“I’m so sorry, Beckett,” he choked out. “I never wanted to leave you, even if it meant staying in foster care forever. I wanted… I….”
I pulled him to me, crushing him to my chest in a fierce embrace. Riley’s arms flew around my waist as he cried against me, murmuring apologies over and over.
“I never stopped looking for you, Ry,” I said against his hair. “You need to know that. I missed you every day and never stopped looking.”
He seemed reluctant to let me go, but we eventually pulled free of each other’s hold.
“Was he good to you? Your grandfather, I mean.”
He sighed and propped his knee up again, tightly hugging himself. It felt so strange and yet familiar at the same time, to watch him try to make himself as small as possible.
“He got better, but we had a rough few years when I first went to live with him.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No, nothing like that. We just disagreed a lot. He was firm, in his ways, you know. I was rarely alone. I had one of his staff with me almost all the time, and I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without him knowing. He wasn’t abusive or harsh, I think he was just afraid I’d bolt and head back to Georgia, which I honestly considered more than a few times. I probably would have if I thought I could get away with it.”
I was surprised he was sharing so much with me, because from what I could see, Riley was the same shy, cautious guy he’d always been. I didn’t like the picture he painted, though. Not one bit.
“Why did he make you change your name? You could have refused. Or changed it back,” I argued.
“I couldn’t refuse,” he said flatly. “That wasn’t an option. And by the time I was old enough to change my name back, everyone around here already knew me as Preston. It was just easier, especially since I was already building my business by then anyway.”
“So you chose your brother’s name?”
His mouth fell open. “You remember that?”
I nodded.
When it was clear he wasn’t going to elaborate, I decided to let it go for now. “Riley, if you’d had your birth name, I could have found you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and when he spoke, I barely heard him over the roar of the ocean. “Like I said, it was just easier.”
The silence that fell between us grew heavier with each passing minute, and when the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Riley stood and brushed his pants off. “We should go. This hill is a nightmare in the dark.”
I followed him step for step as we descended the crest, admiring not only his delectable ass, but the fluid, smooth way in which he moved. It was evident he’d walked this path a thousand times.
When we reached the beach, he turned back to me, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Where are you staying?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said honestly. “I kind of went straight for your booth as soon as I was in town.”
That amused him, making his eyes shine brighter in the dimming light. “Mind if I set you up at a friend’s bed and breakfast? She makes the best blueberry waffles.”
“Will you be there to eat them with me?” I asked.
He looked down at his feet, shifting uncomfortably, then glanced back up. “I’m um, not really a morning person.”
“Good to know that hasn’t changed,” I quipped. “Really though, can I see you tomorrow?”
The smile on his lips was a little less hesitant this time. “I just said I wasn’t a morning person, not that I wouldn’t be there.”
