Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
“ S omething is wrong with Riley,” Lucas’s mother told him. “She’s acting drunk.”
Lucas had just come back into the reception hall after helping some of Carson’s friends decorate his Range Rover and fill it with balloons. He glanced around the dimly lit room, trying to locate Riley. “She can’t be drunk. She doesn’t touch alcohol.”
His mother leaned toward him with a confidential, quiet tone. “Well, I know she didn’t used to, but she’s certainly acting the part now. Ten minutes ago, she made the rounds telling everyone that Mexico knows how to do sunsets. She’s laughing for no reason. She’s also told several people that Carson is desecrating The Riverside Inn, and she’ll be passing around the hat later to take up funds to stop him.”
Lucas shut his eyes. What in the world was Riley doing?
His mother clasped her hands together, disapproval tinging her concern. “Does she have any medical issues that you know of? Is she on any kind of medication? I would have Olivia talk to her, but I don’t want anything to disrupt her big day. Perhaps you could do something?”
Lucas’s gaze kept sweeping the room, trying to locate her. “I’ll talk to her.” He spotted Riley out on the dance floor with one of Carson’s football friends, Buck Thompson. Even though the song wasn’t a slow dance, her arms wrapped around his neck, and she looked like she might fall over.
That was not the way Riley usually danced. Something was definitely wrong. Had someone drugged her so they could take advantage of her?
The idea raised all sorts of hackles inside Lucas, and his police training instantly kicked in. Riley wasn’t going to step foot out of this room with anyone, and he would find out exactly what she’d drunk and who had given it to her. If it was Buck, Lucas would take him down right here, right now, Carson’s big day notwithstanding.
He stormed over to Buck and Riley. “Hey, I need to speak to Riley for a minute.” He was doing his best not to sound accusing but hadn’t been successful.
“That’s my boss,” Riley said in a loud whisper, her arms still draped over Buck’s shoulders. “It’s his job to make sure I don’t have any fun. He’s really good at it.” She turned to Lucas. “I’m off the clock until midnight when I turn into a pumpkin.” Her head tilted, and she scrunched her nose. “Wait, is it a pumpkin? That doesn’t seem right.”
Buck stopped dancing to address Lucas. “She’s a little tipsy.”
You think? “Did you give her something?” His voice came out crisp and harsh.
Buck raised his hands, which looked odd since Riley still draped her arms over him. “Nah, man. She just came up to me and said she wanted to dance, so I obliged the lady.”
Riley smiled at him dreamily. “I told him he had magic feet. Probably all football players do. Or maybe just the ones that, you know, run through the other guys. I forget what they’re called.”
“Running backs,” Buck said.
“Running right back to you,” Riley said with a laugh.
Lucas pried her hands off Buck so that she had to look at him. “Riley, listen to me. This is important. Who gave you something to drink?”
She looked at him without any recognition of what he was asking. “Nobody. I only had two glasses of juice, and I got those for myself.” She giggled. “Well, actually I got one for Olivia’s dad, but then I drank both because I was choking.” She nodded and added, “Broccoli,” as though it explained something.
“You drank Mr. Travers’s drink?” Now they were getting somewhere.
She nodded. “He wasn’t happy about it, so I got him some more Mexico juice. But you shouldn’t drink it. It tastes funny. I think I might have gotten a rotten pineapple.” Another giggle. “Or a sunburn in my throat. Have you noticed how sparkly the lights are now?”
Buck shook his head. “Wow, she’s really far gone.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Lucas said.
Riley had ingested something from Mr. Travers’s drink. Had he spiked it for himself, or had something more sinister happened?
Lucas scanned the room but didn’t see the man. He put his hand around Riley’s waist and towed her off the dance floor. His mother could look after her for a few minutes while Lucas interrogated Mr. Travers.
As Lucas led Riley off the floor, she tilted her head at him. “Wait, did you just cut in on my dance? Are we dancing now?”
“Yes,” Lucas said. “Let’s go.”
Riley’s head lolled, but she managed to look at him. “You used to be a better dancer. Plus, I don’t think I should dance with my ex. Sends the wrong message.”
“Keep moving,” Lucas said. “We’re almost there.”
Riley began singing along to the song, but she kept walking.
In another minute, he reached his mother and handed Riley off to her. “Keep an eye on her. She drank Mr. Travers’s drink, and I need to find out what he put in it.”
