Her eyelashes are still flapping up a storm.
“Riles.” I lean forward, grabbing the counter edges on either side of her legs and caging her in.
Riley’s eyes nearly burst out of her head and she makes a mousy little squeak.
“I want the right to come over and bring you breakfast as an excuse to see you in the morning. And I want the right to text you while you’re at work. I want the right to clean up your apartment without you accusing me of hiring a cleaning service.”
She chuckles.
“And I want the right to come get you if you over do it at the Tuna again.”
Her shoulders snap straight up. “Never. I’m done with drinking.”
I chuckle and reach out to touch her messy hair. “I want the right to hold your hand and touch your hair and kiss you…”
Riley’s sharp intake of breath makes my heart pump faster.
I lean forward and Riley closes her eyes, but I don’t kiss her because I’m not done yet. Letting my forehead rest against hers, I whisper, “Riley Carter?”
“Mm?” Riley peeks at me.
“Can I be your boyfriend?”
Chapter Thirty-One
RILEY
Nathan Campbell wants to be my boyfriend.
Is this really happening or am I currently conked out on my pillow while my hyperactive imagination churns out the echoes of my childhood fantasies?
I pinch my cheek and feel the ache in my skin.Ouch.
Nat tilts his head to the side, observing me. “Did you just… pinch yourself?”
I stop short of extending my hand and asking if he can pinch me too. Just to confirm.
I’m an airplane maintenance technician. You can never go wrong with a double or triple check.
Nat chuckles as if I’m the cutest thing in the world and my brain melts.
Okay.
Think, Riley. Think.
If I’m real and Nat’s real, maybe there’s a bigger conspiracy? Maybe there are cameras around the corner and someone is going to jump out and yell ‘Whoops! It was a prank!’
My eyes dart around the small kitchen, darting from the rusty refrigerator to the tiny stove to the three overhead cupboards. I doubt anyone could hide bulky camera equipment in here.
So what does that mean?
It’s just me.
And Nathan Campbell.
And the question that’s still dangling in the air.
I feel a gentle touch on my chin as Nat turns my face back to him. “You with me, Carter?”
