Rider's Kiss (2 page)

Reena shook her head. “That’s not why you dress like that.”

“Oh?” Victoria cocked a brow, not sure she liked the direction the conversation was going. They’d been down this road before. Reena had been begging to take her shopping to give her a total makeover. So far, Victoria had declined. She liked the way she looked. So what if it wasn’t sexy? She was too busy to be sexy anyway. She had Victoria’s Catering to run. Running your own business wasn’t for sissies. It took all her concentration and most of her energy, although it was worth it.

“You hide,” Reena answered as she finished off the cookie. “We both know that’s true.”

Okay, that was out of left field. “Huh?”

“You wear big clothes like armor, Victoria. It’s not because you’re hiding extra pounds, though. You just don’t want to be…noticed, I think.”

Victoria was getting increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, so she tried to lighten the growing tension. “Is this the part where you offer to take me shopping? Like an intervention or something?”

Reena laughed. “No, you dork, but that’s not a bad idea. I keep telling you that if you would just let me help a little bit, you’d have men clamoring to go out with you.”

“Who says I want men clamoring?” A lie and they both knew it. “And who the hell has time? I have a business to run. Remember that little tidbit?”

“Plenty of career women have a personal life.” She quirked a brow in that regal way only Reena seemed to possess. “That’s no excuse. Try again.”

Victoria stiffened. “Maybe I like the way I look. Ever consider that?”

Reena’s bright blue eyes turned sympathetic. God, Victoria hated that look the most. She didn’t want sympathy. Sympathy was a useless emotion. She’d gotten plenty of it when her mother had passed away. It hadn’t brought her back, and it hadn’t lessened the pain. Sympathy sucked.

“If you did,” Reena went on, “then you wouldn’t constantly put yourself down.”

Victoria held up both in hands. “Fine, I surrender. I hate the way I look. My clothes practically scream
boring
, and my hair hasn’t been touched by an actual hairstylist in ages.” She held up a hand before Reena could say anything more on the subject. “But that’s not why you stopped by.”

Reena sighed and looked away. “No, it’s not.”

“You’re stalling,” she replied. “Out with it.”

Reena’s gaze connected with hers. “Rider is coming home.”

For a second, Victoria thought her heart had stopped beating. Like, shut down entirely. She couldn’t breathe. Rider? She hadn’t seen him since graduation. He’d picked up and left town a month later. Even though he hadn’t given her the time of day, even though he barely knew she existed, Victoria had missed him for weeks afterward.

Reena patted her on the back. “You okay?”

“Terrific. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Victoria did not want to get on the subject of Rider James. Reena was one of the few people in the world who knew the truth. She understood that Victoria had always carried a torch for Rider. She was also the only person who knew that the feelings were all one-sided.

Victoria quickly stood and busied herself with the dishes. “Is he coming home for a visit, or is it permanent?” She couldn’t help the hope that sprang up inside at the notion that maybe he was coming home for good.

“An extended visit,” Reena explained in a quiet voice. “He’s opening a branch of his auto-detailing business here in town.” She paused. “Mom and Dad are thrilled. It’ll be nice to spend time with him.”

“Yes,” she said, knowing how much Reena missed her older brother. “I know how hard it was for you when he left.”

“We keep in touch. E-mail. Social networking sites. Text messages. We see each other on holidays and all that too. But it’s just not the same, you know? It’ll be nice to have him home longer than a few days.”

“I’ll bet.” She turned and kept her voice under control as she asked, “So, is that what you wanted to tell me?”

Reena sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t fool me, Victoria. I know you’re freaking out right now. Might as well admit it.”

Victoria slumped, admitting defeat. Reena was her best friend, after all. There was no way she could hide anything from her. “Okay, if you must know, then, yes, I’m freaking out. I haven’t seen him in…ten years. A lot has changed since then.” Victoria felt like a teenager all over again as she thought of seeing Rider. So much time had passed. What would he think of her? God, must she be so transparent whenever the man’s name was mentioned?

