Jake
Riley is so beautiful that my breath catches. When she turns to look at me, her eyes wide with wonder at the view, I raise my phone, snapping a photo to capture this moment. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold, her eyes bright beneath the glow of Christmas lights as she takes in the sights like she’s seeing them for the first time.
“Haven’t you been on the Ferris wheel before?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual, though my heart pounds. “It’s here every year.”
She shakes her head softly, her lips curving into a shy smile. “I’m not a huge fan of heights.”
“Oh, God.” A wave of guilt crashes over me as I realize what I’ve done. I can’t believe I didn’t know this. How could I be so insensitive as to bring her on a Ferris wheel on our first date when she doesn’t like heights? “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay,” she reassures me, her voice gentle. “It’s not a full-on phobia or anything. But I’m more comfortable when my feet are on the ground.” She gives me a slow, pretty smile that lights up her dimples, making her look even more adorable. The sight softens my heart in a way I didn’t expect, filling me with warmth.
“So, you said Christy signed you up to the Book Boyfriend Dating Agency…” I trail off, waiting for her to confirm.
“Yeah,” she replies, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “She wants me to have a great romance or something—like your brother.”
“Is that what you want?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light while my heart thrums with hope. I need to know if there’s a chance, if she’s open to the idea of us becoming something real.
“Isn’t it what everyone wants?” Her gaze drifts over the stalls below as the Ferris wheel slowly begins to turn again, pausing as couples step off and new pairs get on. “The kind of love that sticks. The kind you don’t see coming but can’t imagine living without.”
My chest tightens as I watch her. “It’s what I want,” I admit quietly, feeling exposed. “But I figured it only happens once, and it already happened to Carter.”
“That’s what I thought,” she says softly, her voice tinged with something deeper. “But then you matched with me, and… it got me wondering.”
“Wondering what?” I ask, my pulse speeding up, each heartbeat bumping with anticipation.
She hesitates, her eyes dropping to my mouth as she licks her lips, her gaze both shy and bold. “Wondering if it happens more than once—when it’s the right people, at the right time.”
My heart races at her words, and everything around us fades. Taking her words as my cue, I lean in, brushing my mouth softly over hers. Her lips are warm, and she tastes of cinnamon and chocolate. Her sweetness pulls me in deeper. I’m greedy. I want more.
Riley turns toward me, her knees slipping between mine as her gloved hands find their way to my neck. The gloves keep her touch from reaching my skin, but it doesn’t matter. Her closeness sends a rush of heat through me, making me wish we were somewhere warmer, somewhere she could touch me with her bare hands.
“All right, everybody off!” the operator’s voice booms, jolting us from the moment. The passenger car rocks gently as it comes to a stop, and the door swings open.
Reluctantly, I end the kiss, hating that the moment is over all too soon. I want more. So much more.
I reach for Riley’s hand to help her down. Our eyes meet, and she smiles politely, but it doesn’t fool me. Her gaze holds a lingering heat, her lips a little swollen from our kiss, and it takes everything in me not to haul her into my arms again.
“It sucks that tonight has to end,” I murmur as I step down from the platform and reach up to steady her as she follows.
I glance around, relieved not to see someone we know. I’m still aware that we could be spotted, and I don’t want to risk Riley’s friendship with my sister because I don’t want to keep my hands—or my mouth—to myself.
Her eyes sparkle. “Maybe you should offer to walk me home?”
I fight to keep my mind from racing away with possibilities—Riley, naked on soft sheets, her gorgeous curves exposed for my eyes only.
I clear my throat, reminding myself that Mom raised me to be a gentleman. “Of course I’ll walk you home.”
Still, something about Riley makes my heart pound in unfamiliar ways—ways that make me want to be anything but gentlemanly.