one kiss, everything that she cared about and believed in had gone out the window.
This was getting ridiculous. She needed to focus on her job. On the kids in her book club. On all the things that made up her everyday life. And, as much as she adored Will as a friend, he wasn’t one of those things.
She sucked in a breath and was just about to excuse herself from the table when her cell phone beeped and a text message from her father flashed up on the screen. Tom had only just learned how to text, thanks to his last job delivering pizzas somewhere in Memphis, and had taken to sending her random positive thoughts. This one read,
Every problem is a blessing in disguise.
Unfortunately, someone else must’ve shown him how to add emoticons and the message was accompanied by two dancing pigs.
A second text came in a moment later from him, asking her to call her mom.
Riley put away her cell phone and rubbed her brow. Her mom had left several messages saying that she had a big surprise, but Riley hadn’t quite mustered up the energy to return any of the calls, mainly because it could be anything from a new boyfriend to getting a tattoo on her shoulder. It also highlighted the problem of having parents who stayed friendly after their divorce. It meant that they could gang up on her.
She made a mental note to call as soon as the wedding was over.
“Is everything okay?” Tucker’s fiancée, Danni, suddenly asked. Riley resisted the urge to explain that her family was crazy, she was in a fake relationship with her best friend and that her head hurt from where Italy had insisted on pinning her hair into an up-do. Instead she just nodded.
“Oh, um, yes. Totally,” she said. “I was just thinking about how lovely the meal was. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome.” Danni beamed. Despite Riley’s thoughts on love and marriage, it was easy to see why Tucker had fallen for the schoolteacher with the warm smile and the short dark curls that framed her face, making her look more like a pixie than a bride-to-be. “I feel like I already know you—whenever Tucker talks about Will, your name comes up. And speaking of Will, I just wanted to say thank you for convincing him to come back for the wedding. Tucker was worried that he wouldn’t be here.”
“It wasn’t anything to do with me,” Riley said truthfully, not bothering to add that until yesterday she didn’t even know about the wedding. “Will decided all on his own.”
“Oh.” Danni let out an apologetic gasp as her smile faded. “Now I feel terrible for thinking he needed convincing. It’s just I know how awkward it is in their family, and Lisa told me that he’d sworn never to be in the same room with her again. I guess I just jumped to conclusions. Not that I can blame him. It’s a pretty terrible situation to be in.”
“It’s not ideal,” Riley agreed in a diplomatic voice, especially since it was the reason she’d been roped into the whole wedding thing in the first place. Not that she could tell Danni that. In fact, normally she wouldn’t tell Danni anything since Will despised being talked about, but she hated the idea that anyone might see him as a victim. Yes, his father and Lisa had hurt him in an unbelievable way, but instead of letting that destroy him, he’d gone on to do amazing things with his life.
He’d proved to everyone that he was so much more than just Lisa’s ex-fiancée or his father’s black sheep of a son. She took a deep breath.
“Look. This really isn’t my business, but it’s important you know that Will would never let down someone he loves, and he loves his brother.”
“I appreciate you telling me,” Danni said, her blue eyes filled with remorse. “And I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusions. I’m always reminding my kids at school not to judge people at face value and here am I doing exactly that.”
“It’s okay.” Riley took off her glasses and was about to rub her eyes before remembering
This was getting ridiculous. She needed to focus on her job. On the kids in her book club. On all the things that made up her everyday life. And, as much as she adored Will as a friend, he wasn’t one of those things.
She sucked in a breath and was just about to excuse herself from the table when her cell phone beeped and a text message from her father flashed up on the screen. Tom had only just learned how to text, thanks to his last job delivering pizzas somewhere in Memphis, and had taken to sending her random positive thoughts. This one read,
Every problem is a blessing in disguise.
Unfortunately, someone else must’ve shown him how to add emoticons and the message was accompanied by two dancing pigs.
A second text came in a moment later from him, asking her to call her mom.
Riley put away her cell phone and rubbed her brow. Her mom had left several messages saying that she had a big surprise, but Riley hadn’t quite mustered up the energy to return any of the calls, mainly because it could be anything from a new boyfriend to getting a tattoo on her shoulder. It also highlighted the problem of having parents who stayed friendly after their divorce. It meant that they could gang up on her.
She made a mental note to call as soon as the wedding was over.
“Is everything okay?” Tucker’s fiancée, Danni, suddenly asked. Riley resisted the urge to explain that her family was crazy, she was in a fake relationship with her best friend and that her head hurt from where Italy had insisted on pinning her hair into an up-do. Instead she just nodded.
“Oh, um, yes. Totally,” she said. “I was just thinking about how lovely the meal was. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome.” Danni beamed. Despite Riley’s thoughts on love and marriage, it was easy to see why Tucker had fallen for the schoolteacher with the warm smile and the short dark curls that framed her face, making her look more like a pixie than a bride-to-be. “I feel like I already know you—whenever Tucker talks about Will, your name comes up. And speaking of Will, I just wanted to say thank you for convincing him to come back for the wedding. Tucker was worried that he wouldn’t be here.”
“It wasn’t anything to do with me,” Riley said truthfully, not bothering to add that until yesterday she didn’t even know about the wedding. “Will decided all on his own.”
“Oh.” Danni let out an apologetic gasp as her smile faded. “Now I feel terrible for thinking he needed convincing. It’s just I know how awkward it is in their family, and Lisa told me that he’d sworn never to be in the same room with her again. I guess I just jumped to conclusions. Not that I can blame him. It’s a pretty terrible situation to be in.”
“It’s not ideal,” Riley agreed in a diplomatic voice, especially since it was the reason she’d been roped into the whole wedding thing in the first place. Not that she could tell Danni that. In fact, normally she wouldn’t tell Danni anything since Will despised being talked about, but she hated the idea that anyone might see him as a victim. Yes, his father and Lisa had hurt him in an unbelievable way, but instead of letting that destroy him, he’d gone on to do amazing things with his life.
He’d proved to everyone that he was so much more than just Lisa’s ex-fiancée or his father’s black sheep of a son. She took a deep breath.
“Look. This really isn’t my business, but it’s important you know that Will would never let down someone he loves, and he loves his brother.”
“I appreciate you telling me,” Danni said, her blue eyes filled with remorse. “And I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusions. I’m always reminding my kids at school not to judge people at face value and here am I doing exactly that.”
“It’s okay.” Riley took off her glasses and was about to rub her eyes before remembering
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