Chapter 29
Sunday
Despite the tense muscles that are straining under Jason’s construction shirt, he stands protectively over me as I slip into my baby blue thermals. He eases my shirt down my waist and his eyes are guarded as they flick down to mine, but he still slides our hands together as we exit the bedroom, his gaze laser-focused as he stares outside.
And I glance out toward the front windows, seeing nothing but the snow-covered pines, but as we descend the last few steps I finally make out a sleek silver vehicle.
I don’t recognise it, which confuses me even further, but I’m too stunned by what Jason said to laugh it off just yet – even though I want nothing more than to take the hesitance away from his expression, and reassure him with touches and kisses that he’s the only man for me.
Because, first of all, who the hell thinks that they’re my boyfriend? The thought is so nonsensical that I’m actually a little intrigued.
When we reach the front of the foyer Jason releases my hand and moves behind me, his large palms caressing my shoulders as he stares straight ahead at the unopened door.
I re-tie my fluffy ponytail, glance up at Jason over my shoulder, and then I pull open the door, my eyes landing on the man outside.
And my jaw drops to the floor as he hits me with that grin that he’s so famous for.
My brow genuinely skyrockets in what the fuck are you doing here, you stupid asshole? confusion, and then he smirks even wider, planting his feet just behind Jason’s mat.
“ Riley ?” I exclaim, watching as he rakes a hand through his dark blond hair. I flick a glance at the vehicle behind him, beyond relieved to see that his entourage isn’t inside, and then I fold my arms over my chest as I rasp, “What the hell are you doing here?”
He swipes his thumb over his lower lip, nodding his head as he looks me up and down, and I feel Jason shift uncomfortably behind me, his large chest brushing against my ponytail as he inhales heavily.
“What am I doing here?” Riley asks, that Tennessee lilt making his words come out in a long drawl. “More like what are you doing here, Sunday. You’ve been off-grid for two darn months.”
“Yeah, because of you-know-what ,” I laugh as I roll my eyes, not wanting to drag Jason into the facets of the ridiculous Nashville headline drama. I glance at the vehicle behind him again and say, “Please tell me that no-one else knows I’m here.”
Because the last thing that I want is the press following Riley to Phoenix Falls, and then snapping another photo of us and headlining it the affair continues!
Riley breathes out a gravelly laugh, although it’s a little wary as he glances up at the six-foot-four mountain towering behind me.
“Where’d you rent this place from, anyway?” he asks cautiously, his eyes bouncing between me and Jason. Then he reaches a hand forward and says, “You her bodyguard or something? Cool to meet you, man. In case you don’t know, I’m Riley. Riley Dutton.”
I roll my eyes at that, slapping Riley’s hand down before Jason crushes it.
But Jason’s expression is dangerously calm as he accepts the handshake, his voice deep and rumbling as he says, “I’m the owner of this house.”
And his other hand moves to my lower back as if to say and everything in it.
I swallow hard and reach up to twiddle nervously with my ponytail, forbidding myself from leaning into Jason’s hidden touch – but then Jason gently nudges my shoulder with his large fingers, and I swipe my curls from my face as I turn around and face him.
And as soon as his eyes drop from Riley’s gaze to mine, Jason’s irises become warm, his expression changing on a dime.
“Jason,” I breathe softly, wanting to clear this up right now, but he just shakes his head as he looks down at me, letting me know that it’s okay.
“I have to head to work,” he murmurs, his voice so low that only I can hear him. And then he gives my hip a discreet squeeze and rumbles, “But tell me if you want me to get rid of him.”
And I bite my lip because, honestly? I do kind of want Jason to get rid of him. But if Riley came all this way from Nashville, then I should at least give him the time of day – no matter how nonsensical it seems to me at the present moment.
I mean, he wouldn’t have travelled all the way up here for nothing, right?
But I’m worried that telling Jason that Riley should stay is going to sound like Riley actually is my boyfriend.
Jason watches me carefully for a moment and then averts his eyes, clearing his throat.
“Got a spare key for you on the counter, if you want to head to town for anything,” Jason says. Then he slides a blank glance toward Riley as he adds, “Or with anyone.”
Then he gives me a subtle lingering once-over before stepping slowly out of the door, standing between Riley and me for a long moment that feels a whole lot like staking a claim.
And for someone who thinks that Riley might actually be my boyfriend, I’m genuinely a little impressed by how bold a move that is.
I gnaw at my thumb to hide my smile as Jason disappears around the side of the porch, and then I wait until his truck is coming down the driveway and into the lower forest before I turn my attention back to Riley.
And he’s got this smarmy grin on his face as he slicks his hair back and steps forward.
I grab my scarf off the coat rack and whip it hard across his pecs.
He blinks down at me in surprise and then his smile widens, his gravelly whiskey-chuckle serenading my ears as he folds his arms over his chest.
“Riley,” I laugh, exasperated. “Seriously, what the hell are you doing here?”
“You’ve been out of town for so long. I had to check that you were okay.”
“I sorted everything out with your manager, and you coming here could restart that stupid headline all over again!”
He gestures toward the vehicle behind him and says, “I didn’t bring anyone with me, remember?”
And, honestly, for Riley that’s probably a big deal, seeing as he’s been chauffeured around with an entourage for the last seven years.
I release a shaky exhale, ready to apologise for my panicked outburst, when another thought crosses my mind and then I’m narrowing my eyes on him.
“Riley,” I rasp slowly, “how did you know that I was here?”
He scratches at the back of his neck, squinting toward the trees as he avoids my eyes, and he mumbles in that country voice of his, “The app’s safe, you know.”
“Oh my God!” I squeal, before smacking my scarf off his chest again. “You installed a freaking tracking app in my phone before you gave it to me?!”
