Personal Entanglement (Thorne and Dash 2)

“Thorne would fund us getting our own place with an interest-free loan. Actually he’d just give us the money, but—”

“But you don’t want to take money from him even if it is a loan?”

Riley sighed. “I’m not being fair to you, though.”

Susan took his hand and squeezed it. “I’m old enough to know that ‘fair’ is a useless term. Rarely is anything fair, especially not to everyone involved. If you don’t feel right about it, then we’ll do it another way. I have savings and good credit. So do you. We’ll get a loan from the bank like anyone else.”

“Am I right, do you think? Would it fuck things up for me to let him bankroll us?”

Susan narrowed her eyes, studying him.

“You’re not going to give me your opinion, are you?”

“I didn’t tell you what to do when you realized you wanted more than a professional relationship with Thorne, and I’m not going to tell you what to do now. I will listen and support you, though, no matter what.”

Riley hugged her tight. “I’m so confused right now, about everything. Last fall, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted.”

Susan smiled at him. “That’s usually when life fucks you over.”

“Yeah. Apparently.” He ran a hand over his hair and took a deep breath. “I feel like an ass for complaining. I’m working toward a career in something I’m passionate about, and I have an amazing man who loves me, even if he’s stubborn and bossy.”

Susan laughed. “That’s partly why you love him. He’s a challenge.”

Heat filled Riley’s cheeks as he thought about exactly how he met the challenges Thorne presented. That was not something he intended to discuss with Susan.

“How are you feeling about school now?” Susan asked.

“It’s not gotten any better, but I still haven’t made a definite decision to quit. I think I’ll wait until we do the fundraiser and see how I feel after that.”

Susan smiled. “I like that idea. Let’s get this menu planned.”

They sat at her kitchen table, sipping coffee and discussing their options.

Susan flipped through a printout of the information Kathryn had sent her. “We need a mix of savory and sweet items that can be picked up easily.”

“Cheese straws and mini cupcakes obviously, those are some of our best items.”

Susan nodded and wrote those down, making one column for savory and one for sweet.

“What about Austrian tea cakes?” Riley asked.

“I love those, but the powdered sugar is a problem for an event like this. It will get all over people’s hands.”

“True. Mini cannoli work, though.”

Susan added those. “I’ve been working on mixed fruit tarts with kiwi, strawberries, and blueberries. Those would be good.”

Riley nodded. “Two kinds of cupcakes, tarts, and cannoli. Do we need any more sweets?”

“Maybe shortbread fingers for those who like it simple.”

“Perfect. Your shortbread recipe is divine.”

“It does always get rave reviews, no matter that it’s so basic. What about savory options?”

“Mini ham biscuits,” Riley suggested.

Susan nodded and added them to her list. “I want to play around with those beef Wellington puffs I made last week. I think I can perfect them.”

Riley nodded. “I made a smoked trout dip for Thorne a few nights ago. It was amazing. We could serve it on cucumber slices.”

“I love that.”

They came up with a few other ideas to try before Riley declared that he was too tired to think up anything else.

“I’ll type our list up and send it to Kathryn,” Susan said. “Hopefully she’ll be pleased.”

“I think she’ll love it.”

As Riley was putting on his coat, Susan brought him a container of cinnamon sugar doughnuts.

“Take these home, and see what you and Thorne think of them. I believe I finally got them tender enough.”

“Fantastic. Thorne will be thrilled.”

Susan laid a hand on his arm before he could open the door. “Are you okay, really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, last night… Thorne and I…”

Susan raised a brow. “I thought you hated when I brought up your sex life?”

Riley realized how his words sounded. “I didn’t mean that. We connected again.”

“Really?” Susan looked ready to erupt with laughter.

“Shit! No, not like that. I don’t mean…”

Susan gave up trying to hold back her laughter, and Riley ended up joining in. Could he manage to say anything about Thorne that wasn’t an innuendo?

“We enjoyed just hanging out. We hadn’t done that in ages.”

“Good. Did you finally unpack?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah, it was actually fun to find places on his shelves and in his drawers for all my stuff.”

“You do realize it’s not his house now—it’s yours as well.”

Riley frowned. “I’m not sure I’ll ever really feel like that.”

“Oh, Riley, I think… No, I told you I wouldn’t give advice.”

“Don’t stop. I want to hear what you have to say.”

Susan laid a hand on his shoulder. “He loves you. I don’t think he sees you as inferior to him in any way. Yes, he wants to use his money to take care of you, but I don’t think that has anything to do with you being younger.”