“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
And that was one of the many reasons I loved Riot Bentley. Even though it was his Christmas that was being disrupted, he was worried about me and how I was feeling. He was the most selfless man I’d ever met and I wanted to never take that for granted. I reached up and placed my hands on either side of his face.
“There’s nothing to make up for. I love you and I will see you when I get home.”
Something glimmered in his eye, and I could almost swear I saw the corner of his mouth turn up, as if he were trying to force away a smile. Before I could think too much about it, he kissed me. This kiss, however, was meant to be a good-bye, and he took his time.
Thirty minutes later I stood at his parents’ front door, watching Riot climb into his father’s SUV as they left to get him a rental car. He waved, a forced smile across his face, and I waved back. When the car was out of sight, I let out a sigh. I turned to Rachel, who’d been standing with me, and gave her a sad smile.
“He’ll be okay,” she said. “Let’s go inside. Would you mind if I looked at the album Mara made for you?”
It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would want to look at pictures of Marcus, but it meant a lot to me that Rachel had asked.
“Sure,” I answered, the smile on my face turning from sad to bright. So Rachel and I sat at the kitchen table, flipping pages and looking at photos. She was genuinely curious about him, and listened to me as I endlessly told stories that the pictures conjured up. Before I knew it, I had spent two hours telling Rachel, my sister, all about my brother, and I’d laughed and smiled the whole time.
Kevin had joined us about an hour in, sitting across the table, listening, and laughing along with us. Halah and Mara were in the kitchen, preparing food for the feast Mara had promised, and even though I was missing Riot, it was still one of the best Christmases I could remember.
About two and a half hours after Riot had left, the doorbell chimed.
“Kalli, sweetie, could you get the door for me? I’m a mess.”
Mara lifted her hands and she was, indeed, elbow deep in food.
“Of course,” I replied. When I opened the door I was met with a giant bouquet of beautiful red roses.
“Are you Kalli Rivers?” the deliveryman asked from behind the enormous arrangement of flowers.
“Um, yes.”
“These are for you,” he said with a groan, handing the large vase to me. I understood his grunting when I took it; it weighed a ton.
“Are you sure? I’m confused.”
“Yes, there’s a card in there somewhere.”
“Riot called and ordered flowers? Why are you even open on Christmas? I’m really sorry, I don’t have any cash for a tip. Let me see what I can do…” I turned away from the door to see if anyone in the house had cash I could borrow.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Rivers, the tip has been taken care of. And we usually aren’t open today, but Mr. Bentley called two weeks ago to arrange this. Paid a mint for it too. The tip covered Christmas gifts for all four of my kids. I’m happy to deliver these flowers,” he said, tipping his trucker hat at me as he turned to walk down the driveway.
“Merry Christmas,” I called after him, still really confused. I walked into the kitchen, trying not to trip and fall since I couldn’t see where I was going.
“Oh, my word,” Mara said breathily.
“Holy crap,” Halah cried.
“Whose are they?” Rachel asked.
I let out a breath as I set the vase down on the table, my arms aching from the strain. “Apparently they’re from Riot.”
“He must feel really bad about having to go to work,” Rachel sighed.
“The delivery guy said Riot ordered them two weeks ago.” I searched through the flowers, not able to ignore the wonderful scent of the roses as I found the card. I opened it quickly, eager to find out what he’d done, and read the handwritten note.
Kalli,
By now I’ve left and trust me when I say, leaving you on Christmas was probably harder for me than it was for you. But I did it with good reason. I love you. More than any necklace or long-stemmed roses can say. Throughout this year we’ve hit a lot of bumps in our road, but we’ve also stopped to admire a lot of views. No matter what happens, Kalli, remember the beautiful views we’ve seen together.
Now, there’s one more view to add to the list. Please pack your bags and meet me at this address. Come alone, but come knowing I’ll be waiting for you.
Love,
Riot
There was an address at the bottom of the card, but the address was all the way back in LA. I looked up to find every person in the house staring back at me.
“Did you guys know about this?” I asked his family, my eyes darting between all three of them.
“No, sweetheart. He didn’t mention anything to us,” Mara said, looking to Halah and Chad. Both of them shook their heads. “What does the card say?”