think it’s complete bullshit. Yet ever since I spent that day with Stella, I can’t get her off my mind. But even if she wasn’t here in hopes I’d sell out, we live two different lives. She’s a city girl. She’d never slum it on the coast of Maine with me, a fisherman who spends his days off from the boat working at the wharf.
I want her so fucking bad again. I want to throw her on my bed and bury my face between her thighs, making her come so many times that she’s begging me to stop by the end of it. But having her again will make this feeling inside of me grow more.
For whatever reason, she doesn’t seem too fond of Christmas. So, with any luck, she’ll decline when I ask her to come spend Christmas with my family. But I have to at least offer because if not, I’ll feel like a heartless dick.
Looking at the time, I see it’s after seven. My mom is for sure up and at it. No doubt preparing the insane amount of food she makes for Christmas every year.
Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I decide to call her now to give her plenty of notice that I may bring Stella with me.
“Merry Christmas, babe!” she answers on the second ring. “How did you sleep?”
“Like shit,” I mumble, but then remind myself that it’s my mom’s favorite day of the entire year and I need to be nicer. “Hey, I was wondering, would you mind if Stella came today?” Suddenly, I’m so nervous that I shoot out of bed, pacing my room. “She just … she doesn’t have anywhere to go, and I’d feel like a dick if I didn’t—”
“I’ll stop you before you talk yourself to death because you feel nervous, telling me you like this girl.” She laughs. “Riley already asked me, and I said yes. He’s going to pick her up.”
