Chapter 37
37
THE FINAL CHAPTER
“ R iley…” I hate how breathy I sound at the sight of him. I was angry at him.
I am angry at him.
I step back as he reaches for me.
“Amelia, please.” His voice sounds broken.
“No.” I can’t allow myself to give into whatever he has to say. I’m not strong enough to not believe the lies he will tell me to cover up the truth. I turn to walk away from him and towards Antonio’s waiting car.
Riley hurries to pass and stops in front of me before putting his hands up in a defensive plea for me to stop. “Amelia, please just let me explain.”
“I don’t have the energy to decipher the truth behind how you’re planning on spinning this tonight. Actually, ever. I won’t ever have the energy, so please just leave me alone.” I attempt to side step him but he follows my lead and blocks me again.
“I don’t know what you heard...”
I cut him off.
“I heard everything I needed to hear, Riley. Cecelia and your father said enough for me to put the pieces of your game together.” My chest now rising and falling with anger coupled with the pain in my nose from holding back the tears threatening to spill over. “You played me for a fool. You used me. And like the idiot that I am… I let you because I was too busy falling in love with you.”
I look down as a tear slips down my cheek and I am angry at myself for not being able to keep it together long enough to walk away from him.
Riley’s thumb brushes the escaped tear away. Trying to pull my face away, he grips my chin with his thumb and forefinger like he always does, forcing me to look up at him. His image blurry from the water in my eyes. Even now, I hate how much I love the look of him.
“I never used you, Amelia.” He lets out a breath and closes his eyes as if to think of how to form the right thought. “I know with everything you probably heard that it’s almost impossible to believe me right now but I promise, the idea of using you never crossed my mind. I didn’t even want them to know who you were tonight but once you told Cecelia it was only a matter of time before she ran off and told Phil and my father.” His thumb gently rubs my bottom lip. “I was trying to protect you, when my father announced to the firm that whoever signed Thatcher Inc. would be the next named partner I knew I had to stand up and say you were mine. To not allow any one of them to come anywhere close to you. He took it as me taking him up on that challenge but I never had any intention of trying to coerce you into signing with them.”
“Them?” I ask about his odd word choice. Not him .
“I quit tonight. It’s just them and then there’s me.” He brushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
Everything he just told me. If he didn’t pla y me for a fool.
That means he…
Both hands fly to my mouth in shock as I suck in a breath. “Oh my god!” I exclaim with embarrassment.
“What is it?” Riley asks, confused. “ Did I miss something?”
“We did the miscommunication thing!” I practically yell at him through my hands. He’s staring at me as if I sprouted two heads. “Sam was right! We miscommunicated and I…” I cover my face with my hands, “I let us! Oh my god! I blamed you and thought the worst of you!” I let the tears fall at the thought of every bad thing I allowed myself to believe about him even after he’s shown me time and time again who he is. “And your job! You walked away from your grandfather’s company because of me!”
“Shhh, shhh…” Riley pulls my hands away before he grabs my face with both of his, forcing me to make eye contact with him. “You had every reason to doubt me. I didn’t let you in, not even when I knew I should have. Had I shown you what you meant to me, truly meant to me, and not just let you believe I was playing the part of your fake boyfriend, you would’ve known that I would never hurt you.” He attempts to wipe away my tears but they are falling faster than he can catch them. “You are everything to me and I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner. I’m in love with you, Amelia. So fucking in love with you that I don’t care what I walked away from as long as I have you to walk towards. At the end of the day, all I want is you.”
“Wha-what did you just say?” Surely these emotions are also messing with my hearing because there is no way I heard what I think I heard.
“Amelia Thatcher.” He leans down to kiss me. “I.” Kiss . “Love.” Kiss . “You.” Kiss . “There is no life worth l iving without you by my side.”
My heart swells at his declaration and the dam of emotions bursts open more than it already has. I let every tear fall as I lunge at him before wrapping my arms around his neck, almost knocking him off balance. “I love you, Riley Anderson. Oh God, I love you and I hate our stupid deal because I don’t want to fake date you anymore.” I say laughing through choked sobs.
He wraps his arms around my waist, squeezing me tight as if I’m the sole anchor to this world for him. “I’m all yours, Princess. Always and forever.” He promises me the future we deserve as he buries his face in my hair.
I pull back enough to look at him. “Ask me what I want, Riley.”
The smile he gives me is enough to bring me to my knees. “What do you want, Princess?”
“I want you to make love to me under the stars” I whisper low enough so only he can hear.
His lips crash into mine before pulling me towards the garden that’s pulled us back together time and time again. I hear the distinct sound of a car engine being started and know Antonio has decided it’s finally time for him to call it a night.
Riley lays me down on the plush grass as he devours me with his kisses. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.” He murmurs. The heat of his breath against my skin causes my body to erupt in flames. This time feels different with him. There isn’t the need to hold back. Riley has already owned my heart but now I’m not afraid of it. He wants all of me—mind, body, and soul. I might’ve been the one to run face first into him when we first met, but he was the one that barreled into my life, gave me the confidence to become the version of myself that was ready to love a man like him with no fear and the c ourage to demand the life I wanted.
A life with him by my side.
Riley pulls away from me and gently caresses the skin he marked as his. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Princess.”
“I’m thinking how much I never want this to end.”