“True. I mean, he spends most of his time with me. But I’m seriously worried that there might be another shoe to drop at some point. I mean, he’s amazing with a capital A. That can’t be normal.”
“Jake is pretty great too,” she says with a shrug. “There are men out there who aren’t assholes. I know, it’s like an elusive kind of wildcat that’s only ever been seen once in the wild, but they exist.”
“So I’m overreacting.”
“Maybe,” she replies. “But I get it. It would look suspicious to me if he brushed it off that easily. So just keep your eyes and ears open, and if something bothers you, talk to him about it. Jake’s always reminding me that he’s not a mind reader.”
“I’m such a cynic.”
“With good reason, Ri. Okay, what are some of your deal breakers, besides things like child molestation, murder, et cetera, that he could tell you and you’d run away?”
“Well, if he said he has a girlfriend back home, that would not be good.”
“Do you think this Angie is his girlfriend?” she asks with a frown. “I mean, wouldn’t she just text him?”
“Good point.”
“Next on your list?”
“What if he has kids he hasn’t told me about?”
“You’re more dramatic than I am,” she replies, blinking slowly. “Seriously, stop overthinking this.”
“I keep telling myself the same thing! But what if—”
“Stop,” she says firmly. “You can what-if yourself to death, Riley. What if he has a twin brother he’s never met? What if he had a sixth toe on one foot when he was born and he had it removed? What if he’s the heir to a fortune in Tasmania?”
“Okay, that last one was a bit of a reach, even for me.”
She smirks. “Stop trying to will something bad to happen.”
“That’s what I’m doing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s not healthy. Angie is a gamer friend, and it wasn’t anything important. If it was anything else, he would have said so.”
“Right.” I nod. “I don’t know why I instantly assume he’s lying to me.”
“Because we’ve known a lot of liars,” Addie says. “But I don’t get that feeling about Trevor. He’s good people.”
“He is.”
“How’s the sex?” she asks, and unlike with my nana, I don’t mind sharing with Addie.
“I had no idea it could feel like that,” I reply. “I mean, who knew that fireworks could literally go off when a girl has an orgasm?”
“Well, they don’t, but it sure feels like it, right?”
“Yes! And he found my G-spot, and I have to tell you, I’m completely addicted to him.”
“Good. It’s about time you got laid properly.”
“Boy, you’re not kidding,” I reply, and check my phone, but there are no messages from Trevor. “In fact, I might need to go buy some new pretty lingerie. I’d given up on all of that a few years ago.”
“Oh, you absolutely need some pretty new things,” she replies with a nod. “Have you waxed lately?”
“Yes, that I didn’t let slide.”
“Good girl. What about a pedicure?”
“It’s been a while.”
“I’ll call Cici. We need a girls’ day with her.”
“Yes! Perfect. I’ll get my nails done too.”
“I want to go lingerie shopping with you,” Addie says. “When should we go?”
I check my schedule. “Neither of us is being interviewed today.”
“Spontaneous shopping trip coming up.”
“Right on.”
She fist-bumps me and throws her planner, some lip gloss, and phone in her handbag. “Let’s go.”
“Oh, you mean right now?”
“Hell yes, right now. I’ll buy some new stuff too. I haven’t done anything like that for Jake since before Ella was born.”
“Awesome.” I gather my things. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Ten
Trevor
“That was worth the drive,” I say as Riley and I pull onto the interstate headed toward Portland.
“Absolutely,” she says with an enthusiastic nod. “I know that Addie and Jake come out here a lot, and now I know why. It’s beautiful. I’m glad we came early in the day. There wasn’t anywhere to park when we left.”
“And now we have the rest of the day to do anything,” I reply, and pull her hand up to my lips. Even the skin on her hands is soft. I enjoyed being with her and her nana yesterday. Seeing them together showed me a side to Riley I didn’t realize was there. She’s always funny, and now I know where she gets it.
Nana is a spitfire.
And someone I could see myself being friends with.
But today, I’m going to keep Riley all to myself.
Her phone buzzes and she pulls her hand out of mine to answer it.
“What the hell?” she whispers, and reads the screen. I’m driving too fast to glance over.
“Is everything okay?”
“Just a second,” she says, and is quiet while she finishes reading, then lays her phone in the cup holder and turns to face me in the seat.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“You tell me,” she replies, and I glance over now to find her face flushed, her eyes narrowed, and her hands practically shaking with anger.
“Uh, babe, I didn’t get a message on my phone. If you’re going to be pissed at me, you’re going to have to tell me why.”
“Angie,” she says. “Who the fuck is she, Trevor? Because she just sent me a pretty threatening message on Facebook, I saw her name on your phone the other night, and I need to know if I’m poaching on someone else’s man.”
What in the ever-loving fuck is she talking about?
I’m silent as I wait for the next exit. I pull off the interstate and into a random parking lot, throw the car out of gear, and reach for my own phone.
“Are you going to ignore me?” she demands, and I hold my hand up, stopping her.
“Give me a second,” I say, my voice deceptively calm. I never bothered to read Angie’s message from the other night, so I bring it up and quickly read it.
Hi Trev,
I’ve been doing some thinking since the other night, and I just want to tell you that no matter what happens with this Riley person, I’m here for you. I know you’ve had a rough few years, and I feel like I should express how much our friendship means to me. I just want you to be happy, Trevor. You so deserve it! Please call me, even if you just need to talk. Xoxo Ang
“Jesus,” I mutter, and rub my fingers over my lips. “What did she say to you?”
“Does it matter?” she asks. Her arms are folded over her chest, and she’s leaning away from me. Totally unacceptable.
“Yes. It matters. Please read it to me.”
She rolls her eyes and reaches for her phone, finding the message.
Dear Riley,
I thought I should introduce myself to you. I’m Angie, a longtime friend of Trevor’s. I understand that you’ve been dating him, and I wanted to just reach out and give you a heads-up about the kind of person Trevor is. I want you to be very careful when it comes to him. He’s had a lot of upheaval in his life over the past few years, and this has made him very unpredictable and unbalanced. I would never want to see anyone get hurt, even someone I don’t know. All of his friends, including me, are very worried about him.
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