Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Riley stared at the doors, willing them to open.
He’d never believed in all that “positive thinking, manifest your destiny” nonsense, but maybe if he focused hard enough, Brooke would come breezing into the pub like all of this had never happened, flashing him a teasing smile, and strolling over to?—
“Riley?”
Someone snapped their fingers right in front of him, and he blinked out of his daydream. Mackenzie was standing by the bar.
“Oh. Hey,” Riley sighed. “I didn’t see you there.”
“I’ve been calling your name for like the past five minutes.” Mackenzie frowned. “Still moping?”
“Real men don’t mope.” Riley flashed a weak smile. “We brood. In a manly, strong fashion.”
“Uh huh.” Mac didn’t look convinced by his nonchalant routine. “Same difference. Still no word from Brooke?”
Riley shook his head and busied himself wiping down the bar. “It’s probably for the best,” he lied. “We both know me plus commitment would have been a recipe for disaster. Plus, think of the damage to the Sweetbriar Cove tourist industry. Hot girls would have been canceling their trips in droves.”
Mackenzie softened. “You don’t have to pull that routine with me. It’s OK if you miss her.”
“What’s to miss?” Riley shot back. “I barely knew the woman.”
He moved off to clear some dirty glasses—and avoid Mackenzie’s sympathetic smile. They both knew he was putting on an act, but these days, it was second nature to him.
It had been weeks now since that day at the wedding, when he’d screwed everything up with Brooke.
He’d cycled through the usual stages of post-breakup grief—drinking, wallowing, and more drinking—but still, he didn’t feel like he was any closer to moving on.
He could tell himself it was her loss, and that some things weren’t meant to be, but deep down, her words lingered.
You don’t even know what you want.
Riley’s jaw clenched. He’d straight-up told her what he wanted: the two of them, together. He’d put his heart on the line, and she’d thrown it back in his face. She was the confused one, not him. He had nothing to regret.
Except his timing could have been better, a small voice reminded him. Brawling through the middle of her big event didn’t exactly scream “trust and commitment.” And who could blame her for not believing him, when he’d bragged about his easy, no-strings life for so long?
Riley stifled a sigh. He’d almost driven over there a dozen times to apologize and beg for her back, or better yet, seduce her until she couldn’t resist him anymore.
Sometimes he made it out the door, into the car, halfway up that dark coastal road.
One night, he even sat outside her apartment with the engine running, talking himself out of storming up those stairs.
But every time, he managed to turn back around and come home, alone.
She wasn’t ready.
She needed time.
He hadn’t listened before, but he wasn’t going to make that mistake again, no matter how much he wanted to.
“There you are,” a female voice cooed. He looked up as Lulu came sashaying across the bar. “I haven’t heard from you since our dinner. Have you been avoiding me?”
Her smile was flirty, but Riley’s heart still sank.
He’d been on one ill-advised date with Lulu, back during his whole “drinking and wallowing” phase.
He wasn’t even halfway through his appetizer before realizing what a mistake it was; he’d given her some excuse about an emergency at the bar and made a quick escape, but Lulu didn’t seem to mind his disappearing act.
She’d been messaging him all month with invitations to get together, and clearly, she figured it was time to hunt him down in person.
“I’ve been busy,” Riley said, and cleared his throat.
“How about tonight?” Lulu asked. “You could come over after you’re done here and have a little fun. Unwind.” She grinned, and Riley knew exactly the kind of unwinding she was talking about, but even the prospect of wild, no-strings sex with this gorgeous woman couldn’t shake his mood.
Damn, he really was in a bad way.
“Sorry,” he said, flashing a rueful smile. “I’m not in the market for that kind of fun anymore.”
Lulu looked surprised. “The great Riley Ford? Say it isn’t so.”
“I’m as surprised as anyone,” he agreed. “But you take care, OK?”
“Oh, I will.” Lulu reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Say, is your new bartender single?”
He laughed. “Jamie? Sure he is. Go tell him your drink’s on me.”
Riley watched Lulu head over to the bar—and slay poor Jamie with a single smile. She was a great girl: gorgeous, laid back, and fun-loving, but somehow, after Brooke, he couldn’t find it in his heart to want anyone else.
Brooke, with her smart mouth and endless ambition.
Brooke, who could render him speechless with a single, blissful smile.
Brooke—
“Earth to Riley.” Mackenzie snapped her fingers again. “Lord, if you’re going to wallow—I’m sorry, brood much longer, I should get a whistle or something.”
