Page 13 of Riding the High

I slept in.

LIV

It happened again, didn’t it?

Liv is the only person in the world that knows about mine and Cole’s unorthodox friendship.

See you in an hour.

LIV

You know you’re like a girlfriend without the perks. In porn they call that a fluffer. Just saying.

I roll my eyes and do my best to end this conversation.

See you soon, porn expert.

Precisely an hour later, I’m seated at the outdoor patio in the sun at Sage and Salt, the lunch hot spot in our quaint little town of Laurel Creek, with Olivia giving me a stare that says,The jig is up.

“What?” I ask defensively as I sip my iced tea.

“Look, I got it when his marriage was falling apart and he needed a friend. I got it when they split even, and he didn’t want to be alone.”

I push my sunglasses further up my nose.

“But what is the reason you guys still do this now? He’s been separated from Gemma for over two years. How do you always end up back together but never together?”

She eats a forkful of her pasta as I push my quinoa and chicken around on my plate.

“He’s like a stray dog.” I grin.

Liv smiles back. “Uh-huh. And it has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve always been semi-infatuated with him and, whenever he calls, you come running?”

I think back to all the times I’ve been there for Cole when he’s needed me over the years.

“He was in the room next to mine. We watched some TV. We’re friends,” I say simply. “And he was always there for me too.” I hold a finger up. “Before you ask, I don’t know why.”

“I do.” She smiles again, tightening her ponytail high on herhead. “You’re the only woman in this town he hasn’t stuck his dick in.”

“He worked through this town years ago. We’rejustfriends,” I reiterate for the hundredth time.

“Whatever gets you through the day.” She winks. “But just so we’re clear, you have no thoughts whatsoever about him hovering his strong body over the top of you. And I won’t find you two together in the morning this weekend in Vegas?”

I scoff as the picture she paints washes over me. I think of the way he looked this morning. His brow knotted in sleep, his full lips slightly parted. I clear my throat as my heart rate starts to accelerate.

“Of course not,” I lie.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ginger

Ienter my parents’ front hallway the next night and take a deep breath. Nothing here is ever out of place. The flowers that adorn the table in the center of the large space are replaced weekly, the circular staircase is polished to perfection, and the marble floors glimmer as if they’ve been shined by hand. I’m instantly greeted by the smell of my mother’s famous coated chicken marsala. The recipe she still hasn’t officially given me. I only know it by having watched her sift spices into the bag before she tosses in the chicken. She says she’ll leave it to me when she dies, and I tell her by then I’ll be too old to cook it because she’ll probably live forever.

“Bella,” she greets me as I enter the vast all-white kitchen. Her long dark hair, not unlike mine, is loose, her smile is bright and youthful, and she’s wearing a tight floral top and leather-looking pants. Kenny Chesney—always Kenny Chesney—croons to me as she walks around the island to pull me into a warm hug. My mother is the free spirit in this house, always flitting about, trying some new hobby she’s excited to share with me. I never understood how she and my father had ended up together, a thought reiterated now as he waltzes into the kitchen in a shirt, tie anddress shoes. A uniform in his own house. He’s the epitome of old money, and he’s my mother’s polar opposite. His father owned the pulp and paper mill outside of town, and when he died, my father sold it off to the highest bidder. He never had any use for it, not when he was going into law. Now, preparing for a second term as congressman for Kentucky’s third district, he never stops working and is the most organized, critical man I know. Just being in the same room as him makes me stand up straighter.

“Good evening, darling,” he says as he kisses me on the top of my head. “I’m still disappointed you didn’t call David back. He was quite interested in you.”

Nice to see you too. I’m well, thank you for asking.

---