“Oh dear,” his mother said, all maternal concern now. “Riley, do you feel sick?”
As Lucas walked away, he heard Riley answer in a suddenly weepy voice, “I’m not sick. I’m just sad I’m losing Olivia. I’ve already lost the rest of you.”
The sentence probably shouldn’t have struck him so hard, but it was a revelation all in itself. Riley still felt the pain of losing his family.
It took Lucas a few minutes to find Mr. Travers. He was in a corner talking to Olivia’s brother, Matt. Lucas marched up to them, glaring at Mr. Travers. “What did you put in the juice Riley drank?” He charged over so forcefully that he nearly pushed the man into the corner.
Mr. Travers raised his hands in alarm. “Nothing. I didn’t do anything.”
Lucas grabbed him by the lapel. “Try again. This time, tell the truth.”
Matt put his hand on Lucas’s shoulder to stop him, “Hey, hey, relax. No need for police brutality.”
Mr. Travers gulped. “You’re a policeman?”
Matt apparently hadn’t heard that Lucas had left the force. That was fine. Sometimes it paid to have issued DUIs to people in years past. They remembered you after that.
Lucas didn’t bother answering. He just patted down Mr. Travers’s suit coat until he found the flask. He pulled it from his pocket. “What’s this?”
Mr. Travers’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “It was just some vodka that I brought to spruce up my own drinks. It’s not my fault she couldn’t keep her hands off my glasses.”
Vodka. Now Lucas knew what he was dealing with.
“Dad,” Matt said in exasperation. “We told you no drinking. You knew the rules.”
Mr. Travers coughed, offended. “A man ought to be able to celebrate at his daughter’s wedding. That’s all I was doing.”
Lucas wasn’t going to be drawn into that argument. “How much vodka did you give her?” A man like Mr. Travers who drank heavily probably hadn’t put the vodka in sparingly.
Mr. Travers drew himself up, still offended. “You mean how much did she take? She knew what she was doing after she downed my first drink. Oh, she’ll tell you she drank the second because she was choking, but she took it because she wasn’t any happier than I was that this is a dry reception.” He shook off Lucas’s grasp. “These things happen if you don’t serve your guests decent drinks at your wedding.”
Lucas barely restrained himself from knocking Mr. Travers against the wall. It was bad enough that the man had inadvertently gotten Riley drunk, the fact that he blamed her for it made rage snap through him.
He took a deep breath that wasn’t nearly as calming as he hoped. His family had been so worried about Olivia’s dad making a scene. Lucas would never live it down if all the wedding guests were suddenly gawking at this corner of the room because the brother of the groom was roughing up the father of the bride.
“How much vodka?” Lucas demanded.
Mr. Travers sniffed. “Don’t know for sure. Maybe three ounces.”
“Total?”
“Per glass. Maybe a little more or less.”
Lucas swore and fixed him with a hard stare. “She doesn’t even know what alcohol tastes like. If anything bad happens to her because of you, I’ll make sure you pay for it.” He turned to Matt. “Watch your father. If he pulls anything else, I’ll haul him down to the station myself, regardless of whose wedding I ruin.”
He left the two and stalked across the room to the refreshment table. The best thing for Riley now would be to get some food in her. Lucas threw a croissant sandwich onto the plate along with some cheese slices and a bunch of grapes. This was all stuff she liked.
When he reached the kitchen, he found his mother hovering over Riley. She was sitting on a chair, drinking a glass of water and muttering something unintelligible.
He gave Riley the plate and told them both what he’d learned from Mr. Travers.
Riley didn’t touch the food, so he handed her a cheese slice. “You’ll feel better after you eat something. Then I’ll take you home so you can sleep it off.”
She looked back at him with an unblinking stare. Her eyes had been trained on him the entire time he spoke, but she had no reaction. Had she understood anything he’d said?
“I can’t eat this,” she said. “I’ll break my dress.”
His mother patted Riley’s arm. “No, you won’t, dear. Just eat a few bites.”
“I haven’t eaten all day because, you know, jumping.” Riley looked at his mother as if noticing her for the first time. “What am I doing in here? I’m supposed to be dancing. I told that guy I would dance with him. He probably misses me.”
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I should just take her home. She can eat in the car.”
Riley held up her index finger to make a point. “Never let an ex-boyfriend take you home. That has you’ll regret it later stamped…somewhere.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “I want Jace to take me home.”
