“And if he asked you on a date would you go?”
“Of course.”
She could see Ember’s eyebrows rise up in her part of the split screen. “Oh honey,” she said, trying not to smirk. “You’ve got it bad.”
“I have?”
“Oh yes,” Brooke agreed. “One of the worst cases I’ve seen.”
“You guys aren’t helping,” Ally protested. “It’s not about me. It’s about him. Who cares if I’ve got it bad when he’s pretending that kiss never happened?”
“Then remind him.”
“Maybe I should move out now,” Ally said, ignoring the way Ember was wiggling her eyebrows. “Because there’s no way I’m going to survive living here for another week. I’d rather hop up five flights of stairs every day.”
“And down. You’d need to hop down them, too,” Ember said helpfully.
They were both having way too much fun at her expense. “Guys, this is serious. What do I do now?”
“You do nothing,” Brooke said, her expression thoughtful. “You just go out there and eat dinner and pretend that kiss didn’t happen. He’s not going to say anything in front of Riley, is he? So enjoy your dinner and wait to see what unfolds.”
“And don’t forget,” Ember said, giving her a small smile. “He may not do anything while you’re staying there with him. He strikes me as the kind of guy who wouldn’t want to put you in an awkward position. Maybe he’ll wait until you’ve moved back home.”
Ugh. Ally hated waiting. She hated worrying, too, and right now her life was full of both of those things. The skin beneath her cast was itching like crazy, too, and she couldn’t do a damn thing about that either.
Somebody tapped on her door. “Ally?” Riley called out. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“I’m coming,” she replied, then quickly turned to the laptop screen. “Guys, I gotta go,” she said, talking quietly so Riley couldn’t hear her. She was supposed to be napping after all.
“Me too,” Brooke agreed. “I got a hungry boy sitting at the table waiting on me.”
“And I’ve got a guy who’s calling for take out,” Ember said, grinning. “Message us later, okay? I want a full status report.”
“There won’t be anything to report,” Ally told her.
“Well message even if there isn’t. Now go, you got dinner to eat.”
Ally leaned forward to switch the laptop off. Thank God for her friends. They might not have been much help with Nate, but at least she knew they were always there for her. They were like sisters to her, and she loved them so much.
Twisting her legs on the bed, she put her feet on the ground and grabbed the crutches resting on the wall. Slowly she pulled herself to standing, taking a deep breath to try and steel herself for what was to come.
“Wish me luck,” she murmured to the empty room. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
* * *
“How was your trip?” Riley asked as she sliced into the steak Nate had broiled for them. “Did you guys have fun?”
Ally looked down at her plate. The whole room was silent. She could hear the beat of her heart and nothing else. But there was no way she was answering first. Let Nate handle this one. Riley was his daughter, after all. And right now, Ally had no answer for her.
Nate cleared his throat. “It was good.”
“Was it good for you?” She turned to Ally. “Or did he make you listen to his playlist? I swear it’s a form of torture. I keep threatening to report him to the Geneva Convention.”
Ally coughed loudly. Riley didn’t really want the answer to that one. “Um. Yeah. It was fine,” she said.
Riley frowned. “You two must be exhausted. I’ve never seen you so quiet.”
“It was a long day,” Nate told her, then quickly changed the subject. “How was school? Did you get the grades back on your English assignment?”