Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Riley
I choose the spot facing the door, so I can see when the ladies walk into the coffee shop and eagerly sip at my oat milk latte. I always get this giddy excitement before starting the interviews for a podcast.
I genuinely love what I do. Getting to explore people’s love stories is the dream job for a romantic like me.
I guess I’ve always thought of true love as an existential thing. It’s always applied to other people, an unattainable thing floating in the distance. I’ve never thought about it in relation to myself.
I’ve had relationships, but there’s only ever been one man who made my heart beat out of rhythm in my chest. And we are not going to think about him right now.
I blink a few times, drawing my mind back to this adorable coffee shop. As far as I know, Peak Brews is the only coffee shop in town.
It has a cozy vibe that makes me want to sit in here with endless cups of coffee and read an epic romance novel that’s seven hundred pages long. Add in a rainy day, and it would be perfect.
Laughter hits my ears when the door opens. Three women walk in. From the internet stalking I did before flying to Colorado, I can tell it’s the woman I’m meeting with.
Sienna comes in first with her wavy red hair whipping around her from the breeze coming in from outside. She’s shorter than the other women following behind her.
Hadley’s dark brown hair peeks out beneath a navy-blue beanie with a pom-pom on top. Her brown eyes connect with mine, and she smiles when she sees me waving them over.
“Hi,” I say when they stop by the table. Introductions are made, and they all order their drinks of choice. It all goes on my business credit card, which I gave to the barista, Emory, earlier.
Avery takes off her coat, revealing almost a whole sleeve of tattoos. They’re beautiful. Screw being professional. I can’t help but stare at the intricate designs.
“Your tattoos are amazing,” I tell her.
She smiles, tucking her long black hair behind her ear.
“She almost makes me want to go get a bunch of tattoos,” Sienna says. She cringes. “Then… I remember I hate needles, and that plan flies out the window.”
Hadley laughs. “I love you, but I’m pretty sure I’d be a hell of a lot more likely to get an armful of tattoos than you.”
Sienna rolls her eyes. “True,” she huffs out.
“These two will go back and forth forever, so if you want to talk about anything, just jump right in,” Avery says, giving me a warm smile.
I’ve barely been around these women for ten minutes, but I like them already.
I spend a few minutes going through the process of what the interviews will look like. I’ve found it’s usually best to get the logistics out of the way first.
Once they have more information, they can usually relax a little more and let me get to know them.
I explain that we will be doing three separate interviews with each of them and their men. They each give me a brief overview of their stories of falling in love, so I’m a little more prepared going into the interviews.
With all the formal stuff out of the way, I expect them to get up and leave, but they don’t. They settle into easy conversation with each other, and to my surprise, they’re more than willing to include me.
They ask about living in Los Angeles and what it’s like running a chart-topping podcast. I freeze when Hadley asks how I weathered the horrible storm.
I have no idea what to say. Do I tell them Cole rescued me? Do I tell them it wasn’t the first time he’d done so?
I’m usually not one for spilling my guts to anyone, let alone a group of women I just met, but I have an overwhelming urge to tell these women everything. So, without second-guessing it, I tell them… everything.
“Well… damn,” Avery says when I finish. She’s absentmindedly braiding a few strands of her hair, staring at me in awe.
I drag in a deep breath because I’m pretty sure I only took tiny, shallow breaths the entire time I was spilling my soul to these practical strangers.
None of them are staring at me like I’m insane, so I’ll take that as a positive sign. They look far more amused than I feel by this entire Cole situation, though.
“Why do you want to learn about our love stories when you’re living out a freaking epic one?” Sienna asks.
“It’s more like a tragedy than a love story,” I say, cringing.
“Maybe you just aren’t far enough into the story, yet,” Hadley says with a wink.
I highly doubt that’s the case, but I’m not going to chastise her positive outlook. Cole and I aren’t going to have a happy ending. Any hope of that was shot down long ago.
“So… tell me if I’m off base here, but…” Avery trails off, skimming her teeth over her bottom lip. “Did I sense something between you and Cole’s brothers?”
I glossed over that part of the story, only focusing on everything between Cole and me. I must not have done a very good job of hiding it.
“Oh… I definitely picked up on those vibes,” Sienna says, wagging her eyebrows up and down.
I can feel a blush creeping over my cheeks. “There might be feelings there, but nothing has happened.”
“Do you want anything to happen?” Hadley asks.
I open my mouth to say no, but the word doesn’t come out. This whole situation is so damn messy.
“I have no idea. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. How would that even work?”
Hadley shrugs. “If the mess is worth the trouble, you figure a way to get through it.” She must see the way I’m blankly staring at her because she adds, “I’m not saying all relationships are bound for the forever track, but some are… even with major bumps in the road.”
Her gentle smile eases my racing heart. “All three of us had to get through some obstacles to get to where we are with our men.”
Avery pats my shoulder as we all stand and start putting on our coats. “I don’t think she intended to turn that into a philosophy lesson. It just comes out of her sometimes, especially since she became mayor.”
Hadley was elected to the position this last November after a killer campaign run by Avery herself. She beat out the previous mayor, who was apparently highly opposed to all three of their relationships.
Good riddance to him. I’ve never met the guys, but he sounds like a bag of dicks.
“Gram,” Sienna says, eyeing two older women walking in the door. I immediately recognize them. They look almost exactly as they did eight years ago. Their white hair is just as fluffy with their permed curls.
