A Guilty Affair (11 page)

“No, Riley. Not a chance.”

She pursed her lips, even as her dark eyes glittered with mirth at his stubbornness. And then, without warning, she leaned across the seat and planted a warm, gentle kiss on his cheek. His heart lurched and his blood heated. He was tempted, so damned tempted, to turn his face into hers and seize her mouth in a hard, deep kiss that would leave them both panting.

But, of course, he didn't. “Have a good evening, Riley,” he murmured.

“You, too, Noah.” She hesitated for a fraction of a second, looking as if she wanted to say more before she changed her mind.

He watched as she hopped down from the truck, thanked the waiting technician and took her receipt. Noah waited until she'd climbed into her car and pulled off with a tiny wave.

And then he drove home in a daze, his cheek still burning where her soft, sweet lips had been.

N
oah
wasn't in the office when Riley arrived the next morning, and as the day wore on without his return, she told herself the dull ache of disappointment she felt had nothing to do with the fact that she'd spent another restless night thinking about him, reliving not only their kiss, but the time they'd spent alone in his truck yesterday while waiting for her tires to be replaced.

She'd thought of little else since then, and it was Janie who finally noticed how distracted she was.

“Why don't you go home?” Janie suggested, appearing in the doorway and catching Riley staring at the spot where Noah had kissed her on Friday.

She started guiltily, her eyes snapping to Janie's face. “What did you say?”

Janie smiled. “I said,” she enunciated, stepping into the office, “why don't you go home? It's already after three o'clock—you've put in your hours for the day. Besides, how productive can you really be when you're daydreaming?”

Heat flooded Riley's cheeks. “I wasn't daydreaming,” she muttered, briskly shuffling a stack of papers on her desk. “I was doing research.”

Janie arched a dubious brow. “Sure could've fooled me.” She perched a hip against the corner of the desk and idly swung her foot, which was encased in a pair of stiletto Jimmy Choo pumps. She watched Riley for a few moments, a speculative gleam in her dark eyes.

“What?” Riley asked warily.

Janie's mouth curved in a coy smile. “Kenneth seems to think there's something going on between you and Noah. He told me when he arrived at the office on Friday evening after I'd left, you nearly ran him over in your haste to flee the premises. When he went to investigate the source of your, uh, agitation, he found Noah standing right here in this office, looking as hot and bothered as you're looking right now.”

Riley flushed. “I'm not hot and bothered.” Then, opting for honesty—since there seemed no way of getting around it—she looked the other woman squarely in the eye. “Noah and I had a big argument on Friday. That's what Kenneth caught the tail end of.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.” A half-truth was better than nothing at all.

“You know,” Janie said, striking a thoughtful pose as she tapped a fingertip to her dimpled chin, “I would have accepted that explanation before yesterday. But yesterday I saw with my own two eyes why Kenneth suspects something's up between you and his brother. And he's not the only one. His mother commented on it as well, almost as soon as you and Noah left. Within minutes of each other, I might add.”

Riley frowned. “That was pure coincidence.”

“Maybe, but it's no coincidence that three different family members—people who know Noah very well—saw the same thing yesterday during lunch.”

“Which is?”

“The fact that Noah couldn't keep his eyes off you.” Mischief glimmered in Janie's dark eyes. “And, unless we're all mistaken, you had the same problem.”

“You're all mistaken.” Riley stood abruptly and began packing up her belongings. Maybe it
was
past time for her to leave for the day.

“Are you sure we're all mistaken?” Janie challenged, a knowing grin tugging at her full lips. “I mean, first there was the fact that you didn't speak a single word to each other when you came outside to call us for lunch. You spoke to everyone but Noah, like you two were purposefully avoiding each other. And then there was that whole little exchange at the dinner table about him not complimenting your writing enough. Call me crazy, but that sounded an awful lot like a lover's quarrel to me.”

Riley forced a laugh that sounded strangled to her own ears. “Well, it wasn't. Believe me, Janie, there's absolutely nothing going on between me and Noah. Not now, not ever.”

“Because of Trevor?”

Riley froze in the middle of stuffing files into her attaché case. Slowly she lifted her eyes to Janie's face.

“I'm sorry if that was out of line,” the other woman said quietly. “I'm not trying to offend you or stick my nose where it doesn't belong. But when you say you and Noah could never be together, I can't help but wonder if it's because you both feel you'd be betraying Trevor.”

Riley's fingers tightened on the soft leather of her briefcase. “I understand how you might think that,” she said slowly, “but the reason I made that comment is a lot simpler than that. Noah and I aren't interested in each other. We never have been, and we never will be. The reason I made such a big deal about his compliment at the dinner table is that it was the first time he'd ever said anything like that to me. For whatever reason, we've just never clicked. There's no animosity between us,” she added at Janie's concerned expression. “It was never like those situations where the best friend hates the girlfriend or boyfriend and constantly tries to sabotage the couple's relationship. Noah and I have always been cordial, sometimes even friendly to each other. But that's about the extent of it.” She offered Janie a rueful smile. “Sorry to disappoint you, if you were hoping to play matchmaker.”

Janie shrugged. “You don't have to apologize. I had to throw the question out there.” She paused, then couldn't resist adding, “You and Noah might not be bosom buddies, but there's definitely an attraction there. I can sense it every time you're around each other, and so can Kenneth.”

Riley hesitated, then gave a slow nod of assent. “You're both right. I won't deny it. I am attracted to Noah.”

Janie grinned. “And he's definitely attracted to you, girl.”

“Maybe,” Riley murmured, afraid to even consider the possibility. She was still convinced the kiss she had shared with Noah meant nothing. She could handle the attraction if it was one-sided, because she could control her own thoughts and actions. But if Noah began fantasizing about
her
…God help them both.

