Chapter 9
NINE
Riley
Riley woke up Sunday morning determined to be productive.
Family dinner wasn't until tonight, which meant she had the entire day to help her mom prep, run errands, and absolutely not think about how Grant was going to sit at her family's table and pretend to be her boyfriend.
It's fine. You've got this under control.
She did not, in fact, have this under control.
By mid-morning, Riley had been enlisted into full kitchen duty—chopping vegetables, peeling potatoes, and enduring her mother's endless stream of questions about Grant.
"So things are going well with you two?"
"Yeah, Mom. They're good."
"He seems happy."
"He is."
"So are you."
Riley kept her eyes on the carrots. "I'm always happy when I'm home."
"That's not what I mean." Carol handed her another cutting board. "You're lighter. Like you're not carrying around all that city stress."
"You mentioned that, Mom. It's just a vacation though."
"Mm-hmm." Her mom's smile was entirely too knowing, but she didn't push.
Around noon, Carol shooed Riley out of the kitchen. "Go run to the store for me. I need cream for the potatoes and I forgot to grab it yesterday."
Riley grabbed her coat, grateful for the escape.
The Pine Valley Market was busier than usual—apparently everyone had last-minute dinner emergencies. Riley navigated through the crowd, grabbed the cream, and was heading toward checkout when someone called her name.
"Riley Monroe! Oh my goodness!"
Riley turned to find Mrs. Ames beaming at her from the dairy section, wearing a holiday sweater covered in sequined reindeer.
"Hi, Mrs. Ames."
"I saw the pictures from your reunion! You and Grant look absolutely wonderful together."
"Oh. Thank you."
"We're all so thrilled you two found your way back to each other." Mrs. Ames clasped her hands together. "True love always finds a way, doesn't it?"
Riley's smile felt plastic. "I guess so."
"Have you set a date yet?"
Riley blinked. "A date?"
"For the wedding, dear!"
"We're not— We just started dating—"
"Oh, I know it's early. But everyone can see it's only a matter of time. You two are meant to be." Mrs. Ames patted her arm with surprising force. "Your children are going to be beautiful."
Riley stood frozen as Mrs. Ames shuffled away, her brain stuck on the word children.
She shook herself and headed for the checkout, only to be stopped three more times by neighbors offering congratulations, asking about Grant, wondering when she was moving back to town permanently.
By the time Riley escaped to the parking lot, her head was spinning.
This town was impossible.
She loaded the cream into her car and was about to climb in when she heard a voice that made her spine stiffen.
"Riley Monroe. As I live and breathe."
Riley turned.
Tessa Martin stood next to a sleek black SUV, designer sunglasses perched on her head, cashmere coat draped perfectly over her shoulders. She looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine spread titled "Divorced and Thriving."
"Tessa. Hi."
"I heard you were back in town!" Tessa crossed the parking lot with the confidence of someone who'd never doubted her place in the world. "How long has it been?"
"A while."
"Too long." Tessa pulled her into a hug that smelled like expensive perfume and felt vaguely threatening. "You look great. City life must agree with you."
"Thanks. You look—" Riley searched for a word that wasn't insufferable. "Good too."
"Oh, you're sweet. I'm a disaster, honestly. The divorce was hell." Tessa said it lightly, but her smile had edges. "But I'm back home now, licking my wounds, trying to figure out what's next."
"I'm sorry it didn't work out."
"Don't be. Marcus was a mistake from the word go. Rich, handsome, completely soulless." Tessa waved it away. "But enough about my disasters. I heard you're seeing someone."
Riley's stomach tightened. "How did you—"
"Facebook. Mrs. Henderson is very thorough." Tessa's smile widened. "Grant Lawson. Wow. Talk about a blast from the past."
"Yeah. We reconnected."
"That's so sweet. I always thought you two were adorable together." Tessa leaned against her SUV, all casual interest. "How did that happen? I thought you were done with small-town life."
"Things change."
"They certainly do." Tessa's gaze turned calculating. "Grant's really grown up well, hasn't he? I ran into him at the hardware store last week. Still as dependable as ever."
Something sharp twisted in Riley's chest. "You ran into him?"
"Just for a minute. He was helping Mrs. Patterson load something into her car." Tessa laughed. "Mr. Dependable. That's what everyone calls him, right? Always there when you need him."
The way she said it—like Grant was a tool you borrowed instead of a person—made Riley want to throw her groceries at Tessa's perfect face.
"He's a good person," Riley said tightly.
"Oh, absolutely. Salt of the earth." Tessa tilted her head. "It must be nice, dating someone so...steady. Reliable. After all that city chaos."
"It is."
"And he's single-handedly running that tree farm now, right? Such a big responsibility. He must be incredibly strong. Capable." Tessa's smile turned sly. "All those muscles from chopping wood and hauling trees around."
Riley's fingers tightened on her car door. Was Tessa—was she openly admiring Grant? Right now? To Riley's face?
"He works hard," Riley managed.
