And came to a halt when he saw Riley and Brent standing in the foyer. Brent’s
arm was sliding around Riley’s back, his head tilting down as Riley’s arms lifted,
preparing to lock around the man’s neck.
Oh hell no.
“Riley, you got a minute?” Sam blurted out.
Fuck.
She spun around, and he braced himself for surprise and annoyance. Instead he
saw something else. Victory.
Double f**k.
She’d planned this. And he’d walked right into it, like a horny bull.
And he wasn’t even sure he cared. “Ri?” Sam prompted.
She turned back to Brent with a sheepish smile. “I’ll call you later?”
“Sure,” he said giving her an understanding look.
The look he gave Sam was much less tender, but Sam didn’t bother to look
apologetic. He lifted his hand and gave an annoying little finger wiggle at the other
man. See ya.
Riley turned back around to face Sam once Brent was gone, and he realized he’d
been wrong. She may have planned for this, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t a little
pissed. Okay, a lot pissed, he amended as he took in the fire in her eyes.
“Okay, you’ve got your minute,” she said, emphasizing the last word.
Translation: Make it fast.
Don’t worry. He would.
He jerked his head toward her father’s rarely used study, and her expression went
slightly wary before she rolled her eyes and marched her tight ass into the little
space at the front of the house.
After a quick glance confirmed they were alone, Sam followed.
“There’s no room in here,” she muttered.
Sure enough, Josh’s “office” was more of a Christmas storage/unused
furniture/abandoned craft-supply storeroom.
He nudged her in anyway, shutting the door so it was just the two of them in the
crowded space. The late-afternoon sunshine caught on her dangling earrings,
and Sam focused on that. It was a hell of a lot easier than focusing on her face.
“What do you want, Sam?” she asked, her voice bored, her eyes uninterested.
He searched her features. Had he been wrong? Had Brent been something more
than a tool to make him jealous? His gut said no, but his heart wasn’t sure he
wanted the risk.
And his body … hell. Maybe privacy hadn’t been what he and Riley needed right
now. In fact, as he watched her chest rise and fall beneath her low-cut red
sweater, he was suddenly sure that privacy was the last thing they needed.
“What’s the mute caveman thing?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows. “I told my
mom I’d help do the dishes, and then I need to get back to the city to do my edits
due tomorrow—”
Dishes? She was seriously thinking about dishes right now? He was ready to
explode, and she was talking about goddamned chores?
Well, he had something else in mind. Something a whole lot more pressing than
dishes.
Don’t do this, man, he ordered himself. He’d promised Liam. He’d promised
himself.
He was no good for her, and one of them was going to get hurt.
“Right. Okay then,” she muttered, trying to edge around him, her hand going for
the doorknob.
Let her go.
He couldn’t.
Sam’s hand found her wrist before she could turn the knob, and they both froze,
their breath coming fast and heavy.
His thumb moved over her palm, and she gasped at the touch. He knew what she
was feeling. They’d done a damn good job of avoiding physical contact over the
years, and this was why.
“Sam—”
He moved then, pressing her into the door, his eyes locking on hers for a split
second before his hand went around the back of her neck and he lowered his
head.
And then he kissed her.
Holy hell, he was kissing Riley McKenna.
It was wrong, and a mistake and every kind of f**ked up, and yet all he could think
was finally.
She let out a shaky little breath, and his tongue swept in as he tilted her head
back, lips twisting, tongues tangling as he moved against her, pinning her more
firmly against the door.
Her hands moved to his shoulders, and for a heart-wrenching moment he thought
she’d push him away. But then her fingers dug into his shirt, tugging him closer.
It was like he was a teenager all over again, finally getting his hands on the hottest
girl in school.
Only the hottest girl in school was his best friend’s baby sister, and he was sure
to fail at this, just like he failed at everything.
He pulled back just enough to search her face.
Both of them were gasping, and her hand went to his face, her fingers lightly
brushing his lower lip. “It’s about time.”
He closed his eyes briefly. “You know this is insane.”
Instead of responding, she gazed back at him smugly, looking a lot more sure