“Jace?” Lucas repeated. “Why do you want him?” He immediately thought of the way Riley and his brother had sat together last night, talking as if no one else in the wedding party existed. Had Riley been flirting with him? A prickle of jealousy went through him.
“Because,” she slurred, “we have important things to discuss. And I need to convince him to dump Jennifer. ‘livia said so.”
“Is that right?” Lucas asked.
She nodded. “I’m ‘posed to use feminine wiles. It’s serious.”
When he’d seen her makeover yesterday, he’d wondered who Riley had gotten glammed up for. Was it his twin brother? Well, that wasn’t going to happen. As much as Lucas agreed with the rest of the family that Jennifer should go, the last thing he wanted was for Riley to start dating Jace.
Riley folded her arms and dramatically tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I want Jace. He doesn’t want to destroy my inn. He’s my only Clark.”
Lucas nodded. “Fine. I’ll go get him.” If Riley had been in control of her faculties, she would have spotted the defiance in Lucas’s voice. He had no intention of letting Jace drive Riley home. But she was only half conscious. “Eat a few bites while I find him,” he added.
As Lucas left, Riley was attempting to pull a grape off its stem and somehow managed to fling it across the kitchen. Well, this was what happened when someone who’d never had alcohol downed a bunch of vodka on an empty stomach.
He stomped through the hallway, into the reception room, and over to where Jace sat with some family friends. “Can I talk to you in private for a moment?” he asked.
His brother must’ve seen the distress on Lucas’s face because he immediately excused himself and followed Lucas into the hallway. “What’s wrong?”
Lucas turned to him. “Nothing. I just need to borrow your glasses for a while.”
Jace cocked his head, studying Lucas. “How will I be able to see?”
“You’ll squint a little. We both know your eyesight isn’t that bad. You mostly wear the glasses so people can tell the difference between us.”
Jace thrust his hands into his pockets. “That was just in high school because I got tired of your ex-girlfriends chewing me out and your current girlfriends coming on to me.” He shrugged and the corner of his mouth lifted, showing the mischievous side he hid from most people. “Well, okay, I didn’t get all that tired of the second phenomena, but now I wear the glasses because I think they make me look distinguished.”
Lucas held out his hand for them. “Right. I need to look distinguished for a while.”
Jace took them off and handed them to Lucas. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
“Nope.” Lucas put the glasses on and blinked, adjusting his eyes. “That way, you have plausible deniability.”
Jace laughed and shook his head. “Is there anyone here who still can’t tell us apart?”
“We’re wearing identical groomsmen suits, so I guess we’ll see.” Lucas flattened his bangs so they looked more like Jace’s. “Also is there any reason I should worry about you and Riley getting together?”
Jace’s head snapped back. “Me and Riley? No. You realize I have a girlfriend, right?”
“Oh yeah. We all realize it.”
Jace was much better at reading his voice inflections than Riley. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll give you back your glasses when I come back.” Without waiting for more questions, Lucas headed to the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, Lucas had driven Riley home in her car and was helping her up the stairs to her apartment. He had enough practice pretending to be Jace that he knew how to pull off a convincing performance. Jace spoke slower and softer. He listened more, and his posture was stiffer. Despite that, a switch never would have fooled Riley if she hadn’t been almost fall-down drunk.
Halfway to the apartment, Riley stopped and gazed at the parking lot. “I shouldn’t leave ‘livia. She needs me. I oughta go back.”
Lucas slipped his arm around her waist to steady her. “Olivia is fine. She doesn’t need you.”
Riley put her hand to her mouth and sniffed, suddenly emotional. “She used to. We were BBFs.” She raised a wavering finger. “BBFFs.” Another sniff. “Why doesn’t she need me? I’m losing her.”
They were never going to make it up the stairs. “You’re not losing her. She’s just getting married.”
Riley blinked her big brown eyes in sadness. “I’m losing her, just like I lost…like I lost…” She wrinkled her nose. “I lose a lotta stuff. Poof. It’s gone.” She turned back toward the parking lot. “I can’t let ‘livia poof.”
Apparently, he’d touched on a nerve. “You’re not losing her,” he said more gently. “She’ll always be your friend.”
Riley rested her head against Lucas’s shoulder in defeat. Her perfume was sweet and spicy. Like her. She sniffled again. “She’ll always be your sister now. I got poofed.”