"I bet he does." Tessa straightened, adjusting her sunglasses. "Well, I should let you go. But I'm sure I'll see you around. Pine Valley's so small, we'll probably run into each other constantly."
"Probably."
"Oh! Are you going to the tree lighting later this week?"
"I—maybe."
"You should. It's supposed to be beautiful this year. Very romantic." Tessa's smile was pure strategy. "I'm definitely going. Maybe I'll see you and Grant there."
"Maybe."
"Perfect. We can all catch up properly." Tessa waved and climbed into her SUV. "See you later, Riley!"
She drove off, leaving Riley standing in the parking lot, hands clenched into fists.
Mr. Dependable.
The words echoed in Riley's head, dripping with condescension and something else. Interest. Tessa was interested in Grant.
And why wouldn't she be? Grant was attractive, successful, kind. The kind of man who helped little old ladies without being asked. The kind of man who showed up when he said he would.
The kind of man Riley had let slip away once before.
Riley climbed into her car and gripped the steering wheel, her pulse pounding in her ears.
This was fake. This whole thing with Grant was fake. Which meant she had no right to feel this hot, sick jealousy churning in her stomach.
No right at all.
But she felt it anyway.
Back home, Riley threw herself into dinner prep with enough force that her mother asked twice if she was okay.
"I'm fine."
"You've been aggressively mashing those potatoes for five minutes."
Riley looked down. The potatoes were pulverized. "Sorry."
"Did something happen at the store?"
"No. Just…ran into some people."
"Anyone interesting?"
"Tessa Martin."
Her mother's eyebrows rose. "Oh. How is she?"
"Divorced. Glamorous. Back in town."
"Ah." Carol took the masher from Riley's death grip. "And she said something that bothered you."
"She didn't say anything. She was perfectly nice."
"Riley."
"What?"
"You get a very specific look on your face when Tessa Martin is involved. The same look you got in high school when she beat you for prom queen."
Riley grabbed another potato. "I don't care about prom queen."
"No. But you care about Grant."
Riley's hands stilled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means Tessa's always been good at zeroing in on what other people want. And if she's back in town, single, and commenting on Grant—"
"She wasn't commenting on him."
"Wasn't she?"
Riley didn't answer. Because Tessa absolutely had been commenting on him. Mr. Dependable. All those muscles. So steady.
Carol set down the masher and turned to face Riley fully. "Sweetheart. If you care about him—really care about him—you should tell him."
"We're taking it slow."
"Are you? Because it doesn't look slow. It looks like two people who never stopped caring about each other finally figured out how to be in the same room again."
Riley's throat tightened. "Mom. It's complicated."
"Love usually is."
"I didn't say anything about love."
Her mother just smiled. "You didn't have to."
By the time Grant arrived at five-forty-five, Riley had worked herself into a state of barely controlled anxiety.
She opened the door to find him standing on the porch, holding a bottle of wine and wearing a button-down that made him look unfairly attractive.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi."
"You okay? You look—"
"I'm fine." Riley stepped aside to let him in. "Just nervous about dinner."
"It's going to be fine."
"Please stop saying that."
Grant smiled and handed her the wine. "I mean it every time I say it. You worry too much."
“How do you stay so relaxed?”
“Because I enjoy your company. Now, let’s go in so I can say hello. Plus, I’m hungry.”
"They’re definitely going to be testing you."
"Good thing I like a challenge."
Grant grinned wide, and took his coat off before hanging it on the coat rack by the door.
“Shall we?” He gestured to the kitchen.
They stood in the entryway, the house already filling with noise—Tyler's music thumping upstairs, Lily laughing at something in the kitchen, her dad's voice booming from the living room.
"They're going to interrogate you," Riley warned.
"I know."
"Tyler's going to ask about your intentions."
"I have very honorable intentions."
"My mom's going to make comments about the future."
"I can handle it."
Riley looked up at him, this man who'd agreed to fake-date her through the holidays just to save her from being the punchline. Who showed up when he said he would. Who never asked for anything in return.
Mr. Dependable.
Except Tessa had made it sound like an insult. Like Grant was boring. Predictable.
But standing here, looking at him, Riley didn't see boring.
She saw steady. Solid. Safe.
She saw home.
"Grant?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For doing this."
"You don't have to keep thanking me."
"I do though. Because you didn't have to offer. You could've let me drown in my own mess. But you showed up anyway."
Grant's expression softened. "Riley. I'll always show up for you."
The words hit her square in the chest.
Before she could respond, the kitchen door swung open and her mother appeared, face lighting up.
"Grant! You're here!"
The moment shattered, but Riley felt it settle somewhere deep in her chest.
Warm. Dangerous. Real.
And later—after dinner, after Grant had charmed her entire family, after he'd left with promises to see the family at the tree lighting, Tessa's words kept echoing.
Mr. Dependable. I'm sure I'll see you and Grant there.
And Riley realized with sudden, terrifying clarity:
She was jealous.
She was fake-dating Grant Lawson, and she was jealous at the thought of another woman being interested in him.
Which meant this wasn't fake anymore.
At least not for her.