Sienna wraps her arms around Louise. I had no idea that was her grandma, but I can see the resemblance now that they’re right next to each other.
Martha’s eyes widen when she sees me. “Riley?” she asks in her aged voice.
“Hi, Martha,” I say, smiling.
“Get over here and give me a hug,” she says, waving me over. She wraps me in a hug that warms my heart. She might be a nosy old lady, but she’s sweet as molasses. “What are you doing in town?”
“I’m interviewing these three for my podcast,” I say.
“How do you guys know each other?” Hadley asks. Her eyes bounce between Martha and me.
Martha and I share a smile. “Well, you know how I said search and rescue got called out to find me? Guess who made the call to tell them I was ‘missing.’”
Avery bursts out laughing. “No shit.”
“Small world,” Martha’s best friend, Louise, says. “It’s good to see you, dear.” She pats my arm affectionately.
“You too,” I tell her honestly. I’m glad they both seem to be doing as well as they are.
Did one of them email me the tip?
It could be them, but honestly, I’d be surprised if it was. Most older people I know are allergic to any newer forms of technology.
Going through all the research that email would have entailed doesn’t seem like something they’d be game for. Who knows, though? I’ve been wrong about more significant things than this.
Whoever sent that email had better reveal themselves to me before I finish this podcast; otherwise, the mystery of it is going to devour me from the inside out.
The house is quiet when I step inside. The only person I see is Maverick, perched on one of the barstools. He has a laptop off to one side and a leather-bound journal that he’s currently leafing through.
Stepping closer, I realize the journal looks familiar. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one I saw Cole writing in during the storm.
“Hey, Maverick,” I say, walking into the kitchen.
He scrambles to snap the journal closed and slide it into his lap under the counter. A bashful look crosses his face.
I’m gathering he isn’t supposed to be reading his dad’s journal. It isn’t my place to discipline my ex-boyfriend’s son, though. Cole can deal with that on his own.
“Hi,” he says with a forced smile.
“How was school?” I ask. Theo mentioned something about the school being closed for several days during the storm, but today was supposed to be their first day back.
“It was good,” he says, bobbling his head from side to side. There’s a spark of life in his eyes that makes me smile.
“You like school?”
That spark shines even brighter. “I love school. It’s kind of boring sometimes, but it’s still cool.”
Leaning my elbows on the counter, I ask, “What grade are you in?”
“Second.”
But he’s six? Shouldn’t he be in first grade or maybe even kindergarten?
He must see my confusion because he quickly clarifies. “I skipped kindergarten last year.”
Oh… So, he’s like smart smart.
“How did you feel about that?”
He shrugs, absentmindedly running his fingers over his dad’s journal that is still clutched in his lap. “I’m not as bored, so that’s good. My teacher lets me do a lot of independent projects this year.”
“That’s cool. Is that what you’re working on right now?” I ask, pointing to the laptop.
He nods. “I was doing some research about the black mamba snake for my passion project.” He spins the computer, so the screen is facing me. Leaning over the top, he points to a picture of a black snake. “Do you know anything about them?”
My eyes quickly dart over the text on the screen. He was reading this. The text must be written at around a middle-school level, if not higher. This kid might be a genius.
“No, I had never even heard of that kind of snake until you said it a minute ago.”
His jaw hinges open. “You’ve never heard of the black mamba. That’s like… a crime.”
I can’t help but chuckle. The way he’s gawking at me is just too priceless.
“Well, maybe you can teach me about them while I’m here this week.”
His eyes light with excitement. “Heck yes.” He brings his fist down in front of himself in excitement.
“You don’t know what you just signed up for,” Finn says, startling both Maverick and me when he walks into the kitchen from the garage. I never even heard the door open.
“I have more facts about the millions of different kinds of snakes jammed in my brain than I ever would have wanted,” he adds.
“There aren’t even one million kinds of snakes,” Maverick says, rolling his eyes at his uncle. “So there definitely aren’t millions, as in more than one.”
Now it’s Finn’s turn to roll his eyes, while he ruffles his nephew’s already messy hair.
“Hey,” Maverick says, shoving Finn’s hand away. Cole’s journal goes tumbling to the floor.
“Is that your dad’s journal again?” Finn asks.
Again?
Maverick’s face pales slightly.
“Why do you keep reading that thing? He’s going to be the one to catch you one of these days. You’re lucky it’s always been Theo or me.”
Maverick lets out a heavy sigh.
“Go put it back where you found it,” Finn tells him. “And leave it there this time.”
“Okay,” Maverick says, sliding off the stool and scooping the journal off the floor. He lumbers toward the stairs.
“You’d better hurry before he gets out of his office,” Finn warns.
Maverick’s eyes widen when he looks back at us over his shoulder, then he bolts up the stairs as fast as his little legs will carry him.
“I take it this has happened before?” I say, smiling at Finn.
He leans against the counter adjacent to me. “You could say that. He’s as bad as Martha and Louise at getting all the tea on everyone.”
This makes me snort with a laugh. My head falls against the marble.
Finn’s hand lands on my shoulder. “You alright?”
Leaving my head on the counter, I twist until I can see him. He’s crouching further toward me, so his gorgeous face is right there.
My tongue slides over my lips. “Yeah, I’m good.”
And I am. Having him back in my life makes everything a little better.