Having her close like this was bringing back memories. “Riley.” He ran his hand up and down her back in comfort. “Olivia has been busy with wedding planning, but that doesn’t mean you’ve lost her. Women need their friends. Who will she turn to when Carson starts doing things that drive her up a wall?”
Riley didn’t move her head from his shoulder. “Her new Bronco girls.” She let out a deep sigh and lifted her head to stare into Lucas’s eyes. “What are girl Broncos called?”
“Um, Broncos are unbroken horses of either gender.”
“Bronckettes,” Riley said in agreement. “Broncas. Broncalinas.” She snorted, finding the words funny.
“Right. You can start walking up the stairs again, or I can carry you.”
She looked back at the parking lot. “I told that guy I’d dance with him. He’s prob’ly waiting for me, all sad and confused. I should go back.”
“Carry it is, then.” Lucas scooped her up and climbed the steps.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against him, snuggling into his chest. “This is nice.”
“Yeah, and hopefully you won’t remember it tomorrow.” He was going to remember it, though, for a very long time—the feel of Riley in his arms, the curve of her smile and dark lashes as she looked at him. He’d carried her like this before, and that memory was coming back to him in vivid detail.
They’d been down by the river, and Riley’s sandal strap broke. He said he didn’t want her to step on any sharp rocks by the bank, but he liked having an excuse to pick her up and hold her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and when he’d finally set her down, she kept her arms circling him. She laughed, called him her hero, and kissed him. He hadn’t let her go for a very long time.
Now she lifted her head and gazed adoringly at him. “You’re so sweet and caring. I’ve always loved that about you.”
Wait, did she know who he was after all? She’d said that exact thing to him while they were dating, including the “I’ve always loved that about you,” part.
She hadn’t always loved that about Jace, had she?
He reached her door and set her down so he could unlock it. She’d hardly eaten anything at the church, and he was determined to get some food into her.
He opened the door, turned on the light, and guided her inside. The living room was small and cozy with an abundance of pillows on the couch and pictures of Montana landscapes on the walls that made the state look much more picturesque than it actually felt in the winter. Potted plants perched everywhere—fugitives from the frozen outdoors.
He led her to the couch and deposited her there. “Why don’t you sit here…or lie down like you’re doing, and I’ll get you some food.”
He went to the kitchen, flipped through the cupboards, and found some crackers. He was rifling through the fridge for cheese when he heard her in the living room say, “I’m so glad to be out of these clothes.”
Oh no.
If Riley remembered any of this night tomorrow and knew she’d undressed in front of him, she wouldn’t be happy.
He left the food in the kitchen and went back to the living room with one hand pressed over his eyes. Well, mostly pressed. He had to see where he was going.
Her shoes and dress lie discarded on the floor. Riley never threw things on the floor. He stared at the emerald green heap instead of looking at her on the couch. “Did you just take off all of your clothes?”
“Not all of them,” she said. “I’m still wearing my slip.”
At least there was that. He’d seen his mother’s slips in the wash growing up. They were like silky sleeveless dresses and covered a decent amount.
He glanced at Riley and then quickly glanced away. Her slip looked a lot more like lingerie than his mother’s.
He turned so he faced away from her. “Riley, you need to put your dress back on.”
“It was too tight,” she complained.
“I don’t care. When your roommates come home, if you’re undressed, they’ll think I took advantage of your inebriated state.”
Riley giggled like that was a hilarious idea. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” He picked the dress off the floor and handed it to her, still averting his eyes. “Do you need help getting this back on?”
She didn’t take the dress. Another glance showed that she was lying on the couch, knees drawn up to her chest, and her eyes shut. Quite a lot of her toned legs were showing.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll get you a robe or pajamas.”
He could’ve called an Uber and gone back to the wedding reception. If anyone else had been lying on the couch drunk, he might have. But Riley seemed so vulnerable.
Lucas was afraid if he left, she would try to drive back to the church. He would stay with her until she’d sobered up a bit.
Riley’s bedroom was clean and orderly, nothing out of place. That hadn’t changed. The only difference was that a picture of him no longer sat on the dresser next to the one of her with her grandmother. He vaguely wondered what the fate of his picture had been. Death by fire? Shredding?
Lucas was trying to be helpful, trying to be a gentleman by going through Riley’s dresser to find her pajamas, but the first two drawers he opened held underwear and seeing all those lacy, silky things made him feel like some kind of perv who’d come here to paw through her stuff.