Janie tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, her eyes narrowed shrewdly on Riley's face. Riley could see the wheels spinning in her mind, but after several prolonged moments, Janie remained silent.

Finally, when Riley couldn't take the suspense anymore, she blurted out, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just thinking about something,” Janie murmured. “But maybe I shouldn't tell you. I don't want to offend you.”

“I won't get offended,” Riley said, albeit warily. “What were you thinking?”

“Well, I know how much you loved Trevor. I would never question that. But have you ever wondered…” Trailing off, she shook her head. “Forget it. It's probably an inappropriate question.”

But it was too late. The air had stalled in Riley's lungs. She licked her dry lips and stared at Janie, wondering why she felt a sense of dread, as if whatever Janie said was going to tilt her world on its axis, never to be righted again.

“Have I ever wondered what?” she asked faintly.

Janie pinned her with a direct look. “Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you'd met Noah and Trevor at the same time? If they'd both attended that conference in Houston?” She paused, her tone softening. “Do you think you would have made the same choice?”

Do you think you would have made the same choice?

The question echoed in Riley's mind as she left the office a few minutes later and headed home. Thankfully, right after dropping her loaded bomb, Janie had been called away by the ringing telephone, and Riley had been spared from answering her.

Not that she'd needed the reprieve. She already knew that her response would have been a categorical, resounding
yes
. She would have made the same choice if she'd met Noah and Trevor at the same time. She didn't even have to think twice about it.

Hopeless romantic that she was, Riley had always believed in serendipity, the guiding hand of fate. She believed everything in the universe happened for a reason. If she and Noah had been meant for each other,
he
would have shown up at that convention five years ago, not Trevor.
He
would have been the one who charmed his way into her life and eventually into her heart. And then again, maybe not. If she and Noah had found themselves at that conference together, would their paths have even crossed? There'd been over five hundred people in attendance, representatives from nearly every law enforcement agency across the state of Texas. If their eyes had met across a crowded room, would Noah have approached her afterward, as Trevor had done? Given Noah's aloofness toward her over the past five years, she seriously doubted he would have put himself out there by asking her out on a date. For all she knew, she probably wasn't even his type. He hadn't stood at the window and ogled
her
the way he'd done with Delilah Stanton.

Riley scowled at the foolish turn of her thoughts. What did it matter whether or not she was Noah Roarke's type? He wasn't the man she was destined for. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name.

And yet, Janie's provoking question nagged at her conscience, taunting her, tormenting her.

Because she'd never even considered it before. And because, damn it, she
had
stopped to ponder her answer.

Two miles from home, Riley pulled into a tiny strip mall to pick up her grandmother's dry cleaning. As she climbed from her car and headed toward the storefront business, the familiar rasp of a woman's voice stopped her cold in her tracks.

“As I live and breathe, it
is
Riley Kane.”

Riley turned to watch the approach of a tall, thin white woman with red hair worn in a bouffant and pale green eyes that were so piercingly familiar Riley's breath caught. Dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans, a satin emerald blouse with a plunging neckline, and high-heeled leather boots, the woman could easily have passed for forty. Until one got closer and saw the deep lines carved into her face, a result of grief and years of hard living.

Riley blinked in shock. “H-how are you doing, Ms. Simmons?” she managed weakly.

Lips painted a bright shade of scarlet pursed in disapproval. “Now, is that any way to greet the woman who almost became your mother-in-law?” Before Riley could react, Trevor's mother rushed forward and enveloped her in a hard, quick embrace. Ignoring the heavy odor of cigarette smoke that assailed her nostrils and stung her eyes, Riley returned the woman's hug with equal fervor.

Drawing back, Leona Simmons took careful measure of her. “You look wonderful. But then, you always were one of the prettiest girls my Trevor ever brought home. How long have you been back in town?”

“Just over a week.” Riley hesitated. “You probably didn't get my voice mail message.”

“No, hon, I'm sorry. I've been in Dallas visiting family. Just got in last night.” But there was something in those pale green eyes that made Riley question the story.

As if sensing her skepticism, Leona pasted on a too-bright smile. “How're your parents doing? And your grandma—is she still as colorful as ever?”

Riley grinned. “You know it. Matter of fact, we're having a party in a few weeks to celebrate her seventy-fifth birthday. You're more than welcome to come.”

“I'd like that very much. Let me check my calendar and get back to you, hon.”

Riley's grin wavered. “Sure. No problem.”

After an awkward moment of silence, Leona clasped her hand and gave it a warm squeeze. “So how've
you
been? I heard you're a big-time reporter for the
Washington Post
.”

“I don't know about the ‘big-time 'part,” Riley said sardonically. “I'm surrounded by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists with decades of experience in the business. I'm not being modest when I tell you that I'm a very small fish in a very big pond.”

“Oh, that's all right, hon,” Leona said, giving her hand a reassuring pat. “Everybody's got to start somewhere. But, gosh, now I'm wondering if it was such a good idea for you to take so much time off from work. Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but two months is an awfully long time for a sabbatical from the
Washington Post
, don't you think?”

Riley opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, confused. If Trevor's mother hadn't received her voice mail message, how had she known that Riley would be in San Antonio for two months?

At the same time the thought occurred to her, she could tell by Leona's stricken expression that she knew she'd been caught in a lie. Closing her eyes for a moment, she heaved a deep, nicotine-scented breath.

“Oh, Riley, I'm so sorry,” she said resignedly. “I can't lie to you anymore. I did get your message, as well as all the nice letters you've sent me over the years. The reason I haven't responded is not because the letters got lost in the mail between my changing addresses, as I told your friend Lety. The reason I never responded is because I didn't
want
to.”