Friendship on Fire (14 page)

RILEY ANSWERED THE door wearing what Josh knew were her favorite skinny jeans, which she’d worn confidently in Colorado and hadn’t worn since being in New York, a sheer, red drop-neck blouse, and a single gold necklace draped across her collarbone. She stood on her tippy-toes to kiss him, and Josh laid a hand on her hip.

“God, you look hot,” he said. “I haven’t seen you in skinny jeans since we were in Colorado.”

“The idea of being with Max and Treat made me feel a little closer to home, and the way you relish my body replenished my confidence in my curves,” she admitted. 

“I do love your curves.” He ran his hand down her hip and squeezed her butt. “You look almost as hot as you did in your scruffy outfit,” he teased. “Almost. There’s nothing like sweatpants.” Josh headed for the kitchen with an armful of take-out Italian food and wine.

“Thanks. I was gonna wear the sweats, but I didn’t want to tempt your brother too much.” She followed Josh into the kitchen.

“I doubt anyone could tempt Treat away from Max.” He set the bags on the table and began removing the hot containers of food. “I’ve got mussels, fresh bread, pasta. Oh”—he held up two bottles of wine—“and wine, of course.”

“Everything smells delicious,” Riley said.

Josh opened the wine and poured two glasses, handing her one. He thought of their first date and how nervous she’d looked when they were in the kitchen together. Being with her now, he could hardly believe it had been only a few days. He felt like Riley had always been in his life.

“Don’t you want to wait for Treat and Max?” she asked.

“Nope. This toast is to us. We’ve survived secrecy,” he said, and kissed her lightly on her lips.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass.

“Okay. Want to go sit in the living room?” Josh’s stomach tightened. He still didn’t have a backup plan in case his staff found out about their relationship, and the more he thought about how hurt Riley might get when they went public, the more he fretted about it.

They sat on the couch in the living room. Riley sat with her glass between her hands, her eyes trained on the wine. He watched her purse her lips, blink several times, and then draw in a deep breath.

“Did something happen at the office today that I should know about?” he asked. He was sure he’d have heard about it if someone had found out about them, but Riley wasn’t the type to run to him for help.

“No, not really. I just…”

She looked up at him and there was no mistaking the warmth and desire in her eyes. The edges of her lips lifted; her eyebrows drew together. She set her drink down and took his hand in hers.

“I think I want to let people know about us,” she said.

Josh opened his eyes wide. “Wow. I didn’t expect that,” he admitted. He’d begun to think that she was right to keep things a secret for a while longer.

“I know. Neither did I, but this morning in the shower, something hit me, and I just knew that you were the person I wanted to be with. Keeping it a secret feels like we’re doing something wrong, and not in a good way.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Josh thought he saw a flash of hesitation. His stomach twisted and his heart ached. He was conflicted. He’d wanted to tell the world about them, but after spending days trying to figure out the best way to approach it, he still came up empty.  The more he thought about it, the more he worried about her career.

He was silent for a beat too long, and Riley pulled back from him. “You don’t want to, do you?”

“I do. I’m just…I’m worried about you, Ri. Any way I cut this thing, you get labeled. I don’t, but you do, and I hate knowing that it might turn your life upside down.” The pain that crossed her face killed him, but he knew he was right. They would find a way to deal with the staff, but they had to figure it out before they revealed their relationship.

“Right. Well, if I’m willing to risk it, shouldn’t you be?” She held his stare. “You’re not ready. I get it. Okay.” She laughed under her breath. “I definitely didn’t expect this.” She stood up.

Josh grabbed her hand. “Babe, sit back down, please.”

“It’s a bit humiliating, don’t you think? To learn that your boyfriend…wait…maybe you realized that you don’t want that?” Her eyes filled with tears.

“No, Riley, no.” He stood and took her in his arms. “I’ll do whatever you want. I only want to protect you. I’m happy to go into work tomorrow and tell everyone. Hell, I’ll send out a press release if you want me to. I am only concerned because you were worried about your career, and I get that. You have a reason to worry. This industry is not very forgiving, or very accepting.”