He shut the drawers and went to her closet. It was safer.
Wow. The woman hung her clothes up by color. Who did that? Well, this sort of relentless organization was why she made such a good assistant manager. There you had it.
Also, she didn’t seem to own a robe.
He was afraid if he brought her pants and a t-shirt, she’d peel off her slip and fling it on the floor with the rest of her clothes, so he plucked Tshirt dress from the closet, and because it was winter and she was probably cold, he took the extra throw from her bed and brought that out to the living room too.
She was lying stretched out in the same spot, eyes shut, one hand on her forehead.
“Riley, are you awake?”
“Yeah, everything is just a little spinny.” She opened her eyes and saw the blanket and dress in his hands.
“I brought you something to wear,” he said.
She sat up, ignored the dress, and wrapped herself in the blanket. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
It had been a long time since she’d called him that.
“I found some crackers. Do you want me to make you tea? Your favorite is the ginger type, right?”
He realized as soon as he asked the question that he shouldn’t have been specific. Jace didn’t know about her selection of herbal teas or which was her favorite.
She put her hand to her chest. “You remember. I’m touched.”
Busted. Okay, so even when Riley was drunk, she could tell the difference between him and Jace, but she’d let him take her home and help her; that was the important thing. “Yeah, I remembered. If you could drink a gingerbread house, you would.”
“That sounds lovely,” she said. “Bring me a liquid gingerbread house, please.”
While he’d been carrying her, his tie had gone crooked. She reached out and tried to straighten it but failed. She frowned at her botched attempt.
“Speaking of ties,” he said because she was in a good mood and likely to tell him the truth, “why did you learn to tie a man’s tie?”
She shrugged. “Grandma had a friend in assisted living who needed help.”
Not a boyfriend then, an act of kindness.
That was the old Riley he knew.
She tried to fix his tie again but wasn’t having any better luck.
“Let me just take it off,” he said.
She nodded. “You can take off anything you want.”
Well, that was an invitation she probably didn’t mean. He put his tie on the coffee table. “I’ll take off the glasses too.” No need for that part of the pretense anymore. He laid them on top of the tie and headed to the kitchen. “Ginger tea coming up.”
He turned on the kettle and found the tea in question. When the tea was done, he put crackers on a plate and brought everything to her.
Once when they’d been dating, she’d gotten the flu. He’d come over and made her soup with crackers while she lay on the couch. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of déjà vu.
He set the tea and crackers on the coffee table in front of her.
She sat up and patted the spot on the couch next to her, telling him to join her. “I’ll share my saltines.”
He sat beside her. “At least we’ve learned that you’re not a mean drunk. So that’s good news.” Really, it had been far too long since he’d been around Riley without feeling like his guard had to be up.
“You have things to tell me,” she said.
“Do I?”
She nodded and took a sip of tea. “Important things.”
“Okay,” he said. She finally wanted to talk about their relationship. She might not remember any of it tomorrow, but right now she wanted to talk to him. How much did he say to her?
She smiled at him, lopsided with half-lidded eyes. “You’re adorable. Do you know that?” She put down her teacup and sighed dramatically. “I should’ve gone for you, Jace. Why didn’t I go for you?”
Now she was teasing him because he’d pretended to be his brother. “Because Lucas is the better-looking one,” he said.
She tapped a finger against her lips. “I’m pretty sure that’s not it.”
“Then it must be because he’s the charismatic and charming one.”
She fluttered her hand. “See, all that charisma should’ve been a warning flag. It’s like they say, it’s always the quiet ones who are a better catch.”
“Actually, the saying is it’s always the quiet ones who are serial killers.”
She looked at him solemnly for a moment. “They ought to change the saying. Quiet people everywhere should be offended. I mean, not me, obviously. I’ve never been quiet, so I’m clear on the serial killer front.”
Lucas laughed and shook his head. How was it that she could make him laugh even when she was slurring her words? “I’ve missed you, Riley. I should have told you that a long time ago. And that’s the important thing I need to say now.” He meant every word. He’d missed the soft Riley so much, the vulnerable one. The one without daggers pointed in his direction. He wanted her back.
“I’ve missed you too.” She put her hand on his knee. She was leaning close to him, her dark eyes watching him, her lips slightly parted.
