Just One Night(67)
His jaw tensed but his eyes revealed nothing.
“Or that maybe I’d try to improve upon my A-minus score with another guy?”
This time his eyes definitely flashed.
“Or maybe my upcoming Stiletto article could be something like ‘Ten Guys in Ten
Days.’ Would that appease you?”
“Riley …”
She started to climb out of bed, realizing that her anger was deteriorating into
hurt, and not wanting him to see it.
He gently grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward him. “You know I’m not good
at this.”
“Good at what?” she asked, determined not to let him retreat to his comfort zone.
He swallowed. “Relationships. Or whatever.”
“Which one are we? The relationship or the whatever?”
His eyes begged her to let him off the hook.
She didn’t.
“I just didn’t want you to think I expected anything,” he said. “We’d always talked
about this being just one night, and well, obviously it’s been more than that.”
“Do you want to see other people?” she asked timidly. “Has this whole awkward
conversation been your way of suggesting that we not be exclusive?”
He looked away and her heart sank. But then his fingers tightened briefly on her
arm and he pulled her closer.
“No one else compares,” he said quietly.
Riley’s heart flipped over in her chest, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread
over her face. She leaned over and kissed him softly. “This is great news,
because I want to show you the wedding dress I’ve been eying.”
Sam went pale, and Riley burst out laughing. “Kidding.”
He gave a half smile, but he wasn’t ready to let her out of the conversation yet.
“Anything you want to tell me? Maybe about this whole exclusivity thing?”
Her eyes skimmed over his familiar features, and she felt her expression go a
little soft. “Nobody else compares to you either.”
His arm pulled her even closer. “So you’re really not itching to see what else is
out there? See if there are any moves someone else does better than me?”
“Well, now that you mention it … no.”
He grinned and rolled over her. “We should have done this a long time ago.”
“Says the guy who wasted precious years ignoring or picking on me.”
“Self-preservation. I suspected you’d be lethal to my sanity, and I was right.”
Her hands moved up over his biceps and shoulders, and then she locked her
fingers behind his neck. “And now?”
“Still lethal to my sanity. But in a much more enjoyable way.”
“So you only like me for my body.”
His hand moved upward, cupping his favorite part of her body. “Maybe.”
“Prove it.”
And he did. Very well.
Only afterward did Riley let herself wonder if that would always be enough.
Chapter Eighteen
“You only get one, Ri.”
She scowled. “Says who?”
“Me. Everyone who knows you. Your landlord.”
Riley looked down at the adorable puppies, knowing she’d never be able to
choose between the one with the black tail and the one with the two black front
paws.
She’d just as soon choose one breast to keep. (The left one. The right one had
developed a right, downward slope sometime after twenty-five.)
“You can’t just decide to get a dog on a whim, you know,” he said.
“Sure I can. And it’s not a whim. I’ve always wanted one. It just happened to be
today that Grace called and said her mother’s friend had a litter of my very favorite
dog breed of all time right when I’m finally in a pet-friendly apartment.”
“You don’t even have a leash. Or food. Or toys. Or flea medicine, or a brush.”
“Don’t worry. There are these crazy, faddish new shops called pet stores that
might be able to hook me up.”
“You’re so irresponsible,” he muttered, reaching down to pet one of the tiny dogs,
his big finger dwarfing it, and her brain went gooey.
And she was definitely no closer to picking just one.
“You pick,” she said, giving a woe-is-me sigh.
“No way. I’m here for moral support. And to make sure you don’t walk out of here
with an entire pack.”
The way Sam gingerly scooped up the one with the black tail and scratched it
behind the ears like a legit dog lover belied his motives.
It also hit on the other reason she was here.
Riley really did want a dog. She’d been yammering about it for months, and
despite what Sam thought, she did have a few supplies. There was an adorable
Tiffany collar, a handcrafted food and water bowl set, and though she’d never let