Because of You (4 page)

I’m getting ready to head down to dinner with Riley and her dad. I’m looking forward to spending more time with her, but I get the feeling her dad isn’t too happy about it. I’ve never done anything for Scott not to trust me, but I get the impression that I wouldn’t be someone he would pick for his daughter. The look he gave me yesterday when he found us on the beach makes me a little uncomfortable.

I met Scott three years ago when I needed a lawyer for some personal shit I was going through. At the time I was looking for an apartment, so that’s when he suggested the one above the garage. He knows about the guilt I carry around about my past, but he never judges me. We’ve been friends ever since, but I might be about to put that friendship to the test. I have my sights set on his daughter and there’s no way I’m backing down. I’ve never felt this way about a girl, like I want to be with her every minute of every day and night.

As I walk into the kitchen I see Rosie on her tiptoes trying to reach something on the top shelf. “Let me get that down; I’m a little taller than you are. ” I reach up and grab the bowl for her.

“Thank you. I knew there was a reason why we invited you. ” She smiles at me, touching my cheek.

“Rosie, I would marry you in a heartbeat, but Paul would kick my ass. ” Bending down I give her a kiss on the cheek.

When I look up I see Riley standing in the doorway, laughing. “I’m trying to picture Paul kicking your ass,” she says before threading her fingers with mine. “Rosie, how much time do we have before dinner?” She asks.

“Don’t wander too far, it’ll be ready in less than thirty minutes. ” Rosie looks away, and suddenly my stomach bottoms out.

Riley pulls me out by the pool, setting me down in one of the chairs. Now I’m worried because I’m thinking she wants to talk. I’m not ready for this emotional hell right now.

“I wanted to talk to you in private. ” She pulls the chair directly in front of me taking my hands in hers; my heart’s beating out of my chest and I’m sure she can see it. “I did a stupid thing today and I wanted to be the one to tell you. I asked Rosie about your tattoo,” she whispers so I can barely hear her.

My body stiffens as I let go of her hands to run my fingers through my hair, trying to compose myself. “What did she say?” Taking my index finger I lift her chin so she’s looking into my eyes.

“She wouldn’t tell me; she said I have to ask you. ” She says it so softly as one tear slides down her cheek. I use the pad of my thumb to wipe it away.

I knew Rosie wouldn’t sell me out; God I love that woman. “Give me some time to get to know you before I dump all my personal shit in your lap. Last night I promised I would tell you and I will. ”

Cupping her face I pull her up to my mouth so I can kiss her, taste her. I suck on her bottom lip before nipping the tender flesh with my teeth, pulling her onto my lap. She straddles me, clutching my hair in her hands while rocking against me. Fuck, she feels so damn good I’m about to explode. Reality smacks me when I realize I can’t treat this sweet thing like one of my bar girls.

“Riley we have to stop, shit. I don’t want your dad coming out to see me humping his daughter. ” When she gazes up at me I see the hunger in her eyes, her lips are swollen, and her cheeks are flushed. Our eyes lock as we stare at each other until we catch our breath.

When we walk into the kitchen I see Scott look from Riley to me. He looks pissed. “Hunter, I invited you to have dinner with us tonight so I could introduce you to Riley, but since you two have already met there’s no need for you to stay. ” He says this so calmly it takes me a second to comprehend.

Riley’s head snaps up as she glares at him. “Dad, are you joking?” She keeps looking from him to me.

Scott’s fuming. I’ve known him a lot longer than Riley. I need to leave now before this goes any further. “It’s all right, Riley. You spend time with your dad and I’ll see you soon. ” The whole time I say this I’m staring at Scott; I want him to know that this is far from over. As I head out the door I hear her say, “If he can’t stay for dinner then I’m not eating either. This is bullshit. You haven’t told me what to do for the last twelve years and you’re not about to start now. ” She storms out of the room.

As I’m closing the door I hear Scott say, “Well it’s about time someone takes care of you. ”

That didn’t go quite the way I expected it. Now what am I going to eat?

I’m so mad at my dad right now; he embarrassed me in front of Hunter by treating me like a child. I’m eighteen years old, a legal adult and he can’t tell me what to do. I’m so angry I want to scream.

I need to call Ashley. I never returned her calls from yesterday. She picks up on the second ring.

“Riley, I’m so glad you called; I thought you would never talk to me again. ” I hear her sniffling.

“I’m not mad, in fact I’m wondering why I came here myself. My dad just pissed me off so bad. ” Touching my lips I think of Hunter.

