Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (15 page)

“So, what does this mean?”

“I don’t know. I left shortly afterward.” I stood up.
“I’m going to go to my room to daydream.”

As I walked out of the kitchen I heard her yell, “Have
fun.”

I smiled to myself just as I heard the sound of my
father talking loudly behind his office door. From the sound of his voice,
someone on the other end of the conversation must be giving him news he wasn’t
happy about. I tiptoed by the door and down the hallway, turning the corner. My
room was near the end of the next hall, as far from my parents as possible.

I rummaged through my bag, looking for the book that
was assigned for English. Once I found it, I leaned against my pillow, flipping
to chapter four where I had left off.

“Hi.”

I jumped, throwing the book in the air. It landed on
the wood floor with a thud. I looked over in the direction of the voice and saw
Nate in my room, leaning against the closed patio doors.

“Holy crap, you scared me,” I gasped, my hand resting
on my chest, feeling my heart pumping.

He chuckled, pushed off of the door and stepped up to
the bed. His shoulders were wet from the rain and his damp hair glistened from
the glow of my lamp. “I’m sorry, I let myself in. I guess I should have
knocked. I was hoping we could talk.” He sat down on the edge of the bed,
lifting my legs and placing them on his lap.

“Talk about what?”

He smiled, leaning back against his elbows on the bed.
“
Anything
. The weather, our homework. Or the mind-blowing kiss you just
planted on me.” His bright blue eyes twinkled in the low lamp light.

I grinned, happy to see that he was in a good mood. I
had been afraid he would push me away again. “The weather lately has been
beautiful, well, besides today.”

He grabbed a pillow and tossed it at me, hitting me in
the head. The smell of Mona’s favorite floral laundry soap drifted into my nose
before the pillow bounced off of me and landed on my lap.

“What do you want from me?” he asked, suddenly
serious.

“You.” I lifted my legs off of him so I could lean
forward until my face was inches from his. “I want to kiss you again. I want
you to kiss me. I want to spend time with you, get to know you. Don’t you want
that? Because, it sure felt that way. I may have started the kiss, but it was you
who finished it.”

His smile returned. “I want everything you just said
and more. I want to lean in and kiss you and never stop. But I’m not sure I can
do that. I told you, I’m not good for you.”

I leaned in closer and whispered into his ear. “Let me
decide what’s good for me.” I touched his chin and pulled him toward me. Filling
the gap between us, I leaned in closer, softly touching his lips with mine. He
threaded his finders through my hair and kissed me back, taking the kiss
deeper, twisting and pushing me onto the bed.

He leaned up above me. “You have no idea how long I’ve
wanted to do that,” he whispered.

“Why didn’t you?” I whispered back.

“I’m—”

I touched his lips with my finger to stop his words.
“Don’t say it again. And if we agree to continue this, you have to promise not
to back away from me. My heart can’t take it.”

His face grew serious again as he sat up on the bed,
leaning against my plush creamy white headboard. He was silent, as if he was
waging a war in his mind.

I watched him for a few seconds then took the spot
beside him, leaning up on the bed. “Over the last few weeks I thought you liked
me. The night you ate dinner here I really hoped you would kiss me. Instead, you
just disappeared and have been distant ever since. I don’t even want to talk
about Saturday at the bar. I know you’re trying to be friends with me, but it’s
not the same. If we’re going to do this, we’re
really
doing this. No
backing away. Got it?” I pointed my finger at him, hoping he realized how
serious I was.

He gazed at me, his expression the same. He must have
made a decision, because his eyes lightened and his lips turned up at the
edges. He laughed, wrapping his hand around my finger. “I got it. I’m in. I
won’t back away.” He pulled me by the finger he was holding until I was so
close I could feel his hot breath on my face. He kissed me; the sweet taste of
him filled my mouth. His strong hands guided me down again. Leaning over me, he
pulled back to gently kiss my neck, my jaw, my collarbone. We continued to kiss
and explore each other until I was out of breath. Then we lay with his arms
wrapped around me, my head resting on his chest.

“Tell me about yourself. I don’t know anything. You’re
very mysterious.”

I felt him tense under me, but he said, “Ask me
anything you want.”

“Where do you live?”

“Over on Cedar Crest. I have a small house near the
Rileys’ estate. I rent it from them.”

“Is that why you were there last Saturday?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know them?” I asked, listening to the
sound of his heart.

“I used to volunteer with my father at the shelter in
Philadelphia. My dad ran Riley House and showed me how to do it. He was close
to the Rileys.”

“Does your family live here too?”

“No. They all died in a car accident when I was fourteen.
I lived with my uncle until I moved here but the courts let me live on my own
as long as he checks in with me. I had the insurance money from the accident
and I live off of that. And the Rileys pay me some for running the charity. The
cottage is part of that.”

Was it just me or did that whole speech sound
rehearsed?

“Did you have any brothers or sisters? Or is that too
painful to talk about?”

“No, it’s all right. I had two sisters and a brother,
all younger.”

“I’m so sorry. Were you close to your family?” I
leaned up and touched his face, brushing my fingers against his soft skin. His
scent of pine and leather soothed me.

“Oh yes, we were very close. My younger sisters were a
pain sometimes, always following me around. But I loved them. I miss them and
my brother terribly.” I saw the pain in his eyes and regretted bringing it up.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s fine. I just wish that they had met you. My
mother would have loved you.”

“I’m jealous. At least the time you had was with a
family you spent time with and cared for.”

“You don’t have that.” It wasn’t a question and was
said with sympathy.