It was all so familiar, like dozens of other times he’d sat on this couch and kissed her. He leaned over, gently cupped her chin, and pressed his lips to hers.
He’d meant for it to be a light kiss, a short one. A kiss of new beginnings. And then they’d hold hands and talk. But the taste of her lips, the feel of her mouth moving against his, was almost magnetic, drawing him to her. His hand slid behind her neck, and he kissed her more insistently.
He hadn’t realized how much he still loved her, but there it was. With one kiss, all the feelings he’d buried after their breakup shot to the surface again, as insistent as ever. Kissing her felt like coming home.
She pulled away from him, which was probably a good thing since he was having a hard time leaving her lips alone.
She let out a deep breath, and when her eyes met his, they were surprised. “You’re a really good kisser, but um, this is a little fast, considering.”
“I’m making up for lost time,” he said.
She shook her head and tightened the blanket around her. “Jace, you’ve got a girlfriend, and I dated your brother. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Lucas’s gaze snapped to hers to see if she was joking. He knew Riley’s expressions inside and out. The one she wore now wasn’t any shade of teasing. It was regret. She put a hand to her temple and rubbed a spot there, her eyes downcast.
She thought he was Jace. She had, for all intents and purposes, just kissed his twin brother, not him.
He stared at her while a mixture of emotions churned through him. Mostly rejection and anger. He couldn’t very well tell her the truth now. None of her softness was for him. Her kiss hadn’t been for him. He’d been realizing he still loved her, and she’d been having a non-committal make-out session with his twin brother.
“Don’t be angry.” She sank further into the couch away from him. “I wish we had a chance, but Lucas was more than just a boyfriend to me.” Her voice shrunk until it was only a whisper. “I thought he was the one. I thought when everyone got together at a church, it would be for our wedding, and I…” She lifted her eyes, and a sheen of tears filled them. “When I look at you, I can only see him. I would always see him. That isn’t fair to you.”
And just like that, some of the sting of rejection faded. Riley had thought Lucas was the one. She’d wanted to marry him. And though she’d never admit it to him, she still loved him.
Tears spilled over Riley’s eyes, two wet tracks running down her cheeks. He reached over and wiped each tear away. “Are you going to remember this tomorrow?” Because he was moments away from telling her who he was and kissing her again.
Her eyebrows drew down. “I feel like that’s a trick question.”
He supposed so.
And if he told her who he was, she would get angry that he’d lied about his identity. Especially if she remembered all of this tomorrow. “We should talk about this later,” he said.
She put her hand over his and nodded. “Sorry I made you cheat on Jennifer, but really, she’s about as popular as snow in May, so you’re better off with literally any other woman on the planet.”
There were probably a lot of reasons why it was a good thing Jace wasn’t here. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” Lucas said. “Drink your tea and have some crackers.”
She obediently took a sip. It must have cooled off enough because she drank the whole cup and picked up a cracker. Before she finished eating it, she winced. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”
She dropped the blanket and dashed out of the living room towards the bathroom.
Running while you were drunk was never a good idea, but she was only half dressed, so it was probably best if he stayed out here instead of following her to make sure she was all right.
He stood up and looked down the hallway she’d disappeared. Riley had wanted to marry him. The whole time they dated, he’d worried that she wasn’t serious about him. That like Winter, she would date him for a long time and then decide they weren’t right for each other. But that hadn’t been the case at all. He’d been so upset that she wasn’t willing to trust him, but for the first time, he realized he hadn’t trusted her fully either.
Just because Winter was using the secrets she knew as leverage, didn’t mean Riley would ever do the same.
He heard someone put a key in the lock at the front door. He’d just put on the glasses and picked up his tie when the door swung open, and Delancey strolled inside.
Lucas didn’t know her that well. She’d moved into the apartment after Riley and he had broken up. Delancey took a look at him and then gaped at Riley’s clothes on the floor.
“Where’s Riley?” she asked in alarm.
“In the bathroom throwing up.”
Delancey’s mouth dropped open. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She accidentally drank some juice that Mr. Travers spiked with vodka. I brought her home because she…” He somehow couldn’t bring himself to say she was making a spectacle of herself at the reception. “She wasn’t feeling well.”
He moved to the door, pulling out his phone to call an Uber. “Now that you’re here and can keep an eye on her, I’ll go back to the reception.”
He left as Delancey headed to the bathroom. She never asked him his name.
That was probably for the best.