Know Me Well (Wishful 3)

“Great. Two o’clock work for you? Plenty of time for coffee that way.” He flashed a teasing grin.

“You sure? I’m meaner without coffee. I’d probably fight better.”

Liam laughed. “I’ll test your mean after I’m sure you’ve got your techniques down.”

Riley followed when he got out of the car. As this clearly hadn’t turned into a date, there was no reason to wait for him to circle around to open her door. Still, he walked her up the front steps of the duplex, waiting as she sl

id the key into the lock.

“Thanks for dinner.”

“Thanks for fixing my car.”

Dressed for a date. Felt like a date. Still not a date. What the hell do we do now?

Riley hesitated, her hand on the knob. “I’m glad we talked.” No matter how things turned out, at least they’d cleared the air and she wouldn’t have to spend the rest of her life avoiding him.

“Me too. I missed you, Riley Marie.” He leaned in, and Riley’s heart began to thud. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in an awkward, brotherly sort of hug.

She slid an arm around his waist and squeezed. “I’m glad you made it home safe.”

Liam stepped back. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.” When she realized he was going to stand there until she got inside, she opened the door, offering a little wave before shutting it again. On a long sigh, she leaned against the other side, listening to the sound of his car pulling away.

She didn’t believe in playing Cinderella, so why the hell should she be so disappointed that the prince didn’t respond to a makeover?

At the knock, Riley jolted. Had he changed his mind? With her head full of visions of Liam coming back and ravishing her mouth without a word, she yanked open the door.

The sight of Autumn’s expectant gaze deflated her fantasy as quick as a pin prick.

“Hey.”

“I come bearing chocolate in lieu of the sex you’re not having.” Autumn pushed past her into the entryway and squealed. “You’re wearing Liam’s necklace!”

Of course, she’d zero in on that. “It’s not what you think. It was my dad’s good luck charm. I put it in Liam’s bag when he left for boot camp. He was returning it to me.”

“And he’s worn it faithfully, all these years,” Autumn said softly. She had that look in her eye that meant she was extrapolating a lot more out of the action than it merited.

“Don’t you dare go off on some romanticized tangent about a knight wearing his lady’s token in battle or some crap. It wasn’t like that.”

She handed over the chocolate. “Clearly you need this.”

Riley scrubbed a hand over her face. “I’m sorry. Operation Sex On A Stick was a miserable failure. He was a complete, uninterested gentleman.” She’d thought, maybe, the outfit had gotten his attention when he picked her up. But other than telling her she looked nice, he’d steered completely clear of flirtation.

Autumn pouted. “That’s not how this story is supposed to go.”

Irritated, Riley bent to unbuckle the shoes that were killing her feet. “There’s no supposed to about it. Life isn’t one of your fairy tales or romance novels. I stopped looking for a prince a long time ago.” And why the hell should that have changed? “For all that I love them, those stories are dangerous things. They set up completely unrealistic expectations.”

“Well that’s all kinds of cynical and just plain sad.”

Riley stalked into the living room, tossing her shoes by the coffee table and flopping onto the sofa. “It’s realistic. Fairy tales aren’t real. They don’t last.” She’d do well to remember that instead of letting her brain run amok with romantic fantasies fueled by sexual starvation and a high school crush that should’ve died long ago.

“Them’s fightin’ words, baby girl. But you’ve had a disappointing evening, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” Autumn folded herself into the opposite corner of the couch. “Did y’all talk about…stuff?”

“Yeah, we cleared the air.”

“That’s it, then. You killed the mood with all the serious stuff. Which needed to be said so that y’all can move past it.”