CHAPTER TWO
I can’t believe she fucking ran.
Granted, Wade didn’t exactly have women banging down his door to date him, but Riley was the first woman to actually physically run from him.
In heels as well. That signals commitment right there.
She wanted to get away from him so badly that she was willing to risk breaking an ankle in order to do so.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
Almost a whole day had gone by since he was left stranded on the dance floor, yet Wade could still feel the sting in his chest. How could he have been so wrong? He had been so sure there had been something there. Something electric.
“Hey!” Matt bellowed before snapping his fingers in Wade’s face. “Earth to fucking Romeo. Some of us are still on the damn clock.”
They all were. They were completing final checks together today. It seemed like the sensible thing to do given the hangovers his little brothers started the day with. Three sets of eyes were better than one.
“Jesus Christ, man,” Jonah chimed in. “What the hell is going on with you today?”
“He’s lovesick,” Matt answered for him. “He’s hooking up with our new maid. Which reminds me, you think we need to get her to sign something to say she’s not gonna sue us for sexual harassment?”
“Why would she do that?” Jonah chirped.
“I’m pretty sure sex with the boss is grounds to sue,” Matt answered.
Oh, the joys of working with family. “I’m not having sex with Riley, you assholes.” Wade shot them both the dirtiest look he could muster.
“No?” Matt leant back against the barn door, crossing his ankles as he eyed him. “Then how do you explain the handholding and the moony eyes? Oh, and the fact she was your date to your brother’s wedding?”
“She was?” Jonah looked confused.
Wade sighed. “It’s a long story, okay.” A story he had no intention of sharing. “All you need to know is that we’re not hooking up and she doesn’t need to sign anything, so can we drop it?”
“You fucking like her!” Jonah laughed and pointed at Wade, before turning his attention back to Matt. “Think you’re right, we’re gonna need to get her to sign something. Casanova over here might as well have love hearts in his eyes.”
He didn’t have the energy for this. He wanted to go home and tend to his bruised ego in peace. Preferably with a cold beer and a good TV show.
But that wasn’t happening either. Not yet. He had one more thing he had to do today. Something he’d spent the day dreading.
Just get it over with.
The sooner he did it, the sooner he could go home. So, with that in mind, he flipped off his brothers and turned to walk away. Ignoring the many, many slurs being hurled at him as he did.
Making his way over to the staff trailers, he may have walked a little slower than usual.
He was in no rush to do what he had to do.
Which consisted of two things. The first being to check in on Riley, in case she really was sick, though that was highly unlikely.
And the second, well, the second thing was the one he was dreading. He had to apologise.
Stop whining and man up. You owe it to her.
His ego was going to take another beating, but that didn’t matter because it was true, he did owe her an apology.
For crossing the line. Sick or not, Riley clearly wasn’t interested in him like that , so calling her beautiful and sexy, despite it being true, was a mistake.
A big one. He was her boss. She was his employee.
And although he hated to admit it, Matt was right, she could totally sue.
Sooner than he was ready, he found himself knocking on Riley’s door and holding his breath. He waited. Then waited some more. He heard footsteps warily approach the door, but it remained closed. So he tried again.
“Riley?”
He knew she was there. But why wasn’t she answering?
Jesus, what if she thinks I’m a fucking predator or something?
That thought made him sick enough to start talking, closed door be damned. “Riley? You okay? Just wanted to check on you, darlin’, and say sorry about last night.”
The door whipped open then, revealing a wide-eyed Riley. Like every other time he’d seen her over the past week, she managed to take his breath away. This time in sweatpants and an oversized shirt.
“Why are you sorry?” she asked.
Here we go.
He cleared his throat and blanked his expression.
He needed to be serious. Professional. And put his tongue back in his head.
“I’m sorry about the things I said last night, Riley.
My intention wasn’t to make you uncomfortable, which unfortunately, I think I did.