“No, I don’t. I don’t even try anymore. Mona is my
mother. She cares for me and spends time with me. She and Ben taught me how to
ride a bike, to tie my shoes. My parents are like roommates I never see, only
coming out sometimes to annoy me.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I’m so sorry. It must
have been a very lonely way to grow up.”

I sighed. “It was. But let’s not talk about depressing
things. Why don’t you kiss me again?”

“If you insist.” He kissed me softly, slowly, dragging
out each touch of our lips and the gentle brush of his tongue. I sighed with
pure contentment. It made me forget my depressing family.

The door opened. “What’s going on in here?” boomed my
father, staring at Nate.

We jumped up, both of us standing beside my bed. “Dad!
What are you doing in here?”

“I need to talk to you. Who is this?” he asked,
pointing to the boy next to me.

“This is Nate. He goes to Everest.”

Nate stepped up to him, holding his hand out to my
father. “Nate Green, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Banks.” My father took
his hand and shook it, shooting a confused glance in my direction.

“Megan, I need to speak to you. Meet me in my office.”
With that he was gone.

I watched my father rush out of the room, then turned
to Nate. “I’m sorry, I won’t be long. Do you want to wait? You can watch TV.
The remote is right there.” I pointed to my dresser.

“I’ll be here when you get back and we can continue
where we left off.” He kissed me quickly before I stepped out.

I left feeling as if I was heading to the principal’s
office.

Problem Solved

“What do you want?” I asked, entering my father’s
perfectly organized office. When he gestured for me to take a seat, I plopped
down onto his uncomfortable office chair in front of the large mahogany desk. I
glanced around at the crisp formal walls, naked of any kind of personal
knickknack or family photo. As I waited for him to answer, I tried to ignore
the ache in my chest that formed every time I walked in here. I should know by
now that he didn’t care enough about his daughter to display even one photo or
memento of my childhood.

“Are you dating him?” he asked, narrowing his dark
brown eyes.

“Well, we just got together tonight, but I guess so.
Why?” I was uncomfortable with discussing my personal life with my very distant
father. I looked up at his perfectly styled dark brown hair, trying to find a
stray piece, but no, not a strand out of place.

“Is that the boy who insulted your mother a few weeks
ago?”

I took a deep breath, already exhausted by the
conversation and it had barely begun. “He didn’t insult her, he defended me.
What do you want?” I repeated my earlier question.

He sighed as he usually did when he spoke to his
misbehaving daughter. “James tells me that the police have been sniffing around
trying to pin the fire on Mandy, Jenny, Shane, Brandon and Chris. Is that
right?” He placed his hands on his desk in front of him.

“I guess so. I’m doing community service
because I wouldn’t tell them what really happened. I’m sure they’re trying to
find out another way.”

“This is not good, Megan. We are in the
process of merging with Montech. How would that look if it got out that you and
your friends were involved in a fire?”

“It’s not my fault. I lied to protect them
and they didn’t deserve it. I got arrested, even though I was the only one who
tried to help that family. Now all you care about is how it looks to your
company?”

“If this situation ruins the merger, there
will be hell to pay.” He slammed his fist onto the desk. His stockpile of pens
shook in their container.

“What do you want me to do about it?” I
yelled, sitting up in my chair.

“Make this go away. I don’t want their
parents calling me anymore. I want this to end.”

My chest ached even more with the
realization that his work and reputation meant more to him than I did. “Do you
even care that those sweet boys threatened me, slashed my tires and tried to
run me off the road. All because they’re afraid I’ll tell the police what they
did?”

“Of course I care, but don’t you realize
what this publicity could do to their families?”

“What about the family that lost their
home? Don’t they matter?”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. They have
insurance.” He shook his head at me and his cool brown eyes narrowed.

I stood up and stared at him. “That’s your answer?
They have insurance? Who the hell are you?” I stormed out of the room, slamming
the door behind me, almost colliding with Nate.

“Are you okay?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me.
“I thought you could use some support.”

“I need to get out of here. Take me somewhere,” I
mumbled into his shoulder, my face pressed against his hard, muscular chest. I
was instantly comforted by his embrace.

He smiled, took my hand and led me to his car.

We drove down to the lake and sat on the beach. Since
the evening breeze was cool, I was wearing my favorite hoodie. The air smelled
fresh, like lake water. “I love sitting under the stars at night, it’s one of
my favorite things to do.” I leaned back, staring up into the sky, digging my
bare feet into the soft warm sand. I heard him chuckle knowingly. “What?” I
asked, turning to face him.

The wind blew his hair in his eyes. “Nothing. I just
know what you mean. It’s beautiful by the water at night. I love waking up
looking out my window, watching the waves come in.”

“What do you mean?”

He turned his head and pointed.

Following his gaze, I gasped. There was a cute little
cottage nestled on the beach. I hadn’t even noticed it when we arrived. “You
live here?”

“Yes I do.”

It was a log cabin with a large bay window and
wraparound deck. I stood up, slipping on my flip-flops that I had discarded
earlier and made my way to the porch. Before I took the first step up, I
glanced at him to make sure I could continue.

After he nodded, I climbed the rest of the way and
opened the door to a cozy living room. The inside was framed with large faded
wooden beams that featured a cathedral ceiling. The kitchen, dining and living
room took up one open-concept area. The living room furniture was all placed
around the window overlooking the lake. The kitchen was at the back, with white
cupboards and a large marble island separating the rooms. To the left was an
old mahogany dining set that looked like an antique.