Page 72 of Finally Forever
“Me neither.” He has to bend as far over as I do to embrace her.
It’s purely platonic; I still don’t like it. My fingers curl into fists as if some part of me wants to claim ownership of her.Mine. It screams.
They separate but only by a foot or two.
“How have you been?” she asks.
“Good. Much better now than I was after the event. It was rough for a while.”
She nods, a sympathetic grin on her lips. “I get it. But life is good now, right?”
His eyes glaze over with nostalgia. “Really good. Better than I deserve.”
“Yeah,” Ainsley agrees. “Nova Allen. That’s…major. How did you meet?”
He rests a hand on the counter, that wistful expression still there. Good God. He’s as whipped as Nathan—maybe more. “The short version is, we met as children when my dad briefly married her grandmother. We met again when she moved into her grandma’s estate in Santa Barbara, where I’d been hiding from the world. We didn’t plan to get together, but it happened, and I don’t regret a damn thing about it.”
“Awe.” Ainsley sighs. “That’s so sweet. I love stories like this.” Her features fall a little. No one probably notices, but I do. “I’m happy for you, Riley. You deserve great things in life.”
“You do, too.” He eyes me over her head.
Nathan must have filled him in on how things here are going. I’ve been a dick, and even still, Ainsley keeps letting me worship her sweet little body whenever I want. Because she loves me. Love is a foreign word to me. I loved my mother. No one else. Well, that I can remember. I loved this blonde beauty, too. Was it real love?
“Hungry?” I ask Riley.
“I’m good, thanks.”
I look for his suitcase but don’t see anything. “Did you pick a room? There are plenty to choose from.”
“Yep. Nathan pointed them out. I picked one near his.”
Silence falls upon us for an awkward moment.
Ainsley rubs her fingers together—a nervous habit, it seems—and glances at the hallway as if she’s debating leaving. She opens her mouth; my guess is to excuse herself.
Before she speaks, Kensie says, “Does anyone want to go for a swim? The pool is heated, I checked. Or we could hang out in the jacuzzi?” She glances at Riley. “Both are indoor.”
“Yeah,” Nathan says with a wide smile. “It’s a huge greenhouse with plants and palm trees and shit. It’s super cool. Oh, and there’s an arcade.”
“An arcade?” Riley quirks a brow.
“A game room that’s like an arcade. You should see it.” Nathan glances down the hallway in that direction.
“Cool. I’m up for anything.” He runs his hands through his long hair, the surfer look he always had still intact.
“How about swimming?” Nathan suggests.
“Sure,” Riley shrugs, still as easygoing as he was back in college.
It’s strange how for me our time together was like yesterday, but for them, over a year has passed. I understand much has changed, but these guys are also still very much the way I remember them. Riley’s connection with Ainsley is a surprise. They shared something, and it shows in the way Ainsley looks and talks to him. She isn’t interested in him. He isn’t interested in her either, but the connection they have from that shared trauma draws a jealousy from me I didn’t know existed. I keep wanting to mark her as mine, which is ridiculous.
We decide to meet at the pool after everyone has changed. I’m the last to leave the kitchen. Kensie and Nathan left with Riley. Ainsley bolted away a second after they did. Why? To hide from me?
I said we would share a room now, and I meant it. If anything, I’m a man of my word. I get my suitcase from my bedroom, stuff it with my toiletries and the few clothes I’d taken out and roll it to the primary suite.
The door is closed. I knock before entering, curious about what I’ll find. Ainsley naked? If that is the case, we might not make it to the pool. I have a growing addiction for her. It’s a weakness, but one I’m not willing to rectify. I can’t deny I feel a connection to her. It’s growing, and that scares the fuck out of me. I might not be able to remember her or our life, but I can no longer deny we had something serious, as ridiculous as that sounds, given we were—are?—engaged. I’ve never had serious with anyone, though. I didn’t think I was capable of emotions beyond sex and attraction. I had both in spades for this little blonde, and it’s stirring things inside me I don’t recognize.
I hear Ainsley getting ready behind the bathroom door and consider going in, like the addicted man I’m becoming for her. Instead, I roll the suitcase toward the walk-in-closet to get ready in there.
