Dating the Guy Upstairs (9 page)

“Code red,” a voice said from somewhere behind them. Something jolted in Riley as one of the groomsmen appeared from between the sea of faces. “Alex has had a little bit too much cheer and you know what that means.”

Will let out a frustrated groan as he reluctantly loosened his grip around Riley’s waist.

“What’s a code red?” she said, wishing she didn’t feel so bereft without his touch. “Who’s Alex?”

“Alex is one of Tucker’s oldest friends. When he drinks too much, he loses his inhibitions, normally followed by losing his clothes. Tucker’s put us all on high alert.”

“And if we don’t move, he’ll have our hides,” the groomsmen retorted as he headed to the front of the barn. Will almost looked comical as he let out a strangled sigh.

“Talk about bad timing. It seems like all I’m doing is deserting you.”

“It’s fine,” she assured him. “Go and be a superhero. Stop this guy from taking his clothes off. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all night,” he said, a lazy smile spreading out across his face. Then he frowned. “But remember, no more fake spider stories to anyone.”

“Man, you ruin all the fun.” Riley gave him a mock pout. She waited until he left before wrapping her hands around her own waist, as if trying to keep in her mounting excitement. Up until now she’d been thinking that what she was feeling was a one-way thing. But there was no misunderstanding the looks Will had been giving her. Or the way his fingers had been playing with the soft fabric of her dress, as if wishing it weren’t there. A smile tugged at her mouth as she made her way to an empty table and sat down to wait. The sooner Will came back, the better.

***

Will groaned as he searched one of the rose bushes for Alex’s cummerbund. The other groomsmen were covering their friend’s modesty with their suit jackets, so Will felt like he had the better deal. Apart from the fact that he’d much rather be back on the dance floor with Riley. Then again, he was guessing so would just about every guy there.

Because she looked amazing.

He stopped his search as he thought of the green dress.

The color sparked against her red hair, which instead of being dragged back into her usual braids was now shimmering around her shoulders like a fiery waterfall, while the knee-length dress hugged her small waist and gently flared out at the hips before showing the soft contours of her breasts. His plans to try to not notice were definitely suffering a major setback. And it had been made harder by how fiercely she’d protected him today.

It had been surprisingly sexy to see the way her spine had stiffened every time one of his relatives tried to ask him about Lisa or their eyes had started to fill with sympathy as if he had some kind of contagious disease. Then again, he was starting to discover that everything about Riley was sexy. From the way she chewed her lip when she was reading to how she talked to Bingley when she thought no one was listening. It all made him want to kiss her again.

They hadn’t discussed the kiss they’d shared at the rehearsal dinner, but it hadn’t been far from his mind. The only problem was that he was coming to the conclusion that the more he kissed Riley, the more in danger he was of ruining their friendship.

He caught sight of the cummerbund and fished it out of the bush, then headed back to help the other groomsmen get Alex clothed and escorted into one of the vineyard’s side rooms so that he could sleep it off. But before he could head back into the barn, where the party was in full swing, someone coughed. He turned around to see his father standing in the shadows.

“William, I was hoping we could talk.” His father’s tone was much the same as if he’d been searching for the cleaner to tell them that there weren’t enough towels. Will clenched his hands and tried to ignore the way his pulse was hammering in his body. He’d managed to avoid the old man for the entire day, thanks to Tucker’s thoughtful seating plan and Riley’s habit of dragging him away every time his father was in the vicinity. But it seemed like his luck had run out. Reluctantly, Will turned to him.

It had been three years since they’d spoken or even seen each other, but Evan Henderson hadn’t changed much. His dark hair was shot through with fine threads of silver; his unyielding mouth was surrounded by lines. Unfortunately, his pale eyes, so like Will’s own, were as cold as ever.

“I wasn’t,” Will retorted. He knew that he sounded petulant but wasn’t able to help himself.

“I know you’re still mad about what happened,” his father said in that same pragmatic voice.

