Chapter 24
Chris
“Good morning, Chris!”
I lift my gaze from the table I’m clearing to see Riley’s beaming face in front of me.
“I’ve come for breakfast,” she says, explaining her presence. “I have a day off, after the party yesterday.”
“Of course! Sit down – can I get you anything to drink?”
“A cappuccino would be fantastic.”
“I’ll be right back.”
While Riley sits down at one of the free tables, I go to the coffee machine to make her cappuccino. Her being here is making me uncomfortable, even though it shouldn’t – she has nothing to do with what happened yesterday, nothing to do with him.
I take her coffee over, along with my own which I’d left behind the counter, and I sit down with her for a break – just as I always do when she comes in on her own. I can’t let Ryan O’Connor interfere with my everyday life.
“You left early last night,” she says right away, chewing her lip. “Were you not having fun? Did someone make you uncomfortable…?”
“No, no,” I say, reassuring her. “I just… look, I’m always here. Work sucks all the life out of me, so I never have enough energy to stay out late – otherwise I wouldn’t be able to hold up fort here the next day.”
She stirs her coffee slowly, then places the spoon onto the saucer, takes a deep breath, and looks at me in her sweet, sincere way.
“It’s just that I saw you dancing with Ryan…”
There we go. Straight to the point. She isn’t as na?ve as she looks.
“I know that he can sometimes be a bit…”
“Irritating? Arrogant? Rude?”
“Okay, so you know him pretty well,” she smiles.
“It’s impossible not to. Every time we meet, it ends in an argument.”
“Does that mean you two have met up often?”
“Oh, no,” I immediately hold up my hands. “Absolutely never.”
“Mmm.”
“A few times, by accident.”
“He’s not as bad as he seems.”
“I can imagine,” I say, sarcastically.
“Really,” she insists, her face suddenly serious. “I’m not trying to excuse him for how he acts – it irritates me, too, sometimes, being around him – but I’ve got to know him, and I’ve learnt to love him.”
“That’s normal, Riley, he’s part of your family.”
“Ian’s brothers all have the same problem, you know. They all seem obnoxious, impossibly irritating, but there’s a lot hiding underneath it all.”
I guess she’s talking about Ian. Well, it isn’t like Ian’s hiding much.
As for Nick, I’ve never had the chance to speak to him properly, but he’s surely nothing on Ryan.
He’s the worst of the worst. A disaster.
An apocalypse. It’s useless for him to hide behind that angelic face, because there’s nothing angelic about him. He’s the devil. That’s what he is.
“I don’t get why you’re telling me this…” I ramble, trying to show her just how little I care about Ryan O’Connor.
“I’m just making conversation,” she says, hiding innocently behind her coffee.
I’m starting to think that Riley might be influenced a bit too much by those O’Connors.
“Ryan’s just an insecure man, trying to find his path.”
“Ryan’s not even a man, Riley. He’s a condescending, spoilt little boy…”
“See, you do know him,” she comments, smugly. “But you’re talking about what you see on the surface. Behind his walls, there’s more to him – trust me.”
“Well, it’s not up to me to find that out. I have no interest in doing so. I’m thirty-two, Riley. I have a sixteen-year-old son, a job that takes up all my free time, a horrendous dating history with guys just like Ryan, and I don’t have time to play silly games. And he’s the worst kind of player.”
“I get it.”
“I’m not looking for anything, I’m not desperate for a man. And if I did want one, I’m certain it wouldn’t be one like Ryan O’Connor. No offence.”
“None taken. I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
I sigh and lean back against my chair.
“I’m tired of playing around. I just want to be with someone who really sees me, someone who wants me – warts and all. I don’t know if you know what I mean.”
She reaches her hand towards mine across the table.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m not going to go chasing him down,” I tell her, determined. “He isn’t for me.”
“Okay, then I’m sorry. I just thought that… oh, forget it.”
“Mmm?”
“I’ve known Ryan for a while now and I thought I saw something – but I probably just got the wrong idea.”
I smile at her, before standing up.
“I have to get back to work now – sorry.”
“Of course. Thanks for the chat.”
“No problem, you know I enjoy it. You’re part of the furniture here now!”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later,” I say, waving before heading back behind the counter, with her words pulsing through my mind and the heaviest weight in my stomach.