Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Theo
My fingers speed across the keyboard. Reaching the end of the code line, I slowly ease my hands away from the keyboard.
My contacts feel like sandpaper against my eyeballs. I really should have changed into my glasses before starting this project, but I didn’t think about it beforehand.
I get so enthralled when I’m coding that it’s easy for me to lose track of time. It’s like getting invested in a good book, but even better—at least for me.
I do a lot of freelance coding for different companies during the winter to keep myself busy. This project was more personal. We wanted to make some changes to our website to make ordering lumber even easier for our customers.
A satisfying crack sounds when I twist my neck from side to side. Ensuring everything is saved, I stand from my office chair.
Everything aches, especially my shoulders and my back. All thoughts of posture go out the window when I get into the zone like I was.
It didn’t used to be a problem, but as each year passes, my body seems to hate it more.
I walk over the few feet, plopping down on my bed. I stretch my arms over my head, trying to relieve some of the achiness and built-up tension.
I could have chosen to have a separate office like Cole, but I prefer to have all my stuff here in my room. If I can’t sleep, I usually end up working in the middle of the night.
Whether it’s for our business or my own freelance stuff, I’d rather use the time than aimlessly stare at the ceiling for hours on end. Insomnia is a real bitch.
A door creaks in the hallway. My head whips toward my partially opened door.
I only get a tiny glimpse of Riley padding through the hallway. She’s wearing shorts, so her long legs are on display.
Pushing aside my questions as to why she’s wearing shorts in the middle of winter, I can’t help but enjoy the view. She’s there and gone in the blink of an eye.
I strain my ears to hear her soft footfalls as she descends the stairs. Eventually, she gets far enough away that I can’t hear her at all anymore.
My eyes fall closed as I drag in a deep breath. I’m up and walking down the stairs before my brain registers what my body decided to do on its own.
Well, I’m already here, I might as well get something to eat. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast, and a glance at my watch shows it’s already the middle of the afternoon. Great.
Stepping onto the hardwood, I turn in the direction of the kitchen. My feet freeze. Riley’s reaching high up in a cabinet, trying to grab something.
I can’t be bothered to figure out what she’s reaching for. The action has her lounge shorts riding up dangerously high on her thighs.
I divert my eyes up her body, so I’m not staring at the bottom of the ass cheek that I swear was peeking out. It takes every ounce of restraint within me to keep my eyes further north.
Her hair. Her neck. Her shoulders. Yes, look at her shoulders.
My feet suddenly decide they don’t want to be frozen anymore, carrying me into the kitchen. If I were smart, I would leave her alone.
I’m not smart when it comes to her, though. I’m pretty idiotic when it involves one Riley Graham.
It’s always been that way. She’s had me wrapped around her finger since the first time we met.
Something slams into my chest, knocking all the air from my lungs. I’m vaguely aware of something cold and sticky seeping through my shirt, but I’m not too concerned.
I’m wholly entranced by the pair of green eyes staring up at me. She’s looking at me, like she’s in the same weird trance as I am.
She is gorgeous. Her beauty is the natural kind that comes from genetics, not from expensive facial treatments and high-end makeup. In fact, I don’t think she’s wearing any makeup at all.
She blinks a few times. Her eyes roam downward.
“Oh shit,” she says, wiping her hand over my shirt. I guess her ice cream cone was the cold stickiness I felt. “I’m so sorry,” she rambles.
She’s still trying to wipe away the evidence of our collision, but I think it’s doing more harm than good. She’s smearing it into my shirt and my skin underneath.
I’m not going to complain. She’s touching me, and that seems like a victory.
She glances at her hand, which is now covered in ice cream. “I guess I didn’t think that through,” she says, laughing.
I join in her laughter as she shakes her head.
Fuck it.
Reaching behind my neck, I peel my shirt off.
“What…” she starts to ask me something, but trails off when her eyes land on my bare chest. Well… that’s a good sign.
I gently grab her wrist, using my shirt to clean the ice cream from her hand. I don’t really want to let her go, but I have to.
I don’t even know this woman. I can’t hold onto her hand indefinitely, even if something inside of me is screaming never to let her go.
“Better?” I ask, wiping some of the sugary goo from my abs.
Her eyes track the movement. She blinks several times, swallowing heavily. “Oh… umm… yeah… much better.”
She claps her hands together, maybe to show that her hands aren’t sticky anymore. She blushes, making an even bigger grin spread across my face.
“I’m Theo,” I tell her.
“Riley,” she says, tossing the rest of her ice cream cone in a trash can.
I’m just about to ask her if I can buy her another cone when someone walks around the corner. Cole’s eyes widen, taking in my shirtless appearance.
“What the hell, Theo?” he asks, laughing.
Then my heart sinks when he wraps his arm around Riley’s shoulders, and she smiles up at him with stars in her eyes.
Riley saves the day by answering the question because I don’t think I’d be able to come up with a coherent response just yet.
“I ruined his shirt with my ice cream cone. Then he used that shirt to clean me up when it was my fault in the first place.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” I say.
“His car’s right there,” Cole says, pointing to my SUV parked just off Main Street. “I’m sure he has an extra set of clothes in there.”
