because we had a fight?”
“He sure as hell isn’t going to appreciate me deflowering his baby sister. I
promised him I wouldn’t touch you—”
“Oh, get over that,” she snapped. “It’s a shield, and you know it.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “What do you want from me, Riley?”
I want you to love me back.
She didn’t say it, but when he opened his eyes and looked at her, she knew by
the slight softening of his expression that he understood.
And worse, that he pitied her for it.
“Riley.”
She held up her hand. “Don’t. Just don’t.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but instead paced in a little circle. “So what now,
we just drive back to the city in awkward silence?”
“Yes,” she said, pushing past him and yanking open the passenger-side door.
“That’s exactly what we do.”
And they did. Five hours, and not a word or a glance between them. Riley held
on good and tight to her anger. It was the only way to ward off her pain until she
could get far, far away from him.
He didn’t love her.
The car ride was both endless and over too fast, and by the time he pulled up to
the curb outside her apartment, the tension was thick enough to choke her.
And because she still couldn’t think of the right thing to say, she lifelessly lifted
her hand for the door handle when his voice stopped her.
“Ri.”
She paused.
“I care about you. I do. I’m just not cut out for the happily-ever-after stuff. I tried,
and failed. You deserve more.”
“Really? You’re going to try to spin this into the I’m-doing-this-for-your-own-good
cliché?”
“What do you want from me?” Sam exploded, his voice finally losing its patient
control. “You’ve already saddled me with a dog. What’s next? A wife? A baby?”
“That’s not even remotely fair! It’s not like I’ve been leaving Modern Bride
magazines on your coffee table. I was simply suggesting that we attempt to have
a mature, adult relationship for as long as we’re both feeling it.”
“Well, I’m not feeling it anymore,” he snapped.
“Just tell me what changed,” she said, grabbing his arm. “A few days ago I thought
we were in a good place. You’re mad at me because I yelled at your mom? I
overstepped. I get that, and I’ll call and apologize.”
“You weren’t wrong in the things you said to her, and the friend in me appreciates
it, but that whole shit show was just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m not going to let
you stick around and get pulled further in. You matter.”
“You’re breaking up with me because I matter? You know there’s no trophy for
that, right?”
Her words were sarcastic and her tone fierce, but then a stupid tear escaped and
ruined the whole effect. Sam saw it and his lips tightened before he reached out
a finger and gently collected the tear, showing it to her.
“This is why, Riley. There’s one tear now, but the longer this goes on, the more
there will be when we end things, and I can’t bear that. It’s time to get real about
this.”
There were plenty more tears threatening to follow the first one, but not in front
of him.
There’d be time for that later with wine and ice cream and bad movies.
But for now …
Riley clawed at the door handle and shoved the door open.
“Mission accomplished, Sam. I’m leaving. Not because you want me to, but
because you’re not even worth fighting for. You’re a coward.”
“Now hold on—”
But Riley wasn’t done. She jabbed her finger at his chest. “You want to get real?
Let’s talk about those ROON whisky labels that I know are sitting on your
worktable right now. The ones that I watched you painstakingly cut to get just
right, so that they’re deserving of the bottles you carefully selected and the whisky
that’s pretty damn close to perfect? Who’s going to even see that, Sam?”
He shook his head. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
Riley grabbed her purse and slid out of the truck before turning to face him. “Hey,
how’s that fantastic new blend coming along? The one that you said was the best
you’ve ever made? Still locked in that cabinet?”
His expression was stormy. “We are not talking about it.”
“Of course not. Bolt that shit up like you have your heart so that nothing ever
hurts.”
His eyes remained shadowy as he watched her.
“Putting yourself out there doesn’t have to end badly,” she said, her tone softening