“Mad that you and my money-hungry ex-fiancée decided to get hitched?” Will choked back a laugh. “Trust me, you both did me a favor. And if you want to do me another favor, then you’ll stay well away from me.”

“You think I want to make a scene at Tucker’s wedding?”

“If you could make a buck out of it, then yes, actually, I do.”

“Fine.” His father didn’t seem in the mood to argue. “I wanted to talk to you about this project you’ve been shopping around.”

“How do you know about that?” Will narrowed his eyes. “Did Tucker tell you?”

“God no. Like getting blood from a stone when it comes to you. But I have a few friends in the industry. Anyway, the question isn’t where I heard about it, it’s what I can do to help you.”

“You want to help fund a not-for-profit startup?” Will arched an eyebrow, not even trying to keep the disbelief from his voice.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m known for my philanthropy,” his father retorted. It wasn’t false, but Will was unmoved. He was long aware of his father’s love of appearing publically generous. However, it was what happened behind closed doors that really showed what kind of man he was. His father made his money at the expense of other people. His company broke down communities, knocked down buildings and built parking lots and retail malls designed only to make a profit. Shows of donating money couldn’t counteract that. “Your mother and I—”

“Don’t you dare bring her into this.” Will’s brow throbbed. One of the benefits of not seeing his father was that he didn’t have to be reminded daily just what a destructive force the old man was. Of how his insidious nature contaminated everything it came in contact with. Particularly his mother. Again, Will pushed back the memories.

“Fine, but just because you want to be sentimental doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to me. I’ve got a good offer for you, Will. Your figures add up and what you’re proposing could make a real difference to people’s lives. Don’t let your anger with me cause you to make a bad decision.”

“A bad decision?” Will stared at him, but before he could find the words to express his response to that phrase, Tucker appeared, his bowtie crooked and a frown on his face.

“What’s going on?” When there was no answer, Tucker twitched his mouth and turned to their father. “Dad, we discussed this. Will’s off limits.”

“Relax, son. Like I told Will, I’m not here to cause a scene.” He gave an indifferent shrug, but it was impossible to miss the flicker of annoyance that rippled across his face as he turned and headed back into the barn. Within seconds, he was swallowed up in the crowd.

“What the hell was that about?” Tucker said.

“You tell me.” Will tried to remember some of the meditation breathing he’d done while he was in Indonesia. It didn’t help. “Somehow he heard about my meetings and wanted to offer me an investment deal.”

“You’re kidding,” Tucker said, then groaned. “Okay, forget I said that. Of course you’re not kidding. But how the hell did he find out about it?”

“No idea, but you know the old man. He likes to keep a finger in every pie.” Will carelessly ran a hand through his hair as he began to pace, hoping he could shake off the tension that was creeping up his neck. “And you know how much he hates that he can’t buy me with money.”

“Have you ever stopped to wonder if he actually just wants to spend time with his son?” Tucker said in a soft voice. For a moment Will was tempted to tell him exactly what he thought about that idea, but then he caught sight of Danni walking toward him. He clamped down on his lip.

This was his brother’s wedding day. While Will might not want anything to do with their father, he had no intention of ruining Tucker’s happiness.

“Look,” he said instead. “Let’s just agree to disagree about it. Now, don’t you have some dancing to do with that hottie wife of yours?”

The dark cloud that had been gathering on Tucker’s brow receded, and he grinned. “That I do, that I do.”

Will plastered a smile onto his face as he tried to swallow down his anger. It wasn’t like he’d planned to have fun at the wedding anyway. The most he’d ever hoped to do was endure it. It was just that by spending time with Riley and seeing her in the green dress, he’d momentarily forgotten that he and families really didn’t mix.

***

“Hey.” Riley had left the barn to cool down from the tidal wave of heat that was pouring from the dance floor, but it wasn’t until the night jasmine and cool air had brought her some relief that she realized the brooding figure leaning against the barn wall was Will. Her shoes crunched against the stone walkway as she headed toward him. He didn’t look up until she was almost at his side. “What are you doing out here?”