I knew that buying me a phone was uncharacteristically thoughtful of him. He’s so used to being the centre of attention that I should have known he had some ulterior motive.
And I bet that the big jerk turned off the notifications so that I didn’t catch him tracking me.
Riley sighs in faux-apology and I roll my eyes as I replace my scarf on the rack, because otherwise I’ll be way too tempted to hit him with it again.
“Sue me, Sunday,” he drawls, stepping onto the mat but not breaching the threshold – and damn right he shouldn’t, seeing as there’s no way I’m allowing him inside Jason’s home.
Riley shouldn’t even be here so, if we need to talk, we can do it away from Jason’s property.
It would feel like a betrayal to invite another man into Jason’s space.
“I wanted to make sure that you were safe. What else was I supposed to do?”
“Uh, you could have trusted the fact that I’m over thirty years old, and that I would get in touch with you if I was in some kind of danger? And a normal friend would have let me know before they started stalking me.”
He grins at that and looks me over. “Come on, Sunday. It’s hardly stalking.”
“Knowing where I am without telling me is definitely stalking, stalker.”
But I shake my head and laugh as he rubs his palm down his smile, before tucking his hands in his jeans, obviously cold.
“And, that’s another thing,” I say, because I’m on a roll now. “Why the hell did you say that you were my boyfriend when you arrived here this morning?”
“I thought that guy was your bodyguard or something. Assumed he’d know who I was but, if he didn’t… well, I wanted him to know that I’m important to you.”
My eyebrows hit the porch roof.
Wow, his arrogance is almost as big as his ego.
“And you couldn’t have just said that you were my friend?” I ask incredulously. “Or, I don’t know, a business acquaintance?”
“Acquaintance?” he repeats, before his mouth tilts back up into a smirk. “Come on, now. You’re hurtin’ me, Sunday.”
The only thing that hurts this guy are the tight-ass jeans he insists on wearing, even though they cut his circulation off from dick to ankle.
“Yeah, I bet,” I say drily, before folding my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling the winter chill without Jason’s hands all over my body.
Was it just last night that we finally crossed that line? That he lay me down in front of his fireplace and we got together for the first time?
And after a lifetime of loving him from afar, there’s no way that we can go back to that now.
Now that he’s shown me every part of himself, I want to keep him forever.
And I want him to keep me, too – here with him, in the mountains.
“The reason why I left Nashville was so that the story in the Observer would die down,” I remind Riley, a little more softly this time. “I’m just worried that you being here could reignite that article all over again.”
“The article’s gone – you don’t need to worry about that anymore,” Riley reassures me, and I twist my lips to the side because that’s actually kind of sweet.
“So how come you’re here?” I ask him, laughing slightly because it’s surreal. I’ve only ever seen Riley in Nashville, so him being in the mountains is crazy to me.
Because out here in the real wilderness, a guy like him wouldn’t last a day.
Riley gives me his trademark smile and says, “I’m here to bring you home.”
Now I really do laugh. “You realise that I wasn’t born in Nashville, right?”
“I know that,” he says, chuckling quietly. “But it’s been long enough now, and I know about the offer from the other bar…”
He lets his sentence hang in the air, reminding me about the job offer back in Nashville, but I’ve honestly barely thought about it for a pretty long while now.
The money may be amazing but the best things in life are free.
“I’m on vacation,” I say slowly, choosing my words carefully. “And it was real kind of you to make the journey but I’m… working on something else, while I’m here.”
“Like what?” he asks, alarmed.
My relationship with the man who I’ve loved forever.
I twiddle with the fluffy pouf of my ponytail and say, “Just some stuff for the bar.”
I decide not to specify the fact that I’m talking about Casey’s bar, and not the one back in Nashville.
But Riley sighs with relief, glancing back at the silver car and then back to me.
And then up at the house.
Yeah, buddy. You won’t be staying here.
He stubs the heel of his cowboy boot in a solid pile of snow and says, “I’m gonna go head to my hotel. The flight was… really long.”
“How long are you staying for?” I ask, my tone softening, because I wouldn’t mind us hanging out before he leaves as long as we’re someplace discreet.
Although anywhere in Phoenix Falls would be okay for that, because it’s quiet and private and the perfect place to hide away.
“I head back not tomorrow morning but the morning after that,” he admits. “Had some time off between press-runs and could use a little r-and-r, anyway.”
Phoenix Falls is an amazing place to do that so I nod in understanding, stepping out onto the welcome mat as he backs away toward the car.
“Maybe we can hit up a bar tomorrow night?” he asks, before adding teasingly, “Scope out a little competition.”
He winks and I laugh, because that’s not a half-bad idea, even if it’s not for the reason that he thinks it is.
If we head to a little bar just outside of town then maybe I can get some small-town inspiration for when I put the finishing touches to Casey’s place – to get it perfect for his homecoming in around a month or so’s time.
So I tuck a loose curl behind my ear and nod as I say, “Okay. But just so you know… Jason will definitely be coming with us.”
Riley frowns as he tugs open the drivers’ door and asks, “Who the hell is Jason?”
I point my finger at the roof above me and laugh, “The owner of this house.”
And Riley hesitates for a moment before he nods and slips down into the car.
“Fine,” he says, rolling down his window so that I can hear him. “I’ll text you where I’m staying and we can arrange.”
“And I’ll be deleting your stalking app,” I call out to him, shaking my head with amusement as he gives me another wink.
And then, less than twenty seconds later, I’m standing alone in Jason’s drive, watching the snow drift like glitter from the tops of the pines.
“Fuck,” I whisper quietly, as I breathe in the clean winter-morning air, wondering exactly how I’m going to explain all of this to him.