Riley flopped down on the couch. “This is so hard, Josh. When I’m with you, I really want to be with you—publicly, I mean—and when I’m at work, I see very clearly where the issues lie. But how many times can we beat this dead horse? We either have to jump in with both feet or…”

“Or?”
Don’t even say it
.

“Or sneak around, using your sister’s apartment as a love nest, I guess.” She smiled.

He pulled her close again, relieved. “I’m sorry, Riley. This would have been much easier if I’d known that you felt the same way I did before you came to New York. Then I could have introduced you on day one as my girlfriend, and people would have been forced to accept it for what it was.”
Or they’d have assumed that’s how you got the job.

“It’s all so frustrating. And it’s crazy. We’ve been dating for only a few days. Who throws away their career after only a few days? I swear I’m losing my mind. You know what? I don’t really care anymore what people say about me. Throw me to the wolves. Let’s just jump in with both feet.” Hope danced in her wide eyes.

“It is crazy, and it’s fast and probably not the smartest thing to pin our hopes on a week of crazy love, but I trust my heart, Riley, and my heart tells me that you’re the woman I want to be with. If you’re game, I’m game.” His heart soared, but a tiny voice in the back of his head told him to be careful.

A knock at the door tore them from their decision.

“We’ll figure this out, babe. I promise we will.” He pulled her into another quick hug before opening the door.

Treat opened his arms with a gracious smile. His dark hair was thick and full, his chiseled face cleanly shaven, and his dark eyes were full of joy.

“Josh.” Treat embraced him, patting him on the back. “Good to see you.” Then he turned to Riley. “Riley, you look beautiful.” He embraced her just as warmly; then he reached for Max’s hand. “Come here, sweetness.”

Max wore jeans and a cashmere sweater. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders, and her face was free of makeup, with the exception of eyeliner, allowing her natural beauty to shine through. She hugged Riley, then Josh. “So good to see you guys again.” She stepped into the apartment and her eyes grew wide. “Savannah has great taste. I love that sofa and coffee table.”

Even though Treat was wealthy, Max remained utilitarian in her views. She was careful with money, and she remained as down-to-earth and comfortably familiar as she had been the day Josh had met her the previous year.

“Want some wine?” Riley asked, heading for the kitchen. Max followed her, leaving Treat and Josh in the living room, where they made themselves comfortable on the couch.

“It’s really good to see you, Treat. You and Max look great. Is everything going well? The house plans coming along?” Treat and Max had purchased property that adjoined their father’s ranch.

“You know how these things go. There’s a lot of hurry up and wait. Things are good, and Dad’s doing well, strong as an ox,” Treat said.

Their father had suffered through a minor heart issue the previous year, but he’d recovered quickly and was not someone who could be kept down for long.

“Good to hear. And the wedding plans?” Josh asked.

“They’re coming along,” Treat said. “That was one of the reasons I wanted to see you. You remember when
Vogue
magazine did that front-page feature on us?” He leaned his elbows on his knees.

“How could I forget? Dad teased us for two years solid.” Josh deepened his voice. “‘The Braden Men: Two of America’s Most Eligible Bachelors.’” He laughed.

“Yeah, well, they want to do a story on the wedding,” Treat said quietly.

“And you’re not happy about it?” Josh asked. He was trying to focus on Treat, but his mind kept coming back to Riley.

Treat shot a glance at Max. “I don’t really care one way or the other, but Max isn’t very keen on the idea. She hates that stuff; you know that. So, I was thinking…media’s gonna pick this up whether we agree to it or not, but maybe we can give them a different angle.”

A different angle.
Josh found himself staring into his brother’s dark eyes and hearing him as he’d been as a teenager, when the two of them had been with Rex at the county fair. They’d hidden behind the livestock barn so Rex could watch Jade, and Josh had secretly been delighted because it gave him a clear view of Riley. He’d completely forgotten about that afternoon, and now it brought a smile to his lips.

“Hello?” Treat said, waving a hand in front of Josh’s eyes.

“Sorry. Another angle, right. What were you thinking?”
Jesus, did I ever have a major crush on her back then.

“How about we get them to focus on the designing brother instead?”

