A Guilty Affair (22 page)

Would she?

Would she have chosen Trevor over Noah if she'd met them at the same time at that conference?

“I believe, darling granddaughter, that you took after me in a lot of ways.”

“How's that?” Riley mumbled. “I don't have your special gift, Grandma.”

“Ah, but I think you do. It's called intuition.” Florinda took her gently by the shoulders and gazed at her. “Even before you got into that car and drove 1,600 miles across the country, I think you already knew, deep down inside, that your instincts about Trevor were right. I'm not suggesting you didn't come here genuinely seeking answers about what happened three years ago. I would never suggest that. What I'm saying is that once you were here, getting to know Noah became just as important to you as finding closure about Trevor's death. Because in finding that closure, you'd finally unlock that part of your heart that had always belonged to Noah anyway.”

Riley couldn't move, couldn't speak. A fine sheen of tears filled her eyes, blurring her grandmother's image.

“Oh, baby.” Florinda gathered her gently in her arms. “I didn't mean to upset you. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion.”

“I'm not upset,” Riley said gruffly, resting her head on her grandmother's shoulder, keeping her tears in check so she wouldn't smudge Florinda's white pantsuit.

Florinda chuckled softly. “Maybe I'm wrong about everything I just said. What do I know, anyway? I'm just an old woman. A seventy-five-year-old woman, at that.”

Riley laughed through her tears. “Yeah, right.”

Florinda sighed. “Well, even if I was right about your feelings for Noah, maybe you weren't ready to hear those things yet.” She paused meaningfully. “Just as you weren't ready to hear five years ago that he was in love with you.”

Riley shook her head in disbelief. “You knew all that time. And you never said a word.”

“It wasn't my place, darling.”

“When? When did you find out how he felt about me?”

“When I met him for the first time at your engagement party. Oh, it wasn't anything he said or did. He's too smart, too self-possessed, to play his hand like that. But there was a hint of something in his eyes when he thought no one else was watching. Tenderness, longing, misery.” Florinda shook her head with a sympathetic chuckle. “Poor dear. He probably never even saw it coming.”

Riley knew the feeling. Whether or not she'd fallen in love with Noah five years ago, or within the past month, remained to be seen.

“Anyway,” Florinda said, lightly patting her knee, “I just wanted to give you some food for thought, in case you were getting any crazy ideas in your head about going back to D.C.”

Riley lifted her head from her grandmother's shoulder to look at her. “Would that be so crazy?”

Florinda gave her a gentle smile. “Only you can answer that question, baby. But you said it yourself not too long ago. Mr. Right only comes around once in a lifetime. You missed him the first time, but Providence has smiled down on you and blessed you with a rare second chance. Think long and hard before you walk away from what may be your final chance.”

That said, Florinda rose from the bench, then leaned down to plant a kiss on Riley's forehead. “I'm heading back to the party. Wouldn't do to have the guest of honor missing out on her own celebration.”

Riley smiled. “I'll be there in a minute. My dance card is full—I owe Daddy, Kenneth, Uncle Chesteen, and Mr. Taylor a dance.”

“Don't forget to save a dance for Noah,” Florinda advised. “And when you see him, tell him he owes me one, too.”

“I will. Oh, and Grandma?”

Florinda glanced back inquiringly. “Yes, baby?”

“Happy birthday.”

Florinda smiled warmly. “Thank you, Riley.”

After her grandmother left, Riley sat and thought about the life that awaited her in Washington, D.C. Sixty-hour work weeks at the
Post
, a next to nonexistent social calendar, lonely nights that would be filled with bittersweet memories—not of Trevor this time, but Noah. She'd fall asleep imagining his arms around her and wake up feeling bereft without him.

Riley had never believed in long-distance relationships. That was the main reason she'd agreed to quit her job at the
Houston Chronicle
and move back home to San Antonio to be closer to Trevor.

She'd loved him, and in her own way she always would. What they'd shared had been special, and she wouldn't diminish it by drawing comparisons to her newfound relationship with Noah. She couldn't predict the future any more than she could undo the past. She wished with all her heart that Trevor had made different choices in life. If he hadn't gotten involved with dangerous criminals, he and Riley would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary this year. And she and Noah…

Riley's heart squeezed in her chest. She loved Noah. She loved him more than she'd ever believed was possible. She couldn't even imagine what her life would be like without him. As devastating as Trevor's death had been, losing Noah now, after having a taste of bliss, was inconceivable. Were they destined for each other, as her grandmother seemed to believe? If Trevor had lived, would she ever have found her way to Noah? Would he have moved on eventually and forgotten about her?

She didn't know. All she knew was that she didn't want to spend another day apart from him, much less another three years. She wanted to be with him, and no job on earth was worth forfeiting her second chance at love.

They could work through the awkwardness that had settled between them over the past two weeks. For five years they'd been virtual strangers. It would take time for them to learn how to completely trust and lean on each other. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was true love.

Not even for soul mates.

Riley reached down and hurriedly began sliding her feet into her shoes.

“There you are. I've been looking all over for you.”

Riley's head snapped up at the deep, husky timbre of Noah's voice. He stood in the entrance to the gazebo, devastatingly handsome in a black tuxedo with an unfastened tie and a crisp white shirt he'd already unbuttoned at the collar in deference to the warm weather.

“Noah hates wearing tuxes,” his sister, Daniela, had laughingly confided to Riley earlier in the evening. “But he hasn't complained once about having to wear one tonight. Girl, he must really love you.”

He loves me
, Riley thought now with a quiet sense of wonder.
Noah Roarke loves me. I must be the luckiest woman on the face of the planet
.