“I bet he’s missed you too.” Reena reached out and covered Victoria’s hand with hers. “More than you think, sweetie.”

Victoria snorted. “Right, because we were so close before he skipped town.” She shook her head. “No, whatever fascination I had for your brother is in the past. I’ve moved on. Besides, I’m sure he’s got some gorgeous woman stashed away somewhere.” Even the thought made Victoria slightly queasy. Then a thought struck. Would he be bringing her with him? Would Victoria have to watch him kiss another woman? Please, life couldn’t be that cruel.

Reena pulled her hand back. “Nope, no girlfriend. No wife either. He’s one hundred percent available.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “Interesting, don’t you think?”

Victoria tapped her fingers on the table. “It would be if he even knew I existed. Since he doesn’t, the point is moot.”

“Then why are you so nervous?” She pointed to Victoria’s spastic hand and said, “Always a dead giveaway.”

Too late, Victoria realized she had revealed more than what she’d intended. This was why she never told lies; she was just too lousy at it. She always got caught somehow. She decided it was time to come clean.

She forced herself to stop tapping. “We’re adults now,” she explained, using her best grown-up voice. “Rider has a life of his own, and so do I. The time for crushes is over. Way over. There are other fish in the sea.”

“And when was the last time you went fishing? Six months ago, if I remember correctly. George, wasn’t that his name? The guy with the comb-over, right?”

George had been a guy she’d met at church. Nice guy, but boring to the extreme. His idea of a hot date was to listen to classical music and discuss politics. Not the worst thing to do, if you were sixty years old and heading toward retirement. “George was an okay guy,” she said, skirting the full truth.

Reena grabbed another cookie and took a bite. “Oh joy, just what every woman dreams of, an okay guy.”

“Fine, the man was duller than dirt. Happy?”

“I’ll be happy when you’re happy. And you’re not happy, Victoria.”

“I’m content. I have my health, and I have a job I love. That’s more than a lot of people have.” When Reena began to protest, Victoria shot right over her. “Really, don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Victoria smiled and hoped it was convincing.

“Whatever. But just so you know, he’ll be home day after tomorrow.” She shrugged. “In case you were wondering.”

“Thank you, but I wasn’t.”

Reena laughed. “God, you suck at lying.”

“Bite me,” she groused as she stood and started getting out ingredients to make the hors d’oeuvres.

Reena stood and leaned against the counter. “You’re telling that to the wrong member of the James family.”

“You’re incorrigible.” She handed her a knife and asked, “Now, are you going to help me with this wedding or what?”

Reena took the knife. “Whose wedding?”

“Rita Williams. Her family has a lot of money and a lot of friends, so I really want to wow them with my culinary skills. Sadly, I’m a little behind here.”

“You have employees and a factory for this sort of stuff. Why don’t you do like most business owners? Sit back and direct.”

“Pfft, I’ll never run a business that way. I’d be miserable.” Feeling unaccountably weepy, Victoria hugged her friend. “Thanks for caring about me.”

“You’d be lost without me, and we both know it.”

“True.”

“Now, what am I chopping?”

“We’re serving smoked mozzarella profiterole. It’s a blend of smoked mozzarella, cream cheese and fresh herbs in a delicious pastry. You garnish it with roasted red pepper. But I wanted to perfect the recipe first. So you’re going to be my guinea pig.”

“Yum, I love being your guinea pig. Bring it on.”

As they went about creating the tasty appetizers, Victoria’s mind strayed back to their previous conversation. Rider was coming home. Oh God, how was she supposed to keep the past buried and her feelings in check with him living in the same town? It’d been easier with him off in New York. She could almost forget about his dreamy sapphire eyes and ornery grin. Old insecurities resurfaced, but she was determined to tamp them down. She refused to cower and hide just because her high school crush was back. Victoria would damn well hold on to her newfound independence. It was much too precious to her to let latent feelings ruin it.