The wheels are clearly turning in her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you know each other. It’s a small town. So, you’re friends?”
“Brothers, actually,” Cole says. Her eyes go wide. “Riley, this is my younger brother, Theo. Theo, this is my….” He pauses for a second. “Well… I don’t know what she is to me yet, but she’s my Riley.”
She buries her face against his chest, laughing.
The pieces start to click into place in my brain. Riley. The search and rescue call, he was uncharacteristically cagy about.
“Oh… you’re that Riley,” I say.
Riley’s face turns back to face me. “What Riley?”
“Stranded on a mountain in a thunderstorm, Riley.”
She smacks Cole across the chest, and I have to bite my lip to keep from smirking. “I was not stranded.”
“Damn. Really?” Cole says, holding his hands out at his sides. “I saved your ass, woman. Can’t you just be grateful?”
Her eyes narrow at him. “You would have been sad if I died.”
“The saddest,” he says, pulling her in close. He tilts his head down, pressing his lips to hers.
Usually, I wouldn’t care if my brother was kissing a woman in front of me, but this time, I don’t like it at all.
Ten minutes ago, I felt a flare of hope in my chest. I’ve never felt this kind of instant connection to a woman before. Only to have all that hope crushed into nothing when I found out she’s my brother’s girl.
Everyone always picks Cole or Finn over me. It was always that way when we were growing up, and apparently, it’s continuing as adults. I fucking hate it, but it’s just an inevitability of my life.
I finally turn my gaze to the aspen tree beside us, choosing to focus on the way the green leaves move in the summer breeze. They’re a lot more enticing than the sight of the girl I felt an instant spark with, kissing my brother.
Riley’s voice draws my eyes back to them. “Sorry about that.” The look she’s giving me seems to be seeking forgiveness.
I might be crazy, but I don’t think it’s just for making out with Cole in front of me. I think—no, I know she felt the same thing I did earlier.
“No worries,” I say, waving my dirty shirt in front of me.
“I’m glad you guys met. I’m sure Riley’s going to be around a lot this summer,” Cole says.
Right.
“Friends?” Riley asks, eyes hopeful.
“Friends,” I say, smiling at her as best I can.
I might have always had lingering feelings for Riley, but I also grew to adore her as a friend. Every little thing I learned about her was something else to add to the endless list of things I treasured about her.
I accepted that she was Cole’s, and I was content with any part of her I could have.
The corners of my mouth tilt up when Riley swings her knee up on the counter, climbing on top.
She knows that Finn and I are both home right now. She could have easily called for either of us, but she was bound and determined to get it on her own.
When she grabs the elusive bowl, she smiles to herself. She goes to climb down, but her foot gets caught on the handle of the silverware drawer. I’m darting across the room, catching her before she can crash to the floor.
“Where the hell did you come from, Batman?” she shouts. It’s a mixture of being scared out of her mind and pure amusement.
I set her ass on the counter so that she won’t fall. Instead of stepping away like I know I should, I stay standing between her parted legs. Her hands stay on my shoulders, where she braced herself during the fall.
“Good thing Batman was hungry, or you might be going to the emergency room right now.”
She hums, nodding her head. “You probably think I’m an idiot who always needs rescuing.”
My head jerks back in confusion. What? Riley is one of the smartest and most independent people I’ve ever met in my life.
She has built Serendipity from the ground up, and it has turned into something wildly successful. That doesn’t just happen at random. She made it happen.
My hands move from where they’re white knuckling the counter to settle on her hips. “That’s the furthest thing from what I think of you.”
Her breath catches when I stroke my thumbs over her hips without thinking.
I don’t know where the courage comes from, but I keep talking. “You’re smart, funny, tenacious, a hard ass at times.” She smirks at that one. “Bold, determined… beautiful.”
Her features soften, our eyes locked on one another. Her hands move up to the nape of my neck. “Theo,” she whispers.
“Yeah,” I breathe, barely able to keep myself upright with her proximity, let alone speak.
“Kiss me.”
“You sure?”
“Just shut up and kiss me,” she says, smiling. His fingers press against my neck, urging me closer to her.
One of my hands slides up her side, skimming the side of her breast over her shirt. I continue upward until my fingers lace into her hair. Shoving any lingering voices in my head far away, I bring her lips to mine.
Tingles erupt over my entire body. I keep the kiss gentle at first, not wanting to press my luck. My brain keeps screaming repeatedly that I’m kissing her.
Her legs wrap around my waist, pressing me flush against her. There’s no hiding my cock that’s growing harder by the second. She lets out a breathy moan, and the single thread of control I was tiptoeing on snaps.
My fist tightens in her hair, and I use the leverage to angle her head just the way I want her so that I can deepen the kiss—my other hand slides to her lower back, holding her possessively against me.
We kiss like this for what feels like an eternity. It could have been a few minutes or an hour. I’m too caught up in her to worry about anything else.
We pull back slightly, both of us breathing heavily. We’re still draped around each other.
“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to kiss you,” she says, still catching her breath.
“And?”
“I’ll post a glowing review on your Yelp page.”
We both start laughing as her head falls against my shoulder. I move my hands until they are wrapped around her back.
Kissing her was amazing, but this right here is heaven.