He flashed her one more smile—heated and full of promise—then disappeared back into the chaos.
Riley stood in the empty kitchen, her lips still tingling, her heart racing.
Tonight.
Riley had exactlyzero focus for the rest of the day.
She tried to be productive—wrapped Christmas presents, helped her mom with dinner prep, answered a couple of work emails even though she was supposed to be on vacation. But her mind kept drifting back to Grant. That kiss. The way he'd looked at her. The rough edge in his voice when he'd saidtonight.
By noon, she was crawling out of her skin.
Her phone buzzed with the group chat.
Hannah: Ladies lunch at the diner? I need to get out of this house before I murder my mother-in-law.
Emily: YES. I'll be there in 20.
Jenna: I'm in. Riley?
Riley: Definitely.
An hour later, Riley slid into the booth across from Hannah and Emily, with Jenna arriving moments after.
"Okay," Hannah said the second they'd ordered. "We need to talk about last night."
Riley's stomach flipped. "What about it?"
"What about it?" Emily's eyes went wide. "Riley. Thatkiss."
"Oh my god, it was so hot," Jenna said. "Grant just shut Brad down completely."
"Brad's always been an ass," Hannah added. "But watching Grant stake his claim like that?" She fanned herself. "I didn't know he had it in him."
Riley felt her face go hot. "It wasn't—we didn't plan that."
"I should hope not. That was pure instinct." Emily leaned forward. "How are you feeling about everything? You two getting back together, I mean."
"It's—" Riley searched for words. "It's good. Really good."
"You look happy," Hannah said, her voice gentle. "Like, genuinely happy. I haven't seen you like this in years."
"Iamhappy."
"Good. You deserve it." Jenna squeezed her hand. "And Grant deserves it too. You two are good together."
"We're taking it slow," Riley said, even though slow was the last word she'd use for whatever was happening between them.
"Mm-hmm." Emily's smile was knowing. "The way he was looking at you last night? That didn't look slow."
"Or the way you were looking at him," Hannah added. "You two have that whole 'can't keep our hands off each other' vibe."
Riley buried her face in her hands. "Is it that obvious?"
"Painfully," Hannah said.
“Very,” Emily replied with a laugh at the same time.
“Incredibly,” Jenna added. "But it's cute!" she said quickly. "We're all living vicariously through you. The rest of us are married with kids and routines. You two are in the honeymoon phase. It's fun to watch."
