Chapter Fourteen
As soon as Brent walked through the door to his house, he found himself with an armful of Emily, hugging him so tight that it was hard to breathe.
Behind him, Riley slipped into the house unnoticed, murmuring something about putting the coffee pot on.
Emily let go of Brent and grabbed Riley before he could get away, wrapping her arms around him, as well. “Hey. No escaping until you get a hello hug.”
Riley chuckled, hugging back and grinning at Brent over Emily’s shoulder.
“I’m not trying to escape. I’m trying to get some coffee into your brother.”
Emily snorted, but let go of him. “Oh, yeah. He looks like he could use it.”
“Hey!” Brent objected. “I look calm and well-rested.”
“You look like you just woke up,” Emily responded.
“He did just wake up,” Riley called from the kitchen. “He snored the whole way home, too. In the planeandin the car.”
Owen had been kind enough to drop them off at the airport and then pick them back up, and Brentdidfeel a little guilty for falling asleep in his car on the way home. Owen had Riley for company the whole time, but it still felt rude.
Not that Owen had said anything. Not that hewouldsay anything.
Like the rest of his family, Owen was a lot kinder than he needed to be. Brent was still grateful.
“So, how was your trip?” Emily asked as Brent followed Riley into the kitchen. “Did you have a good time?”
The tips of Brent’s ears burned at the question, his mind flashing back to kissing Riley instantly.
He’d had a good time. Despite everything, he’d enjoyed his time with Riley.
Now that they were back in the real world, he was going to miss it. It was only hitting him now just how true that was, while he watched a sleepy, yawning Riley spoon coffee into the filter and flick the switch on, humming while he did it.
That was the kind of thing he would have liked to see every day. Every morning. Right after they’d both rolled out of bed.
He wasn’t about to tell Emily any of that. Especially not in front of Riley.
He was supposed to be the grown-up among them.
“I did, actually. We didn’t really do much, but… it was nice to get away. Not that I’m not glad to be home.”
“Well, you can see I didn’t burn the place down,” Emily said.
“But did you tell that girl how you feel?” Riley asked.
Brent had barely remembered Emily telling Riley about that. He wasn’t surprised that Riley had remembered it, though. He remembered everything.
“No,” Emily admitted, looking down at her shoes. “I chickened out. And I’m going to college in a few days. There’s no point.”
“Listen, I’m not qualified to be handing out this advice, but I think you should say something. Especially because you’re leaving for a while. Regrets suck. You’re not gonna regret telling her, but you will regretnottelling her.”
Brent wasn’t sure who Riley was talking about, but he sounded like he was speaking from experience.
“What if she hates me?” Emily asked.
“You’re not doing either of you any favors by pining in silence,” Riley said. “If you’re always going to want more than she’s willing to give, you’re just torturing yourself needlessly. If she hates you for that… she didn’t deserve you in the first place. A real friend, someone worth keeping, they’ll still be your friend even if they don’t feel the same way. Honesty never hurts a strong relationship. Secrets do.”
Brent sat down at the table, knowing he had nothing useful to offer this conversation. He was still reeling from the wedding that had never happened, still confused about where he stood with Riley now, and Riley was back to offering sage advice as though he knew everything about life.
