Money (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 10) (24 page)

“
What? No. I love sex with you, Riley. I never know what to expect.
”
She gives me a very intimate and sexy look. The kind that should cause my dick to salute her. Except that what Ariela said to me keeps running through my head.
“
It sounds like you
’
re confusing my wanting to get to know you on a personal level with getting to know you on a sexual level. No offense to you, but I don
’
t have a problem finding women to sleep with. So maybe we should take sex out of the equation so as not to further complicate our already complicated situation.
”

She doesn
’
t reply.

I look at my watch. Knox texted me earlier and told me to meet him at the club. He exaggerated and said we haven
’
t been out in forever. I told him I
’
d see him all weekend, but he said it
’
s hardly the same thing.

I finish off the rest of my meal and set my napkin down.

“
Thanks for dinner,
”
I tell her, like she had something to do with its preparation and trying not to think about what
’
s still waiting for us in the bedroom. After talking to Ariela, my dick probably wouldn
’
t cooperate anyway. It seems to have a crush.
“
I
’
ve got to get going.
”

“
What? But, daddy,
”
she pouts.
“
We haven
’
t had dessert yet.
”

“
Sorry, I
’
ll have to take a rain check on that.
”
I kiss her cheek.
“
Take it easy, stay off your feet, and have a good weekend. I
’
ll call you when I get back in town.
”

She tries to kiss me on the lips, but I move too fast and manage to escape.

I look down at my phone and see that Ariela sent me a text. Just seeing her name pop up on the screen makes my heart hurt. Maybe my brother is right.
 

Ariela:
 
You hung up on me. Please don
’
t do that. I
’
m calling you back. Will you answer and talk to me, please?
”

I call her back instead.

“
We don't have to decide at the wedding, Riley,
”
she says softly. God, I love the sound of her voice.
“
Once it
’
s over, I can come back to L.A. if you want to hang out. Don
’
t laugh, but do you remember the date that never ended in the music video we shot and how we recreated it that day? All the fun stuff we did? I want to do it again.
”

My heart sinks into my stomach as I remember how beautiful she looked. I can still picture her little blue dress fluttering around her legs as she ran through waves.
“
We made love under the pier that night.
”

“
That was one of the best parts of the date. And it
’
s okay if you can
’
t do it, but I
’
m going to. I want to revisit all those magical places.
”

“
Once the wedding is over, I'm taking a few days off myself. I
’
d like to go with you, Ariela. But that
’
s all I can promise.
”

“
That
’
s all I
’
m asking for. See you tomorrow.
”

“
See you tomorrow,
”
I say, my heart practically singing with joy at the thought.

As soon as I hang up, I get another text from Knox.
 

Knox:
 
We
’
re waiting.

Me:
 
Who
’
s we?

Knox: Me and your brother. He
’
s drunk and brokenhearted. It
’
s a horrible combination for picking up women. I can see why you didn
’
t want to hang out with me after the makeup bitch. Please send help.

When I get to the club, I find them in the VIP section, as expected.

Knox points toward Dawson, who
’
s staring at his phone.
“
Miss Bossy Pants.
”

“
He
’
s in love with her,
”
I state.

“
Yeah, but he
’
s either too fucking stubborn or too fucking stupid to do something about it. Apparently, that trait runs in the family. I heard you
’
ve been shacking up with Shelby.
”

“
I
’
m not shacking up with her.
”

“
You
’
ve been with her every night since Ariela let you read the stupid note.
”

“
How do you even know about that?
”

“
Keatyn and I work together every day. Between her and Tyler, they know everything.
”

I roll my eyes.
 

“
So I brought you here to give you some advice.
”
He hands me a shot of tequila.
“
Stop playing hide the salami with the baby mama. And before you go on about the note, I
’
m going to tell you that you
’
re behaving like a fucking idiot. And if Ariela is still single at the wedding, she
’
s free game, and Knox will be on the hunt.
”

My blood starts to boil just like it did that night at dinner when I broke my hand. I look down at the splint still on it, reliving the pain I felt when I punched the tree along with the spot-on thing Grandpa Douglas asked.
What hurts worse, Hollywood? Your hand or your heart?

Since Ariela has come back into my life, my heart has hurt worse than ever before.
 

“
I don
’
t know what to do.
”

“
And fucking Shelby is the path of least resistance?
”

I nod.
 

“
Is that what you want out of life, Riley? I just bought a fucking house on the hill. I
’
m building a studio with Keatyn. I
’
m going to settle down. I think it’s time we both do. I mean, look at all these girls,
”
he continues, pointing out to the dance floor.
“
It
’
s not like going home to the same woman every night. Although I know that the makeup girl was a bitch, and I
’
m glad to be rid of her, I do miss coming home to someone. We have everything, Riley. It
’
s time we let ourselves share it. Now, go take your drunk brother home before I throw him to the wolves.
”

I look at Dawson and sigh. It
’
s hard to give advice to someone when you won
’
t take it yourself.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17th

Captive Films - Santa Monica

RILEY

“
Are you ready for this?
”
Keatyn asks me, as we make our way into the boardroom.
“
It
’
s weird, really. You
’
ll be announced as chairman and then your first order of business will be the sale of the company. Are you sure we
’
re doing the right thing?
”

I put my arm around her and give her a squeeze.
“
You know we are.
”

“
It
’
s hard though. To work so hard and then give it all up.
”

“
We aren
’
t giving it up, Keatyn,
”
Dallas says.
“
We
’
re cashing out. We should be celebrating.
”

“
We will be tonight,
”
I say, trying to help her focus on the positive.

After a successful meeting, we get all the employees together to tell them the news. Dallas hands out fake checks that show them how much their stock options will be worth when the deal closes.
 

It
’
s safe to say based on the screams of joy, the tears, and the grateful hugs, that they
’
re for the sale.
 

And their celebration seems to ease Keatyn
’
s mind.

“
That went better than I expected,
”
she says, as we get settled on the plane to Sonoma, along with Knox, Grandpa Douglas, Dawson, and Vanessa.

“
So are you excited for the wedding?
”
Vanessa asks Keatyn.
 

“
Yes, I just hope it all turns out the way I imagined it would. I didn
’
t give Ariela much time to pull it together, so I
’
m going to try not to stress.
”

“
Well, my job as your maid of honor is to make sure you have a stress-free wedding. Kym said we
’
ll have a busy morning tomorrow trying on dresses.
”

“
We will. I can
’
t believe I
’
m getting married in twenty-four hours and still don
’t
know what I
’
m wearing. But Kym always comes through.
”

“
When is the family coming up?
”

“
Not until tomorrow. On Sunday, before we leave for our honeymoon, we
’
ll do our typical family birthday celebration for the girls. Anymore, it
’
s so hard to get us all in one place. Ivery leaves Sunday night for a concert in Spain, and Emery has a shoot in New York.
”

“
I heard you took over publicity for Ashlyn Roberts,
”
Knox says to Vanessa.
“
When are you going to work with me?
”

“
Whenever you ask.
”

“
I
’
d like you to do the publicity for me and Keatyn
’
s new project. She slipped it to the press the other night, so I figure we should drop a more few more hints while the time is right.
”

“
I can do that,
”
Vanessa says.
 

I notice that Dawson and Vanessa aren
’
t sitting beside each other. Actually, I don
’
t think they
’
ve even spoken to each other since we left the office.
 

He looks miserable and I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with his hangover.