He had on a denim button-up with red flowers printed all over it, which he wore tucked into a stylish pair of slim-fitting jeans. Like just about every time I looked at him, I fell apart internally, then pieced myself back together slowly.
He was just so damn beautiful. And no matter how many times I tried to convince myself otherwise, after the matinee that afternoon, River flirted with me.
Maybe he was just teasing. Maybe it was normal with his friends in London to talk to each other that way. It could mean just about anything, I reasoned with myself.
Even though when he stood there, his implied offer echoed through my skull.
If I were going to hook up with someone, you would be perfect.
“Sure, what’s up?” I finally answered.
River crossed into the room and handed me the paper. “The list of possible causes for the Hank family to support came in. You said you wanted to see them as soon as they were ready.”
I accepted the paper, filled with references to polling data. “Great, thank you.” I remembered the time and offered River a smile. “It’s getting late. You should head home for the weekend. I’ll be stuck here for a while.” He arched an eyebrow, and I shrugged. “Meredith again.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“No, thanks. I was just going to order delivery and review our strategy.”
“You sure? I could at least gather the research for you.”
I considered it. Kai had already left, and the office was emptying out. It would be a big help. “Sure. I can offer you overtime, and Silver Lining can get the dinner. Is sushi good?”
He nodded. “Perfect.”
I did my best not to stare at his butt like a creepy boss while he hurried off. It was funny how I could see more and more of Kai in him. Like his brother, he could be efficient and detail-oriented when he wanted to, which made him indispensable as an employee.
If only I could see enough of Kai in him to get these other thoughts out of my head.
Damn Kai with his damn rules and his damn hot twin.
I tossed my stress ball back and forth for a while, my thoughts darting between Meredith’s crisis and the much louder crisis of my inappropriate fixation. Naturally, River’s insight had wormed into the back of my mind. Iwouldkind of be the perfect person for him to hook up with, and if we did, I’d finally be able to purge him from my thoughts.
Surely, my instinctual aversion to relationships would be stronger than my temporary obsession with River.
The sushi arrived, and a minute later, River returned with the research, all neatly organized for me. I pushed some papers around, cleared the coffee table that sat across from a black leather loveseat, and spread out the meal.
River plopped down beside me and rolled up his sleeves, then tucked a napkin into his shirt. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Thanks for working late.” The napkin flowing at his chest brought a fresh grin to my face. I shook my own out and draped it over my lap. “I’m sure Kai is glad to have the condo to himself for once,” I added, mainly just for a chance to remind us each of his brother.
River plucked a piece of salmon from the tray. “Did you pick a cause for the Hank family?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” I reached backward to grab the list, gave it one more glance, and handed it his way. “You want to pick?”
River set his chopsticks down. “Me?”
“Any of the top five should work fine. Only do this if it sounds fun to you, though. I can take care of it myself later.”
River nodded. “Cool.” He read over the list one more time, then dropped it to the table. “I thought the rooftop garden initiative sounded nice.”
“I thought so, too. And the whole ‘beautify Pittsburgh’ angle makes a lot of sense, considering his family worked so hard to make this city ugly.” I swirled some wasabi in my soy sauce, not at all surprised that he picked that option. Not only did it fit his personality, it was clearly the best on the list. “Nice work, River. Thanks to you, rooftops across the city will be converted into sustainable green gardening.”
He tilted his head as he considered it, a smile tugging up the curve of his lips. “Really, just like that?”
“Just like that,” I agreed. “Roger will have to approve it, but he always takes our advice.”
“Wow,” he said. “That’s great. Thanks for letting me pick, Leo.”