“You're missing one helluva party,” he murmured, stepping into the gazebo. “Which is a shame, considering all the hard work you put into making this the most spectacular night of your grandmother's life.”

A shy smile curved Riley's mouth. “That's very sweet of you to say that.”

“Thanks, but those weren't my words. I just saw your grandmother, and she told me herself that this was the most spectacular night of her life.” Noah's expression softened as he reached out, taking Riley's chin between his thumb and forefinger and tipping her head up to meet his gaze. “You've made her very happy, Riley.”

She swallowed a knot of emotion in her throat. “It's the least I can do for the woman who practically raised me, and who's always been there for me.”

Noah smiled. “She wasn't just talking about tonight with the party. She said you make her happy every day, and you're the best thing that ever happened to her.”

“Oh, Grandma,” Riley murmured, blinking back tears.

“And do you know what I told her?”

Riley shook her head.

“I told her we had something in common,” Noah said quietly. “Because you're definitely the best thing that ever happened to me, Riley.”

Her heart swelled. “I love you, Noah,” she whispered, turning her face into his palm and kissing him. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby,” he said tenderly. “In fact, your grandmother and I were talking, and we agreed that there's one more thing you can do that would make us both very happy.”

Riley looked up at him. “What's that?”

Noah lowered himself to one knee. “Say you'll be my wife.”

Riley clapped a trembling hand to her mouth. “Oh my God…”

Gazing deep into her eyes, Noah said huskily, “Riley Kane, will you marry me?”

She could no longer hold back the tears. They spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. An inexpressible joy flooded her from head to toe. “Yes,” she whispered.

Noah smiled softly. “You're gonna have to speak up, baby. I've waited too long for this moment to have you go quiet on me.”

Her shoulders shaking with sobs, Riley launched herself into his arms with such force that they toppled backward to the ground. “Yes!” she answered breathlessly. “Oh my God, Noah. Yes, I'll marry you!”

Laughing, and a little winded, Noah cupped her face in his hands and drew her mouth down to his for a deep, intoxicating kiss. “I love you,” he said against her lips. “I always have, and I always will.”

“Good,” Riley whispered. “Because you're stuck with me for life.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Drawing back slightly, he searched her face. “These past two weeks…I wasn't pushing you away, baby. We both needed time to ourselves. I needed time to sort through everything, wrap my mind around what Trevor had done. He was like a brother to me, Riley. I never would've imagined…” He trailed off, shaking his head as he gazed at her. “I had to do some serious soul-searching. And I had to come to terms with all the guilt I'd been carrying around for the last five years. Guilt for loving you, for wanting you even when I thought I could never have you. Guilt for allowing myself to wonder if Trevor's death had happened for a reason…to bring us together.”

“And now?” Riley whispered, her eyes hungrily tracing his features. “Do you still feel guilty?”

He shook his head slowly. “Not anymore,” he said huskily. “I'm too damned selfish to let anything come between us ever again, Riley.”

Her smile was wobbly. “Then that makes two of us.”

She bent her head, kissing him softly. Their tongues mated, slid, stroked, and with each slippery-sweet caress inside their joined mouths, Riley felt heat coiling deep within her. When Noah reached up and curved his hands around her waist to settle her more fully against the hard length of his body, her breath snagged.

“We should probably…get back to the party soon,” she suggested without much conviction.

“In a minute,” Noah murmured, nibbling on the beating pulse at the hollow of her throat. “I haven't given you your ring yet.”

“Oooh,” Riley purred. “You bought me a ring? Where is it?”

“In my pocket. But you have to move so I can get it.”

“Do I have to?” she protested, using the tip of her tongue to trace the soft shell of his ear. “I was just getting comfortable.”

He chuckled, a low, rough sound that curled her toes. “I always knew there was something different about you, Riley. Most women would be ripping off my tux right now to get to that ring.”

“Oh, I'm going to rip off your tux,” Riley promised, unbuttoning his shirt to get to his warm, naked skin. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her hands, fast and strong. She smiled. “While I'm still in the party-planning mode, I'm thinking about a wedding at the historic San Fernando Cathedral downtown. Somewhere big enough to accommodate our family and friends, not to mention all the cops in this city who'd be offended if they weren't invited to our wedding. Say, in three weeks?”

“Works for me,” Noah said, his eyes smoldering with desire as he reached under her dress to cup her bottom. “I didn't want a long engagement, anyway. I've waited long enough.”

“Well, you know what they say about good things coming to those who wait,” Riley murmured, marveling at the feel of strong, rippling muscles beneath her exploring hands. “And speaking of waiting, where did you disappear to for such a long time? I was looking for you.”

“I was talking to your father. You know, getting his blessing and all that. 'Course, if he'd known I planned to debauch you in the gazebo less than an hour later,” Noah drawled, making her moan as his fingers slipped beneath her silk panties to stroke her intimately, “he might have reconsidered giving his blessing.”

“Mmm. Probably. At any rate,” Riley breathed, already on the verge of release, “you owe me a dance, Mr. Roarke.”

“It'd be my pleasure.” His voice deepened with promise. “If you want, we can dance all night.”

“Oh, I want. I…want,” Riley cried out hoarsely, arching against him as waves of pleasure shimmered through her.

Noah held her tightly in his arms, brushing his mouth across her forehead and whispering tender endearments. After several moments, he gently rolled her over so that he was on top. As she wrapped her legs around his hips, he gazed down at her. The look in his eyes was powerfully seductive, fiercely possessive, and full of such reverence it stole her breath.