For that, I apologise. It won’t happen again. ”
“The things you said?” Her head tilted to the side, genuine confusion contorting her pretty face.
Was she really going to make him say it again? “Yes. The things I said. Commenting on your looks like I did. It was inappropriate.”
“Oh.” She went quiet for a moment. He could see the wheels turning. Finally, she asked, “W-what was your intention?”
“What?”
He watched curiously as her hand went to her wrist. Using her thumb, she began stroking her pulse point. It was an odd thing to do. But then, she was a bit odd. And he liked it.
When he met her dark eyes again, they were sparkling, a look of sheer determination boring into him.
“You said my intention wasn’t , so um, what was your intention?”
He was slow to answer, unsure if this was a test. A test he was about to fail. Surely, she knew exactly what his intentions were. She was shy, sure. But she wasn’t dumb.
“I think you know what my intentions were, darlin’, but that—”
“I don’t,” she cut him off.
Seriously?
His face must have conveyed exactly what he was thinking because she went on, even though he could tell it was costing her.
“I’m not good at reading people,” she rushed out. “I, uh, I’m not great in social situations.”
She was still rubbing her wrist. Harder than Wade liked. She was nervous. Embarrassed. He realized then, that she really didn’t know. Had no idea.
Fuck.
Fuck indeed. Where was that ‘don’t sue’ contract when you needed it?
Hell with it.
He took a step toward her, his hand immediately going to her abused wrist. He replaced her thumb with his, gently brushing over her skin which just so happened to feel as silky as it looked.
“You honestly have no idea?” She shook her head in response, her red lips parting and her eyes growing rounder as he got closer.
“You think I go ‘round telling every woman I meet that they’re beautiful and sexy?” She didn’t need to answer, not when he got a good look at the innocence leaking out of her. “I don’t, petal.”
“S-so...why tell me?” Her voice was so quiet, he could only just make out the words.
“’Cause I couldn’t bear the thought of you not knowing. That would be a goddamn shame, darlin’.”
Riley drew in a shaky breath, but her gaze never left his. “So that was your intention—to make sure I knew?”
She really wasn’t getting it.
So spell it out.
“No, sweetheart. My intention was to ask you out.” He inched closer, forcing her neck to stretch back.
“To take you to dinner.” His head dropped as he allowed his breath to sink into her skin, his eyes not leaving hers as he said, “To convince you to kiss me.” He ignored the spike in his heartrate and let his mouth go to her ear next, where he whispered, “To take you to bed.”
He felt her quiver. A smug sense of satisfaction washed over him then. He hadn’t been imagining it. He could hear the crackle in the air. Feel her pulse pound beneath his thumb. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Thank fuck for that.
Drawing back slightly and seeing her flushed cheeks, reminded him to reign himself in. “Go to dinner with me, Riley.”
It came out more of a demand than a question, but she nodded, nonetheless.
“You’re off tomorrow, right?” He already knew the answer, tomorrow was a Monday, one of her days off.
She nodded again. This time, a strand of dark hair broke free from her bun and hung against her still very rosy cheek.
“Pick you up around seven?”
“Okay,” she quickly agreed, looking like she’d surprised even herself.
Hell yeah. He’d bagged himself a date. With the woman he’d not been able to stop thinking about since he’d laid eyes on her.
Who also looks like a deer caught in headlights right now.
Right. The taste of her citrus scent on his tongue should have been an indication that he was still standing too close. It was too tempting. And he needed to take it easy. And quit while he was ahead. Before she changed her mind. Or phoned a lawyer.
He let go of her wrist as he took a step back. But just as he was about to turn, he remembered something. “Are you feeling better today? You said you weren’t feeling well last night.”
“I lied,” she stated, causing him to smile. Goddamn he liked this girl.
Wade nodded, he wasn’t going to ask why. He didn’t need to. Instead, he tipped his Stetson. “Sweet dreams, petal.”
He was graced with a small smile as he backed out of her doorway.
Bring on tomorrow night.