Riley shook his head, annoyed at himself as much as Mac. “Are you still here?”
“I figured we could walk over to the bookstore together,” she said, unbothered by his grumpy tone.
“It’s boys versus girls at poker night. Which means Poppy’s going to wipe the floor with us all.
And before you bail again, I’m not taking no for an answer.
” Mackenzie fixed him with her sternest stare, and Riley knew he didn’t have a choice.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
He grabbed his jacket and held the door for her on their way out. A chilly breeze whipped around them, and Mackenzie shivered, pausing to pull her jacket on. “Summer’s really ending,” she said, looking around the square. “The leaves will be turning soon.”
“I hate the cold,” Riley said, starting to walk across the town square. “I lived too long in California. I’ve half a mind to head back there and spend October on the beach.”
“You don’t mean that!” Mackenzie protested. “Fall is my favorite time of year on the Cape. Hot apple cider, and Halloween, and hay bale rides at the Harvest Festival . . .”
“What are you, the official Sweetbriar Cove tourist board now?” Riley teased.
“You better watch out,” Mackenzie warned him. “You’re turning into a regular Grinch. If you’re not careful?—”
She stopped, and the strangest expression crossed her face.
Riley turned. “What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I . . .” Mackenzie blinked. “Nothing. I thought I saw someone, that’s all.”
“An ex?” Riley asked, amused to see her so ruffled.
“No.” Mackenzie’s voice went quiet. “No, forget I said anything. So do you think Grayson’s going to pop the question to Summer yet?
Soon we’ll be the only single ones left in the group.
” She changed the subject without even pausing for breath, and then chattered the rest of the way about town gossip and her new line of pumpkin-themed ceramics until they reached Grayson’s bookstore.
“Hey!” Poppy greeted them the minute they stepped inside the snug store. The card table was already set out in the main room, and Grayson, Cooper, and Summer were seated, drinking beer and passing around a pizza box. “Are you guys ready for battle?”
“I should just empty my wallet and call it a night,” Riley said ruefully. Poppy’s poker skills were legendary around town.
She grinned. “Aww, I’ll go easy on you, I promise.”
They took their seats, and the game began—punctuated with teasing, and gossip, and their usual smack-talk. It was the perfect Friday night in Sweetbriar Cove, but looking around the table at his friends, Riley knew something was missing. Someone.
Brooke.
It was amazing how fast she’d found a place here in the community, but she seemed to fit, just right. She would have a plan to beat Poppy, of course, and be trading jokes with Mackenzie and Cooper; suggesting new dishes for Summer to try at the bakery.
She belonged here.
With him.
“Your turn,” Grayson prompted him, and Riley swallowed back his empty pang. He tried to get Brooke out of his mind and just focus on the game, but he couldn’t shake the regret that was lodged, cold and hollow, behind his ribcage.
He’d pushed her too far, too fast.
Brooke was right. She wasn’t ready—but he hadn’t listened to her, not really. He’d been so swept up in his own feelings, finally wanting to commit, that he didn’t stop to think about her past heartbreak, and how she was still rebounding from Archer’s betrayal.
If he’d slowed down a beat . . . If he’d given her time to move on .
. . They could have built a relationship moment by moment, adding up to something real.
Instead, he’d barreled ahead, ignoring everything she’d told him, and assumed that just because he was finally ready to take that risk and open up with someone, she would be too.
He was wrong.
“You think he’d notice if I peeked at his cards?”
“Nah, I already know what he’s holding. His poker face is the worst.”
Riley came back to reality and found the rest of the table staring at him. He was missing his turn all over again. “Sorry,” he said, glancing half-heartedly at the cards in his hand. “Uh, fold.”
“You’re no fun,” Poppy complained, with a heap of M&M winnings already piled in front of her. “You used to be my only rival.”
“Gee, thanks,” Mackenzie piped up, munching on a slice of pizza.
“Please. You have zero game face,” Poppy laughed. “All your emotions are written all over your face.”
“I’ll have you know, I’m a woman of mystery,” Mackenzie declared—with pizza sauce smeared over her chin.
They all laughed, but Riley’s thoughts were a million miles away. Or, to be precise, fifteen miles up the coast. He wondered if Brooke was still up—or if she’d kicked her insomnia for good.
Was she up late, working on her laptop, a mug of herbal tea at her side? Was she laying awake, thinking of him?
Or had she already moved on…
With somebody else?
Damn it.
Riley pushed back his chair. Distraction wasn’t working when it came to forgetting her. Maybe drinking would.