“Hey.” The hand he ran through his blond hair left it more tousled than normal. “Sorry. I had a run-in with my father and thought I’d better collect myself before fostering my bad temper on anyone.”

“Your father?” Riley let out strangled gasp, since the whole point of her being at the wedding was to help him avoid that very situation. “Oh, Will. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to help.”

“It’s okay.” He pressed his lips together and let them expel a breath of air. “It was crazy to think that you could act as my shield for this whole wedding. Besides, I’m an adult now. I shouldn’t be hiding behind anyone.”

“That’s not what you were doing,” Riley said. She hated that the carefree expression she’d seen on his face earlier was gone now, replaced by an unreadable mask. She knew how painful it must’ve been to see his father again, but a small part of her couldn’t help but think there was more to it than just that. “What did he want? Was it about Lisa?”

“No. Why would you think that?” His voice was like ice.

“Oh.” Riley wished that she’d just said nothing. However, she was well used to Will and she knew that now that he had asked, there was no way he would stop pressing her for an answer. “I know you said you don’t care for her anymore, but with the way you reacted after she called the other night . . . And seeing her today—if you still had feelings for her, it would be understandable. I mean we can’t always control who we fall for.”

Unfortunately.

Because as Riley was now experiencing, turning physical attraction off was more difficult than she’d been lead to believe.

“Only in one of those romance novels you love to read,” he said. “I promise, I got over Lisa long ago.”

“I see.” Riley tried to ignore the way her pulse was pounding as she studied his face, relieved to see that some of the tightness around his mouth had faded and that his eyes were wide and frank. “Well, I’m pleased that’s cleared up. So, what did your dad say to you?”

“Somehow he found out about my business and he wanted to invest in it.”

“What?” Riley almost choked. The amount of money Will was looking for was significant. As in more than six zeroes. His father’s apparently casual offer just reminded her just how different their backgrounds were. When her parents talked about money, it was normally to figure out if they had enough to pay the phone bill, not whether they wanted to invest in a not-for profit (which for the record, they both absolutely would). “How did he even know about it?”

Will shrugged. “No idea. Tucker swears he didn’t say anything and I believe him. But my father has a way of finding things out—he likes to deal in information. I guess this just came through one of his channels.”

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked. He was silent for a moment, a dark shadow pushing its way across his face. Music from the wedding floated out around them, making his quiet all the more obvious.

Finally, he spoke. “I’m going to do what I always planned. I’ll keep having meetings until I find a great investor.” Another pause, then he added, “Why? You didn’t think I’d seriously consider his offer, did you?” His pale eyes had darkened to a color like the sky with a storm on horizon, but she couldn’t quite let him give up an opportunity that was so important to him just because of his anger at his father.

“I know how much he hurt you, but isn’t it worth considering? Not because it’s your father, but because it will help get this amazing idea of yours off the ground. You’re the one who told me how many people it would help. How it could transform communities. And you have a business partner. Maybe he could be the one who had to deal with your father?”

The space between them hummed with tension as Will studied her, his face a mask. For the first time since Riley had met him, she didn’t know what he was thinking. He looked . . . cold.

“Let’s be clear. There’s nothing that would ever make me consider my father’s offer. And the last person that tried to change my mind about him was Lisa. Right before we broke up.”

Riley’s stomach contracted like she’d been hit. She’d never seen this side of Will before. His voice was so low that it was almost devoid of emotion, and his jawline was made of stone. If she hadn’t known he could smile, she would’ve doubted it was possible.

What had she done?

“Will, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that.” Shame throbbed at her temples. Suddenly the green dress felt too tight. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Look, I know you were only trying to help. It’s just—” He paused and clamped down on his mouth. “Actually, it’s not important. We’re at a wedding, and I believe you promised to shield me from my terrible relatives. Which means I should warn you that Tucker’s new father-in-law is bearing down on us and he’s a cheek pincher. So, are you ready?”

“Yes,” Riley croaked. There was no time to apologize again, so she watched Will’s angry mask transform into one of a loving brother who was happy to be at a wedding.