Friendship on Fire(7)

She spritzed on Gucci Première perfume, which she’d gotten at a great discount when she worked at Macy’s, and slipped her still sore feet into a pair of black-and-white Marc Jacobs pumps. Thank you, Macy’s. She stood in front of the mirror and surveyed herself from head to toe. Her hair never let her down. It was her easiest and most pleasant attribute, not too thick and with a natural wave she could accentuate with a twist of a brush. There was no denying the width of her hips or the fullness of her breasts, and even if her waist carried a few extra pounds, she was pleased with how she looked in the dress she’d designed. She shook her head, giving her bangs a playful look as they swept in front of her eyes. Date or not, she was ready, and she looked damned good.

The knock at the door shattered her confidence. Riley froze, her eyes wide. Suddenly she had to know if Josh had asked her on a date or not. She walked into the living room and stared at the door. Move. Answer it. I can’t. You have to.

With the next knock, Riley took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob.





Chapter Seven


JOSH CHECKED HIS watch. Five fifty-five. He was sure he’d said six o’clock. He hadn’t actually picked up a woman at her apartment in months. Most of his dates were arranged by acquaintances or friends—favors for women who were trying to find a place for themselves in the fashion industry. He’d typically sent a car to pick them up or he’d met them at the intended location. That strategy had kept the option of being intimate up to him, not up to circumstance. The idea of dating women he rarely thought about the next day didn’t used to bother him, but over the past year, as he’d watched Treat fall in love with Max Armstrong, and more recently, Rex fall in love with Jade Johnson, he found himself longing for the contentedness they’d found. The way his brothers looked at Max and Jade made Josh long for the same connection, and the way Max and Jade returned that adoration, with looks of love that were nearly tangible and loving touches as they passed by, only made him want it more. It was time. He’d spent years dating whomever he was expected to date. Now it was his time to choose for himself.

The door swung open and Josh’s jaw dropped. He’d seen more models than he could count, and he’d dated some of the most beautiful women in the country, and yet, standing before him, Riley Banks surpassed them all in a stunning black dress. She looked wholesome and sexy. She looked real.

“Hi,” she said with a wide smile, fluttering her gorgeous, thick lashes.

“Wow, Riley. You look gorgeous.” Josh leaned forward and kissed her cheek, inhaling deeply. “Not many women wear Gucci Première. It’s one of my favorites. With hints of bergamot and blackberry mixed with the musky scent of sandalwood, it’s the perfect scent for you.”

“You noticed?” she said softly.

He saw the wonder in Riley’s eyes and felt as if his discerning senses were showing again. He’d always been so entrenched in the fashion industry that he tended to memorize scents, textures, and of course, designers, and he’d instinctively noted people’s favorites. It was one of his greatest pleasures, knowing the things that made people happy, though he was well aware that his ability to determine designers and such might be off-putting to others, or seem snotty. I’ll have to watch that.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be. I like that you noticed.”

Josh had yet to use the tidbits of information he gathered for anything other than courting buyers, but something told him that he might want to put some of Riley’s favorite things to use.

“Who’s the designer?” he asked, eyeing her dress.

Her cheeks flushed. “It’s…one of mine.”

“You designed this? Riley, it’s incredibly hot. I love the attention to detail around the hemline and the peekaboo shoulders. This should be on a runway.” She really does need to design.

She touched the waist nervously. “Really? You like it? I was worried about wearing it.”

“I don’t like it. I love it, and you should be proud to wear it. You really do have immense talent.”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing again.

“These are for you.” He held out the bouquet of red-tipped yellow roses, and when she reached for them, his fingers brushed hers, sending an unfamiliar yearning through him. It had been so long since he’d felt true desire that he almost didn’t recognize it. When he’d stopped to pick out flowers for Riley, there had been no question about which flowers to choose, and as he left the florist, he realized that the last time he had stopped to personally pick out flowers for a woman had been when he was in college.

“They’re gorgeous,” she said. “Thank you. Please come in. I’m sure Savannah has a vase somewhere.”

He followed her into his sister’s apartment, unable to keep from noticing her curvaceous hips as she walked away. He tried not to stare, but found himself reeled in, and followed her into the kitchen.

Riley pushed a pile of sketches to the side, then began opening cabinet after cabinet. “I don’t see one, but I’m sure she has one.”

Josh picked up one of the sketches. “Do you mind if I look?”

“They’re not very good. I was just playing around the first few days I arrived in town. I haven’t had much time to sketch since then.”

“Riley, these are really good. You have a unique style. Your lines are sleek but feminine, and these high necklines are the opposite of what I’ve seen on these types of pieces.” He watched her fumble in the cabinets, avoiding his gaze, and he realized he was embarrassing her. He set the impressive drawings down and picked up a box of gingerbread cookies.

“You caught me,” Riley said. “My sinful secret. Comfort food.”

Another favorite. He set down the box and grabbed a wide-necked bottle from next to the refrigerator. “This might work.”

Riley smiled, then narrowed her eyes. “That looks like an old bottle of wine or something.”

“It works, right? In fact, I think it’s pretty with the green tint and its short stature. Let’s see.” He took the flowers from her, trimmed the ends, then arranged them in the bottle, leaving some stems longer than others and creating a textured layering of the flowers.

“It’s almost scary how good you are at designs. I never would have thought to use that bottle for these. It looks like it belongs in a magazine,” she said.

“Maybe I’ll be a florist in my next life,” he joked.

Riley’s smile began to fade, and Josh noticed the way her fingers fidgeted. She was so cute when she was nervous that he reached out and touched her cheek without thinking. When her eyes searched his, he realized his mistake and withdrew his hand.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that. You looked nervous, and I guess I was just trying to let you know you didn’t need to be.”

She dropped her eyes. “It’s okay.”

“Riley, I’m nervous, too, but there’s really no need for us to be. We’ve known each other for years. Let’s just go out and pretend we’re back in Weston, hanging out at the concert.” He’d felt so comfortable with her back then. He almost wished they were back in Weston now. Seeing that tight dress hugging every inch of her body only made him more confused. He battled his growing desire to pick up where they’d left off in Weston, to have that close friendship that might have quickly become so much more if they’d remained back in their hometown. He was her boss. He had to walk a fine line.

She fidgeted with a seam on her hip. “That sounds…great. I was really nervous. I didn’t know if this was a date or a business dinner. I know that’s silly. I mean, why would it be a date?”

Josh felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He’d thought of the evening as something of a date—a date that had been saddled with Peter’s dinner engagement. He considered telling her as much, but she was already moving more comfortably, less constricted by nerves.

“Shall we go?” He hated the disappointment he heard in his own voice and made a mental note to check his emotions before speaking again. Had he been out of the real dating game for too long? Had he not asked her on a real date? Mildly annoyed with himself, he followed her out of the building and into the waiting car.

Outside, Josh opened the car door for Riley. “You have a driver?”

The shock in her wide eyes was so different from the privileged look on his typical dates’ faces. They’d expect nothing less, while Riley probably found it excessive.

“I wasn’t sure how comfortable you’d be in a cab,” Josh explained.

“I don’t mind cabs so much. It’s the subway that I still need to conquer,” Riley answered.

Josh chalked up another thing he liked about her.





Chapter Eight


PETER STAFFORD WAS a darkly handsome man, graying around the temples, with piercing blue eyes and copper skin. He stood when Riley and Josh arrived at the table. He was not quite as tall as Josh, but he looked very debonair in his dark suit and crisp white shirt.

“This is Riley Banks, our newest design assistant and a very talented future designer,” Josh said with a proud smile.