“What?”
“We're going to Eastbrooke’s homecoming this weekend.”
“But I thought you had to work and couldn't go this year?”
“I begged the director to do some rescheduling.”
“And if I can’t?” I ask tentatively.
“If you don't go, nothing will happen,” Dallas says.
“I’m not firing you, Riley. We couldn’t do this without you,” Keatyn adds. “What you should ask is what will happen if you go.”
“What will happen if I go?”
She leans closer to me, tears filling her eyes. “If you do it, if you’ll go back with us and get the closure you need, at the next board meeting, I’ll be announcing that I’m stepping down and promoting you to CEO and Chairman of the Board.”
I blink my eyes, not believing what I just heard.
“What?” I ask, overcome with emotion.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, Riley. You deserve it.”
I reach over and pull her into a tight hug.
She still believes in me and I’m so grateful.
“Are you crying?” Dallas asks.
“Shut the fuck up,” I say, wiping away a tear.
“Pussy,” he teases then laughs. “You were really afraid she was going to fire you, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, I was.” I’m still hugging Keatyn tightly.
She whispers in my ear. “You’re Riley Johnson. The boy who wanted to protect me even though you didn’t know I needed protecting. I don’t care what happens. We’re what makes this company successful. The three of us.”
“Shit,” Dallas drawls and joins our hug. “Now you’re gonna make me cry.”
Asher Vineyards — Sonoma County
ARIELA
Based on what happened in Vegas, I’m certain Riley saw Collin kiss me. And since he’s not returning my calls, I’m going to prove to him in another way how much I still love him.
As I look around the vineyard, I know how I’m going to do it.
By making Keatyn’s wedding perfection.
So much of my future here in California feels like it’s riding on this wedding.
If it’s perfect, maybe people here will want to hire me. If it’s perfect, maybe Keatyn won’t kick me out of her life when she hears that I kissed Collin. Maybe if it’s perfect, it will make Riley happy simply because Keatyn will be happy.
They’ve been best friends for so long. When Riley and I first started dating, I was jealous of how close they were.
And I’m jealous of how close they all still are. Dallas, Keatyn, Riley, Aiden, Maggie, and Logan are all still best friends.
I missed out on so much.
If I can pull off the perfect wedding, it will show them all how sorry I am that I walked away from our friendships.
And I need the distraction of planning the wedding to keep me off the internet.
Every time I checked, I found a new photo of Riley’s night in Vegas.
The last one was a mug shot with an article that mentioned his arrest.
After that, I shut my laptop, got ready, and headed here.
Maggie greets me at the business office. “Have you seen all the crazy news about Riley, Knox, and Jennifer?”
“Yeah,” I say sadly.
“What’s the real story?”
“I don’t know for sure. Vanessa left for Captive’s offices really early and I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Aiden said it’s quite the publicity nightmare, but that Keatyn already has a plan to turn it around. She and Knox are brilliant when it comes to manipulating the press.”
“Riley and I were supposed to go on a date last night,” I admit. “When he got there, I think he saw Collin kiss me.”
“Oh my. Is that why Riley went to Vegas?”
“I think so. Vanessa has video surveillance, so I got to see the look on Riley’s face when he left—” I hang my head.
“What?” Maggie says.
“It reminded me of graduation day. When I told him I wasn’t coming to California with him. We had an amazing night together and we were planning to go to Eastbrooke’s homecoming this weekend . . .”
“I think you should still go. Without him. It’s sad. We always go, but Keatyn had to work, so Aiden booked us a Moon Wish fundraiser.”
“So why do you think I should go alone?”
“It might be nice to be there by yourself. I mean, obviously, there will be a lot of people, but none of your close high school friends. I just think it might help you get some closure.”
“That’s why Riley wanted us to go back.”
Maggie’s cell rings, so she answers and tells them to send someone up.
“The event rep is here. Just think about it.”
“I will, Maggie. Thanks.”
“You know, once word gets out that you’ve planned Keatyn’s wedding, you will have more jobs than you’ll know what to do with. I’m not sure what you want to do, but we’re looking to hire an event coordinator.”
“I thought you already had one?”
“We do. Here onsite. This is a different role. We do fundraising events all over the world and have been contracting planners in each location. We’d like to have someone in-house to be in charge of all those events.”