“Didn’t I tell you going there would be a mistake? Come home so you can live with me and mom. ” I hear music playing in the background.

“Ash, I met a guy. His name’s Hunter. He lives in the apartment above the garage. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen and he likes me—me! He was supposed to have dinner with us tonight, but for some reason Dad asked him to leave. He was mad but I don’t know why. Ash, I like him so much and I don’t know what to do. ” By the time I’m finished, I’m crying.

“It sounds like you need to go have a talk with your dad, let him know how you feel. Then you can ask him why he doesn’t want you hanging out with Hunter. ” She sounds hesitant.

That’s when I hear a knock on my door, “Ashley I have to go, I think my dad’s here so we can talk. ”

“Call me and let me know how it goes, and next time I want to hear all about Hunter. ” We say our goodbyes.

When I open the door, Rosie’s standing there with a plate of piping hot lasagna. “I didn’t spend my day cooking for nothing. ” She brushes past me as she sets the plate on my desk.

“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble. ” Sitting down I blow on it several times before taking a bite. It’s delicious. “I feel bad that I’m eating and Hunter was invited to dinner. ”

“I brought him some before I came up here,” she winks as a grin spreads across her cheeks.

“How’s he doing?” She pats my shoulder, and sighs.

Rosie sits on my bed. “He’s fine; he wants me to tell you not to be mad at your dad. ” She studies me as I take another bite.

“Too late because I’m furious with him. ” I look up at her as she meets my gaze.

She shakes her head. “You have to realize that you’re a beautiful young woman and Hunter is an attractive man. You’ve only known each other a few days and it’s obvious there’s chemistry between the two of you. Your dad’s worried it’s happening too fast; that’s all I’m going to say. ” She throws her hands in the air. “The rest is up to the three of you to work out. ” Rosie takes my plate when she walks out the door.

Now my belly’s full and I’m exhausted, so I decide to go to bed and talk to my dad in the morning. I have to figure out a way for him to understand that I’m going to see Hunter with or without his permission.

Scott told me to leave so I did, only because it’s his house and I didn’t want to make a scene. I don’t know what it is about this girl that makes me want to wrap my arms around her and protect her.

Walking over to the fridge I grab myself a beer and when I turn around Scott’s standing in the middle of my living room. “I saw your Jeep parked outside. We need to talk. ” Is he fucking joking or what?

My hands clenched at my sides, I take several deep breaths before striding over to him, nose to nose. “Last time I checked, it was appropriate to knock before you enter my house,” I say. The tension in my neck is evident as we glare at one another.

He puts his hands up, taking a step back. “I knocked. I thought I heard you say come in. Look, I didn’t come here to fight with you. We’ve known each other a few years now and that’s why I’m here. ” He sits on the edge of the couch, his elbows resting on his knees while he scrubs his hands over his face.

“Scott, just spit it out,” I say, sitting down in the recliner opposite him.

“I walked out to the pool to get you for dinner. When I saw your hands all over her and her legs wrapped around you, I almost lost it. In that instant I could have killed you, so I walked away. ” He’s scowling at me.

The worst part about it is I see the disappointment in his eyes. But I can’t worry about that now, when I can still taste her on my lips, feel her rocking against me. “I’m really sorry you had to witness that. You’ve treated me like a son since I’ve been here and maybe that’s why this situation makes you uncomfortable. ” Shrugging my shoulders I lean back in the chair.

“You could have any girl you want, so why does it have to be Riley?” He holds up his hand to stop me. “You don’t have to answer me right now, just think about it. ” He stands up to head out the door.

“You don’t have to wait for an answer, I can tell you now. ” He doesn’t turn around but he nods his head. “When I look into her eyes I see the boy I was three years ago staring back at me. ” Saying those words out loud terrifies me.

Scott rests his head against the doorframe when I hear him whisper. “That’s the answer I was afraid of. ” With that he opens the door and leaves.

When I arrived in Scott’s office three years ago, I was damaged beyond repair. But he must have seen something hidden behind my vacant eyes because he helped me focus on the present and not the past. That’s why this is so damn hard for me to understand. He had a beautiful daughter at home and he just walked away, yet he helped a stranger like me.

Finishing my beer in a few long pulls I head over to the fridge and grab another one. Scott was my second visitor tonight. Rosie stopped by to bring some lasagna before heading over to see Riley.

She told me I needed to slow it down with Riley… that I was moving too fast. She doesn’t understand that I need Riley like I need air to breathe. We have a connection unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I used to laugh when someone would tell me they found their soul-mate. I’m not laughing anymore. It scares the shit out of me; it feels like I’ve known her all my life. When I saw her fall apart on the beach yesterday, I wanted to be the one to take away her pain. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to stay away from her; I don’t know if I want to.