The day flew by as Reena and Victoria baked. By the time they were finished, the sun had gone down. After promising to take Reena shopping and to lunch the following day for her birthday, Victoria walked her friend to the door.

Victoria locked up and kicked off her tennis shoes with a sigh of relief. Exhaustion overcame her, and she was only too glad the day was at an end. Tomorrow would prove to be a long one. Shopping with Reena always wore her out. No one did extreme shopping quite like that woman. She had things to prepare for the wedding too. For now, she couldn’t even imagine anything beyond getting up the stairs and falling into bed. She’d figure out a strategy to avoid one very sexy Rider James tomorrow.

Chapter Two

After Victoria finished up work the next day, she closed up shop and headed for Reena’s house for their shopping trip. It was five o’clock in the evening, and she was worn out, but she’d promised Reena. Besides, a few minutes with her bestie was sure to perk her up. After she pulled into the drive of Reena’s yellow Cape Cod style house, Victoria shut off the engine and strode toward the porch. She noticed the front door was open, and as she’d done so many times in the past, Victoria tugged on the screen door and let herself into the foyer. She was about to announce her presence when she overheard voices coming from the kitchen.

“Why not? It’ll be fun,” Victoria heard Reena say. “We can even double date if you want.”

“Victoria?” a bewildered male voice said. “She’s not exactly my type, Reena.”

Was that Rider? He was back already? She was sure Reena had told her he was coming home on Tuesday. Damn, what was Reena up to?

“I wouldn’t say she’s your usual type, but she’s sweet, pretty and intelligent. Better than your usual type, if you ask me.”

“See, that’s just it. No one asked you.”

“You can’t tell me that you don’t find her at least a little bit intriguing. I know you better than that, big bro.”

“She’s nice and all, but…”

Rider’s words trailed off. To Victoria, he sounded completely uninterested. Her heart sank. She’d always suspected she would never have a chance with Rider, but having her suspicions confirmed sucked raw eggs.

“Nice?” Reena asked, her voice sounding angrier. “Nice is how you describe Mom’s meatloaf. Certainly not my best friend.” There was a pause, then Reena said, “I know you’ve entertained a thought or two about her. You aren’t blind, Rider.”

“Fine, I’ve entertained a thought, but that was years ago.” Rider said, digging himself in deeper with each word that spewed from his big mouth. “Besides, I like my women sexy, and Victoria is a far cry from sexy.”

“God, you are so shallow. Victoria is a woman of worth. She’s more than a pretty package, you buffoon. She’s the whole package.”

“Hell, if you’re so fond of her, then
you
go out with her.”

“You know, one of these days some gorgeous guy is going to sweep Victoria right off her feet, and you’ll be left wondering how you could’ve screwed up so royally.”

“Look, if she wasn’t always so covered up, then maybe I’d let you play matchmaker. As it is, every item of clothing the woman owns looks like something a spinster would wear. She doesn’t exactly dress like a single woman looking for a man. In fact, she tends to send out a lot of keep-off-the-lawn vibes, if you ask me.”

Victoria’s shoulders slumped. Rider’s description of her confirmed her worst fears. He would never see her as a desirable woman. She would always be a plain Jane to him. Reena’s boring friend.

Terrific.

“You haven’t seen her in ages, so how would you know what she wears?”

Good question. Victoria would love to hear the answer to that one too.

“You’ve sent me pictures of the two of you, remember? From the looks of things, Victoria hasn’t changed much since high school. She’s always been a bit of a…nerd.”

“Jesus, Rider, for such a ladies’ man, you can be real dense sometimes.”

Victoria had heard enough. Time to give Rider James a piece of her mind.

Without waiting to hear any more of Rider’s cutting remarks, Victoria strode into the kitchen. Reena and Rider turned toward her, both with the same horrified expressions on their faces. Oh, if only she had a camera, she could capture the moment for all time. What fun.