Page 43 of Rival Hearts

“When you’re alone in a room with Riley, do you feel happy? Do you feel safe?”

Jett thought about it. When she was alone with Riley, she certainly was happy. And also, when she was with Riley she felt more comfortable, and she felt like someone else understood her, like she wasn’t as alone as she felt all the time. Because while Jett had her family, there were just some things she couldn’t tell them.

“Yeah,” Jett said.

“Then please, give whatever you two have a chance,” Becky said, “and don’t pull away.”

“Okay,” Jett agreed. She supposed she owed it to herself and Riley.

“Good,” Becky said with a smile, “because Riley’s next day off is Tuesday and I’m taking you off the schedule for that day. Spend it with her.”

Jett huffed. “Oh my God,” she said, but she couldn’t help but laugh at her aunt’s meddling. “Okay.”

Becky laughed and patted Jett on the shoulder. “Good,” she said, “now that that’s settled, let’s go back downstairs.”

11

RILEY

When Riley got out of surgery late Sunday, she was shocked to see that she had a text message from Jett awaiting her. Riley wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them and her usual confidence had faltered. She had even resorted to talking to Dr. Everett about her personal life and asking the other trauma surgeon about Jett.

She wasn’t trying to be nosy, but she did want to know if anything had happened in Jett’s life to warrant the distance that Riley had been given. But when Dr. Everett said no and was just as confused as Riley, Riley didn’t know what to think.

In a way, Riley wasn’t upset to trade her Sunday shift with Lucinda. She’d enjoyed last week with Jett’s family, but if something was off between her and Jett, Riley didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Riley just didn’t know if she had done something to upset Jett. She’ thought that everything was going well between the two of them, even moving a little too fast, but for Jett to suddenly pull back, Riley was found questioning herself.

Riley was wondering whether maybe Jett was beginning to regret the growing relationship that the two of them shared. Maybe Riley was unconsciously coming off as too pushy. She wasn’t sure.

A large part of her wanted to further their relationship, but she was scared to admit it, and now she really wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.

After Riley finished giving her patient’s family the good news and checked her phone, she just stared at it for a moment.

Jett:Hey I don’t work Tuesday. Can we hang out then?

Jett:We can cook together. I can teach you.

Riley was confused, but she couldn’t ignore her excitement about seeing Jett again. Still, she did try to dial it back a little bit. Riley wasn’t the most expressive person in the first place, but she worried that any previous expressiveness had pushed Jett away.

Riley:Of course. What time?

Jett:When is good for you?

Oh gosh, and now Riley had to make a decision. While normally decisive and blunt ,Riley found herself second-guessing everything when it came to relationships, especially Jett. Riley knew, however, that she had to come up with something.

Riley:Anytime after 11

That was good. It was an answer, but it also allowed Jett to have an input. Plus, if Jett was coming over Tuesday, she really needed to clean her apartment and go grocery shopping. Normally, Riley’s apartment was spotless, but lately she had been in such a slump that she had fallen behind a little bit. And, of course, she needed groceries before they could make food. Her fridge and cabinets were embarrassingly empty.

Jett:11:30? We can make lunch together.

Riley:That works.

Riley felt like a little schoolgirl—and that embarrassed the hell out of her. She couldn’t stop smiling at her phone when Jett texted, but she was a little apprehensive. Jett had been pulling back a little bit, and Riley was sure that she hadn’t been imagining that, but maybe it had nothing to do with Riley. Maybe Jett was just having an off week. Riley didn’t know, but she wanted things to keep as they were. She didn’t like the idea of the woman she was beginning to grow deep feelings for not liking her back.

* * *

Monday was an early day, which benefited Riley, because when she got home earlier in the afternoon than the day before, she was able to focus on cleaning her apartment rather than on sleeping.

She went through her bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining area, and even swept and mopped the hallway. The only area she left uncleaned was the kitchen because when she finished with everything else, she was tired and ready to watch TV and crochet her socks. She figured that she could clean the kitchen tomorrow before Jett got to her place.

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