Hunter and I haven’t seen each other all week, and it’s breaking my heart. I thought he felt the same connection that I did but apparently not. Following Ashley’s advice, I did have a talk with my dad; he told me he apologized to Hunter and he was sorry that he embarrassed me.

My days were spent down by the pool hoping to bump into him, but he’s wasn’t there. I’ve even been down to the Jacuzzi a few nights this week, and he’s not there either. I’m starting to go crazy thinking I did something wrong.

My dad’s throwing a Fourth of July party this Sunday, so he’s inviting his friends and a few clients that he’s close to. It’s his way of introducing me to everyone. A week since the dinner disaster, hopefully the party will end better.

I’m sitting on my bed when out of the corner of my eye I can see flames and smoke down by the shoreline. Throwing open my balcony doors I step outside and see a small bonfire on the beach with several people sitting around it. When I scan the crowd I immediately spot Hunter. His head’s tipped back and he’s laughing. This man takes my breath away; I know what I need to do now.

After grabbing a sweatshirt I head down to the beach. As I approach, he smiles as he strides over and meets me halfway.

“I don’t want to intrude; it’s just that I haven’t seen you all week. ” When the words roll off my tongue they sound needy.

“Riley, you’re not intruding, I see them every day. ” He chuckles as he threads his fingers through mine. “Let me introduce you to everyone before we take a walk. ”

“Hey guys, this is Riley. ” They all wave and say hi. I can feel my cheeks burning. He lets go of my hand as he points to each one. “This is Emma, Zoe, Alex, Connor and Grayson. ”

“It’s nice to meet all of you; I’m sorry for interrupting. ” They’re all inviting me to join them when Hunter walks over to grab a blanket and a couple of waters from the cooler.

“We’re going for a walk; clean up if you all decide to leave before we get back. ” We both wave as we head down the beach. “I’m sorry we haven’t seen each other since Sunday but I’ve been filling in for vacations and it’s been a crazy week. ”

“I thought maybe I did something wrong so you were avoiding me. ” My eyes sting with the threat of tears. Dammit.

Hunter stops walking as he turns to look at me. “Why do you always assume that you did something wrong?” He puts his warm hands around my waist, pulling me against him. Laying my cheek against his broad chest I feel his strong hands stroking my back. That’s when I lose it and feel the tears sliding down my cheeks. I feel so damn safe when I’m with him that I never want to let him go.

He spreads out the blanket on the sand before sitting down and pulling me into his lap. His arms circle around me as he gently tucks my head under his chin. I feel the rapid beating of his heart under my cheek as I tuck my cold hands in my lap. If I could freeze one moment in time, this would be it.

“I don’t know much about your past, Riley. But I do know that your dad left when you were young and that must have been devastating for you. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last few years it’s that we can’t blame ourselves for every bad thing that happens."

“Did something happen in your past that you blame yourself for?” The minute it spills out of my mouth I feel his body stiffen underneath mine. I regret it immediately. “You don’t have to answer that. I’m sorry. ”

“I blame myself because I’m still alive, and my family, everyone I love, is dead. They were killed in a car accident coming home from a wedding. A tour bus hit them head on when the driver had a heart attack. ” His body’s trembling and I know it’s not from the cold.

“You can’t blame yourself for something you had no control over. You should never feel guilty because you’re alive and they’re not. ” Turning around I straddle his hips when our eyes lock. When I place my hands on his face I see the tears glistening in his eyes. Remembering his tattoo of the beautiful laughing boy, my heart breaks for him. “Was Brady your brother?”

He nods. “He was only ten; he had his whole life ahead of him and in one second it was snatched from him. ” Hunter grabs my waist, setting me on the blanket before standing up and heading towards the water. He’s looking up at the stars as he shoves his hands in his pockets, I can’t even imagine what he must be feeling. When I walk slowly around him I see the tears spilling down his cheeks. As I wrap my arms around his waist, his strong arms circle around me, burying his face in my neck.

He’s the first to walk away as he bends down to pick up the blanket. When it’s tucked under his arm he grabs my hand as we head back in silence. We’re almost home when he turns to me. “I was so happy that you came out to see me tonight and I had to spoil it by getting all emotional. I’m sorry. ”

“You don’t ever have to apologize to me for being emotional; I’m the queen of it. ” He smiles down at me, dissolving me at his feet. I’m falling hard for this guy and I hope I can keep my heart from getting broken, again.