Chapter Eight
Travis
Dinner isn’t until eight, which gives me enough time to sneak out before anyone notices I’m gone.
I grab my coat from the wall hook by the back door without alerting a soul.
Maddox and Aspen are still at the Christmas market.
Beau’s in his room. Grandma is probably napping, and Aunt Annie, Uncle William, and my parents are too busy playing Scrabble.
I open the back door and wince as the wooden porch steps creak under my boots. I wait for a few beats, but nothing happens. So far, so good. I just need to make it past the motion light that triggers if you move too far to the right.
I’ve made it three whole steps before a voice cuts through the darkness and makes me jump out of my skin.
“Where are you sneaking off to, young man?”
“Grandma! You can’t just sit there like a porch gargoyle waiting to scare people,” I say.
“Gargoyles protect people, Travis. Do you need protection? From making bad decisions, perhaps?”
“No.”
“Uh-huh. And I was born yesterday.”
I hold my hands up. “I swear, I’m going for a walk before dinner. That’s it.”
“Hmm. Walking to the visitor center, are you?”
I frown. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Please. Small towns have better intel than the FBI,” she says, sipping what I’m ninety percent sure is spiked cocoa. “Go on then. Just don’t make the poor girl cry again.”
“Cry?”
Grandma nods and arches an eyebrow. “What did you think, Travis? She read the article. You basically ditched her at the skating rink. And all those vile comments about her… Anyway, I hope you’ve prepared a solid explanation for her.”
My heart sinks into my stomach. Riley was crying?
“Don’t look so surprised,” Grandma says. “You must know that girl adores you.”
“She does?”
Grandma shakes her head. “Did you get a football to the head too many times? Or are you going blind?”
“That’s harsh. You’re terrifying, Grandma.”
She grins. “Good. It keeps you honest. Now go. Don’t let Riley think you don’t care about her, Travis. Life’s too short for that nonsense.”
“I’ll be back before dinner,” I say and head toward the Visitor Center.
Beau told me Riley texted him earlier, saying not to worry about her and that she was on her way there.
I feel bad about this entire thing. When Maxwell sent me those messages and voicemails, my brain short-circuited.
I shouldn’t have left Riley without an explanation.
And now she’s out there after dark, probably freezing.
I up my pace as images of a frozen Riley pop into my mind. She’s been out for a while already. What if she’s hypothermic?
When I arrive at the visitor center, I immediately try the door, but it’s locked. I walk around the building. No trace of Riley, though.
I’m about to give up and look for her elsewhere when I spot a light in the small maintenance cabin near one of the trailheads. A ranger must’ve left it unlocked. That, or Riley isn’t in there.
I make a beeline for the cabin and swing the door open. Riley shrieks and throws an empty water bottle at my face, but I don’t care. At least I have the reassurance that she’s safe and sound. And not frozen to death or eaten by a bear.
I grin and put the bottle on the shelf by the door. “You’ve got to work on your aim.”
“Travis? You scared me half to death! What are you even doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What about you? It’s freezing, it’s dark, and you’re hiding in a maintenance cabin like some shady figure.”
She shrugs. “I needed space to think. Away from everyone.”
“Away from me?”
She bites her lip, and I shouldn’t focus on how sexy it looks, but I can’t help it.
“If we’re being honest, then yes, I needed to get away from you. You abandoned Beau and me at the ice rink. And then you locked yourself in your room, all because you were afraid of Sienna’s reaction to those photos of us.”
Her words feel like a punch in the gut. “That’s what you think? That this is about Sienna?”
“Well, obviously. You were really upset when you read all those texts from her and listened to her voicemails. I get it, she’s your girlfriend, and the press made it seem like we were… well, in love.”
I shake my head. “Those texts and missed calls weren’t from her at all.”
“What do you mean?”
This is it. I could keep lying, like my contract demands of me.
Or I could choose to be honest with the only person in the world who truly gets me.
She does. And it’s weird to only now finally realize this, but Riley is it for me.
She’s smart, gorgeous, funny, passionate, and she understands me.
That means she deserves the truth, doesn’t it?
“You have to swear not to tell a soul what I’m about to tell you.”
She frowns. “Okay. Unless it’s something incriminating. Then I have to tell the police, right?”
“Trust me, this is nothing the police want to be involved in. It’s… the thing is…” I run a hand through my hair, trying to find the words. “Riley, Sienna and I aren’t together. It’s all fake. Part of a million-dollar PR contract. Telling you this can cost me everything, but you need to know.”
Her eyes grow wide, and she stares at me like I just told her Christmas has been canceled. “What?”
I nod. “My agent set it up months ago. Sienna needed publicity for her new movie franchise, and I needed to improve my marketability for endorsement deals. So we pretend to date, show up at events together, and post cute couple photos. It’s all orchestrated by our PR teams.”
“You’re joking.”
“I wish I were. There’s a morality clause in my endorsement contracts. Family-friendly image, all-American boyfriend, the whole package. My agent convinced me this was the best way to maximize my earning potential before I retire.”
Riley’s mouth opens and closes a few times. “But I saw the photos. The beach walks. That charity gala where she was wearing your jacket around her—”
“Staged. All of it,” I say, cringing at the memory of that particular moment when I had to drape my jacket around Sienna’s shoulders.
“I don’t understand. Why would you agree to something like that?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Because I’m thirty-eight and my career has maybe three or four years left if I’m lucky.
Everyone was telling me it was a smart business decision.
And the thing is, I didn’t think it would matter since there wasn’t anyone in my life I actually wanted to date.
Not when I signed the contract. But there’s a clause that forbids any real relationships or even the appearance of one during the campaign.
If the sponsors think I’m cheating on Sienna, they can pull their deals. ”
“So those photos of us are hurting your and Sienna’s career? That’s why you were so frazzled?”
“I don’t know. A week ago, that contract made perfect sense. But now we’re spending Christmas together, and I have to stand in front of everyone and pretend nothing’s happening between us when really I’m—” My throat tightens. I can’t say it.
“When what?” she asks, her voice full of hope.
I want to tell her, The best day I’ve had in years was skating with you. Seeing you cry because of something I caused makes me want to punch something. Every time I look at you, I forget why I agreed to this stupid fake relationship.
But I can’t say any of that. Not yet. Not when I haven’t figured out what to do about the fallout about Sienna or that I’m leaving in a few days.
“When you’re one of my oldest and best friends,” I finish instead, feeling embarrassed and dirty for not being completely honest.
A look of disappointment crosses her face. “Right. Friends.”
“Riley—”
“It’s fine, Travis. I get it. It was a business decision. Now, we should probably head back before your grandma sends out a search party.”
“My grandma knew exactly where I was going.”
Riley manages a small smile. “Nothing gets past her, does it?”
“Not a single thing. She’s terrifying. Come on. Let’s get home.”
As we walk back through the dark, I can’t shake the feeling that I just made the biggest mistake of my life. And that mistake is not the one that jeopardized the PR contract with Sienna. It’s not leaving Riley at the ice rink.
It’s lying to her about what she really means to me.