Josh sat back. “Are you kidding me? With everything that’s going on, you want me to invite the media into my living room?” Josh shook his head.

“Yeah, once I found out about you and Riley, I didn’t think you’d go for it.”

“Treat, it’d be like throwing her to the sharks. In your effort to protect Max, you’d toss Riley out there?” He shook his head.

“No. I was thinking more along the lines of you letting her help design Max’s dress, and then she could use it as a way to gain media attention as a designer. Before you hired her, you said her portfolio knocked your socks off. She obviously has the skills. Focus the article on the wedding gown, and then you’ve got a reason to promote her if you want to, and she’ll have credibility to use against any relationship backlash. Even if they claimed that you fed her the work, her work would stand on its own.”

Josh patted Treat’s leg. “You, my friend, might just be brilliant.”

“Did you ever have any doubt?” Treat teased.

RILEY HADN’T BEEN nervous about having dinner with Treat and Max. They were both very down-to-earth and easy to talk to, but she had wondered how they might react to her and Josh as a couple, even with Max’s enthusiastic text message. For that reason, Riley hadn’t made any overt gestures toward Josh. Now that they’d polished off a bottle and a half of wine, she felt more comfortable, and when Josh moved his chair closer to Riley and draped his arm across the back with a wink, that wave of panic that she felt at the office when she and Josh were near each other didn’t strangle her. She placed her hand on his thigh.

“We knew you’d end up together,” Max said.

Riley thought back to the luncheon at his father’s ranch in Weston and how easy they’d been together. She’d tried to ignore the butterflies she’d felt when she saw him, and she’d thought she’d done a good job of hiding her feelings from everyone else. From the look in Max’s eyes, she realized that her acting skills were far worse than her design skills.

“How could you have known?” Riley asked.

A knowing smile flashed between Max and Treat. She touched his thigh. “For me, it was just the vibe between you two. You were so…compatible.” Max shrugged.

“Vibe shmibe,” Treat teased. “Josh used to watch her like Rex watched Jade. Once you guys reconnected, it was just a matter of time before all that lust took over.”

She looked at Josh and touched his chest. “You used to watch me,” she said. “I love that.”

“I told you I did,” Josh said. “Treat just makes it sound dirtier than it was.”

“Okay, truth?” Treat asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “I knew the minute he brought you to Dad’s for lunch. Josh isn’t a wishy-washy man. When he makes up his mind, there’s no changing it. He may take a wider path than some and navigate around a bit, but he always ends up where he said he would. When he moved to New York, he said he was going to be a top designer, and he did it. Two years later, he said he was going to try to compete with Vera Wang.  The man made his mark. And when he hired Riley, he said, ‘She’s perfect for JBD.’” Treat splayed his hands. “Was there ever any question after that remark?”

Riley blushed. She’d heard Josh say that at his father’s house. She’d thought he meant the company, not himself personally. Treat really did know his brother well.

Josh pulled her close. “She is perfect for JB, without a doubt.” He kissed her cheek. “And she also happens to be perfect for JBD.”

“Okay, now that ya’ll have embarrassed me, can we talk about Max’s dress?” Riley heard her hometown drawl, the one she’d worked diligently to omit while in New York, and it felt damn good to use it again without worry of being given an amused look.

“Yes, please,” Max said. She leaned across the table. “First, Josh, thank you so much for offering to make my gown. It’s really beyond kind of you.”

Kind.
There it was again, one of her favorite traits about Josh
.

“I’m thinking of something very simple, without all that fluff and drama of most wedding gowns. You know me—simple and clean works best,” Max said.

“Simple, clean lines. We can do that,” he said, giving Riley’s arm a squeeze.

“Max, I hope you don’t mind, but I pulled a few drawings together, based on the conversations we’d had back home. I know I’m not designing your gown, but I thought of a few ideas that you might want to consider implementing.” She held her breath, hoping Max didn’t mind.

“You did?” Josh asked.

“Just a few,” Riley said. “I was really nervous about showing them to you. Somehow it felt easier to show them to Max than my top fashion designer boyfriend. If she hates them, then you won’t ever see them.” She winked as she left the room to retrieve her sketches. When she returned, Josh had already started clearing the table.