It sounded harmless, but something deep in my gut told me that nothing about dealing with Kennedy Riley came without some risk.
Kennedy
I needed my head fucking examined.
Once I buckled into my seat in the row behind Riley, the gravity of what I was considering doing started to hit me. I hadn’t been home to Rochester in years for a reason. I shook my head and looked across the aisle at Riley. She was clutching the armrest, and her knuckles were turning white. I leaned forward.
“Nervous flier?”
She looked over at me and blew a strand of blond hair off her forehead. I noticed a few beads of sweat forming on her brow. It wasn’t hot on the plane.
“A little. But just for takeoff and landing. I’m okay with the middle part,” she said.
I unbuckled and stood in the aisle at her row. “Excuse me, sir?”
Riley’s row had three seats. There was an older woman sitting at the window, a pretty large guy stuffed in the middle, and her in the aisle. The big dude looked up at me.
“Would you mind changing seats? I have an aisle seat one row back.” I looked down at Riley, then back at him. “My fiancée is a nervous flier. I would really appreciate it.”
The guy looked thrilled. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”
He got up and shimmied past Riley, and I buckled myself into the shitty middle seat. I felt Riley watching me, so I leaned my head back against the headrest and turned to face her.
“What?”
“Your fiancée?”
I winked. “What can I say? You’re a damn lucky girl.”
She chuckled. “You didn’t have to give up your aisle seat for me. I’m fine on my own.”
“I’m sure you are. But I figured I could use the extra time sitting next to you to debunk all the reasons your brain is tossing out about why we shouldn’t have a little fun at your mother’s house.”
She sighed. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“You’re overthinking it, Riles. It’s a fantastic idea. You know how I know that?”
“How?”
“Because I came up with it.”
She rolled her big blue eyes.
I laughed. “Seriously, though, you dread going home for the holidays. Why not make it a little fun and get your mom off your back?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe because it doesn’t feel right lying to my entire family.”
“Well, if it will make you feel any better, we can go into the bathroom and join the Mile High Club during the flight. Then you won’t be lying when you tell your mom I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
She blushed. Fucking blushed.
I felt a little twitch in my pants seeing it. Leaning in to her, I lowered my voice. “Exactly how long has it been, Riley? Your letter to that Dear Ida whack job said you hadn’t had a date in ten months, but you must’ve had a hookup or two since then.”
“It’s none of your business how long it’s been.” The slight blush on her face deepened to a crimson red.
Oh shit. It had been that long. The warning lights were flashing so bright, they should’ve blinded me. But all I could see was her pretty face. Not to mention, hearing that no man had planted his flag on planet Riley in a very long time made me a little crazy.
“I’ll tell you what, Riley. What if I sweetened the pot a little?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll go home with you for your party. I’ll even let you set the ground rules for what we’ll tell people at your mother’s. And then I’ll pay for the dress that you wear to the wedding that you’re going to with me.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s not such a big deal. My mom owns a bridal boutique in Rochester. She’s got a store filled with gowns. It won’t cost me much at her price anyway.”
“Oh wow.” She nibbled on her lip like she was seriously considering it for the first time since last night. So I went big to seal the deal.
“And shoes. She’s got all those red-soled shoes women love, too.”
That got her attention. I could see the wheels in her head turning. Giving her a minute before I pushed again, I looked out the window. I was pretty shocked at what I saw.
“Hey, Riles.”
“Hmmm?”
“Did you even notice we’re in the air?”
Her brows drew together and then she leaned forward and looked out the window. She blinked a few times, and her eyes grew wide. “How is that possible?”
“You were distracted and forgot you were supposed to stress. Your mom’s party can be just like that, if you agree.”
Riley looked into my eyes. This woman wore her entire heart on her sleeve. She’d better not ever play poker. I read her fears, every reservation she had about lying, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was even a little attraction thrown in there. It was a good thing I was a hell of a better poker player than she was. Because while she was deliberating over lying, I was wondering how the hell I was going to get through two nights of pretending to be her boyfriend without biting those pink pouty lips. And I wondered what those big baby blues might do if I did—would they go hard with disgust or soft with desire?
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “So what’s it going to be, Riley? You in, or are you too chicken to have a little fun?”
She squinted at me. “Why are you doing all this? You could easily go to a wedding stag. I’m sure you could even turn on the charm and pick up some drunk, unsuspecting bridesmaid if you tried hard enough.”
“For the same reason you’re going to pretend you have a handsome boyfriend—to get my family off my back.”
“Your family is on your back too, huh?”
I nodded once wihout elaborating further. I wasn’t about to get into my fucked-up mess with her. Hell, I wasn’t even sure why the hell I’d decided to go home now. But I looked her in the eyes and told her something my gut thought she could relate to. “We all have reasons we do the things we do, don’t we, Riley?”
She swallowed, and for a millisecond that I could’ve missed if I’d blinked, her eyes dropped to my lips. “Fine. I’m in.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I know. I told you, my mother tends to go overboard with Christmas.”
We pulled up to a stately, two-story brick colonial that looked like Christmas had thrown up on it. There had to be a few hundred moving decorations all over the snow-covered lawn, lights flashed even though it was daytime, and “The Little Drummer Boy” blared from outdoor speakers. Riley’s mother’s house was one of those weird Christmas homes that people took their kids to visit.
“This is more than overboard. This is…” I shook my head. “Nuts. That’s what it is.”
Her face fell. “I know. But Christmas was my dad’s favorite time of year. When he got sick, she started doing a little extra decorating to cheer him up. And then after he died…she just kept adding things.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize your father died.”