Dating the Guy Next Door (19 page)

None of which he could tell his brother.

Not unless he wanted to be set up with every bridesmaid at the wedding. And right now, he needed all his focus to be on his business, not on avoiding Cupid's arrow. It wasn't as if they would have to keep up the charade for long and he was sure that Riley wouldn't mind since she'd already agreed to go to the wedding with him. In fact, considering how anti-weddings she was, this extra distraction might take her mind off the fact. However, before he could think of a suitable reply there was a knock at the door, and a moment later Riley poked her head in.

As was her normal morning ritual, her long red hair was in two braids and her glasses were lopsided thanks to her habit of reading in bed before she got up in the mornings.

“Will. I figured that you wouldn't have had time to get to the store, so I brought you up some milk and . . . oh, hey, Tucker. I didn't see you there. Congratulations on the upcoming wedding.”

“Thanks, Riley. And congratulations right back at you.” Tucker stood up and scooped her into a bear hug. Will winced and tried to catch Riley's eye to mentally inform her of the situation. It didn't work.

“Um, okay.” Riley wrinkled her nose. “So, that was different. Anyway, I'll just put away the milk, coffee and bread and leave you two guys to catch up.”

“You don't need to go on my account,” Tucker assured her before giving her a broad wink. Will let out a silent groan. And to think that this was all a mess of his own making. “I've got to get to the office but I'll look forward to seeing you tonight and hearing more about how it happened.”

“Tonight? How it happened?” Riley took off her glasses and rubbed the lenses as if that would somehow help her understand what Tucker was saying. “I'm not sure I follow. I thought that the wedding was on Saturday.”

“It sure is. But now that Will's told me the big news about you two dating, you have to come out to dinner tonight with the rest of the wedding party. I absolutely insist. Danni's going to love you.”

“Will?” Riley turned to him. Now that her glasses were off, her dark eyes looked enormous and full of confusion. Not
that he could blame her, since there was never a good time to discover that you had a new fake boyfriend, but he knew from experience that until Riley had her second cup of coffee she was prone to saying the first thing that came into her mind. Which meant he could either end up with an even more complicated conversation with Tucker or he could just stop Riley from talking.

Plan B it was and so before she could open her mouth, Will purposefully wove his way through the various potted plants until he reached her. Up close he realized that her eyes were more like chocolate with small flecks of black running through them and that on the tip of her nose was a tiny freckle that he'd never seen before. He lowered his mouth and Riley let out a little squeal of surprise but it was soon silenced as he brought his lips crashing down onto hers.

Will only planned to give her a small peck, just to keep her quiet until Tucker had left and he could explain the situation. But instead, Riley's mouth instinctively opened up to his sending waves of swirling energy darting through him. The kiss deepened and Riley's body pressed into his, causing Will to wrap his arms around her shoulders, just like he had so many times before. But instead of just giving her a quick hug, his arms lingered and he pulled her closer. The familiar smell of Riley-ness flooded his senses. It was one of vanilla and sweetness, and—

“Okay, you two. I thought I was the one meant to be doing that kind of thing,” Tucker's voice called out from somewhere far away. “Anyway, I'll see you both tonight. And Will, get a haircut.”

“S-sure.” Will gulped as he reluctantly pulled away from Riley and realized that getting a haircut was the least of his problems. First he was going to have to explain to his best friend that she'd just been upgraded to his girlfriend. And judging by the stunned expression in her eyes, he had a feeling that she wasn't going to be too thrilled about it.

Amanda Ashby
is the author of
You Had Me at Halo
, which was a Romantic Times Top Pick and was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award.

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