Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Theo
Riley’s head whips toward the kitchen when Cole lets out a frustrated groan.
“If you didn’t want me to be here so long, then why the hell did you bring me here in the first place?” she asks, her eyes drilling holes in the back of his head.
Cole slowly turns, setting his water bottle on the island. He doesn’t say a damn word, just stares directly at her.
“Fuck this,” she says, turning on her heels and marching by Finn and me.
She swings the front door open but doesn’t make it through before Finn sweeps her into his arms and kicks the door closed behind him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he laughs as she tries to free herself from his grip.
“Finn,” she groans. “Let me go.”
“No.”
She stops fighting, letting her head fall back against his chest. He sets her back on her feet but keeps his arms wrapped around her.
“I’d rather deal with all that,” she says, waving her hand at the big window in the living room and the storm outside, “than deal with him.” She stares across the living area to where Cole’s still standing in the kitchen.
“It’s a big house. I’m sure you two can avoid each other for a day or two,” I say, attempting to defuse the tension in the room. We need to convince her to stay, or the first chance she gets, she’s going to disappear.
Cole has been tight-lipped about what went down between them. Everything seemed fine, more than fine if I’m honest. He had clearly fallen in love with her, and I could have sworn she returned the feelings.
Then, out of nowhere, it was done, and she was gone.
Whatever happened was enough to have them both bubbling like volcanoes ready to explode at any moment, just by being in each other’s presence.
Riley takes a deep breath, staring out the window. It was clear just a few hours ago, and now you can barely see anything through the torrent of snow swirling around outside. She relaxes even more against Finn, her head resting against his bicep.
He pats her head, like she’s a feral cat he was able to tame in his arms. She swats his hand away, but she’s laughing.
“I’m not going to run away.” She tilts her head to the side, gazing up at Finn. I swear I see him shiver when she gently runs her hand down his forearm.
He and I have never actually talked about it, but I always suspected he had feelings for Riley back then. Just like me.
Neither of us ever acted on anything. We would have never done that to Cole, but the friendship we built during that time grew into something more for me. It hurt when she left without even a goodbye.
“Come on. We’ll get you set up in the guest room upstairs,” I tell her.
“One second,” Finn says, moving to kneel in front of her.
“I know you’re excited to see me, but isn’t it a little much to propose?” She laughs.
He gives her a wink. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
He pats the side of her leg until she lifts her foot. He unties the laces, pulling the wet shoe from her foot. She eyes him curiously as he does the same with her other shoe, then moves to set them in the entryway.
“What was that for?” she asks.
“Assurances.”
“Of what?” she asks.
“That I’ll have time to catch you before you try to run away again.”
She laughs as she starts up the stairs.
I shouldn’t look at her ass. I really shouldn’t, but it’s right there. I didn’t realize until right now how wet she really is. The damp fabric of her joggers clings to her shapely legs and ass.
Why does she have to be so perfect?
There was no second-guessing who she was when I saw her, but she’s even more stunning than she was eight years ago. I wouldn’t have thought that was possible, but it’s true.
I guide her into the extra room that’s across the hall from my room and Finn’s. “It isn’t anything fancy, but it should work,” I tell her as she looks around.
There’s a queen bed with simple white bedding, a nightstand with a lamp, an empty dresser, and a small desk.
“It’s perfect, Theo. Thank you.”
I stand there staring at her for far longer than I should. I can’t seem to formulate any words. Her eyes have rendered my brain momentarily useless.
“Do you want to take a shower and change into some dry clothes?” Finn says. I blink a few times, forgetting that he was standing in the doorway.
She seems a little dazed, too, when she twists her head to look at him. But there’s no way she’s as affected by me as I am by her.
“That’s probably a good idea,” she says, following Finn to the bathroom that’s right next to her room. He pulls out a fresh towel, setting it on the counter for her.
“As much as I would love to see you in my clothes, I think you should probably borrow some of Theo’s instead,” Finn says.
She bites her lip as her gaze roams over his undeniably huge body. And… fuck me. Why does she have to be doing that right now?
It makes my mind think of things it absolutely shouldn’t. Like… my own teeth biting down on her lip and soothing away the ache with my tongue.
“I’ll go grab you some.” I dart into my room, trying to distract myself from the thoughts flashing through my mind.
Get it together, Theo.
I grabbed the clothes I thought would have the best chance of fitting her. I might be the smallest of my brothers, but I’m still over half a foot taller than her.
I’m about to walk into the hallway when I spin around, deciding to add a pair of my clean boxers to the stack in my arms. I doubt she’ll wear them, but I’m sure her own underwear is wet.
Nope. No. I’m not going to let my mind go there.
The bathroom door is closed, but I can hear the shower running. I knock twice. “Can I bring your clothes in?”
“Yeah, go ahead.” Her voice comes through the door.
The steamy air hits my face. I set everything on the counter beside the sink.
She pops her head out beside the shower curtain. There’s a broad smile on her face. I missed that. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Do you want me to throw your clothes in the wash?”
“You don’t need to do that.”
I bend down, picking everything up. “I don’t mind.” I reach for the door handle, but her voice stops me. It’s softer than it was just a moment ago.
“I missed you.”
The words go straight to my heart. “I missed you, too.”
Cole bolted to his room with his plate of food as soon as we were done cooking, so now it’s just Finn, Riley, and I sitting on the couch. She’s between us with her legs tucked up underneath her.
She picks up the grilled cheese, takes a big bite, and groans. “That’s so good.”
Finn and I lock eyes overhead. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one affected by the noise she made. She’s completely oblivious as she continues to munch away at her sandwich.
It’s nice to see that living in LA hasn’t changed her in this small way at least. I always loved that she wasn’t afraid to get messy or eat a greasy meal here and there if it was what she wanted.
It seems she’s still the same Riley, just with a few more freckles on her cheeks, a deeper sense of wisdom in her green eyes, and a hell of a lot more hate for my older brother.
She leans forward, setting her empty plate on the coffee table. The sweatshirt of mine that she’s wearing rides up, and I can see the waistband of my boxers peeking out over the sweatpants she has cinched tight around her waist.
I suck in a deep breath to keep from groaning. She’s wearing nothing but my clothes right now. The same fabric that’s touched my dick is now covering her pussy. I let my head fall back against the back of the couch as my eyes close.
Think of something else… anything else. I’m grateful for the blanket draped over my lap, so she can’t see what seeing her in my boxers is doing to me.
“You okay over there?” she asks, poking her finger against my ribs.
I grumble out something unintelligible. I don’t even know what the hell I’m saying, so she sure as shit won’t be able to interpret it.
Finn laughs. “Oh, he’ll be just fine. He needs a minute to think about grandmas and sweaty gym socks.”
My eyes are still closed, so I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing she’s smiling.
“I think Theo likes seeing you wearing his clothes, especially his boxers,” he continues.
Fucking intuitive bastard.
I peek one eye open. She is indeed grinning at me.
“Well… I like wearing them, so…” She trails off, turning back to face the movie.
So? So what?
You can’t just stop talking like that. I need the completed sentence. I turn my head back to gaze at the ceiling.
Fuck. This girl has me twisted into knots, and she doesn’t even know it.