Fiona hurried off, leaving Riley all alone.
She stared at her reflection. It still didn’t seem right. The Riley she knew stayed in, worked hard and patted her favorite books when no one was looking. But the person in the mirror had hips and curves and she almost looked like the kind of woman who Will dated.
What would it be like if Will wasn’t just her fake boyfriend, but her real one?
Her body tingled in response and her cheeks heated before she remembered—not only did she look like the kind woman Will dated, she also looked like the kind of woman whose heart inevitably got broken after two weeks.
“Hey,” Will’s voice called out from the other side of the door. “Tucker just called. Please, can you explain how my levelheaded brother is suddenly having a meltdown over whether it’s tacky to have pink champagne for the first toast? Anyway, Fiona told me that you’ve found the dress, so I’m coming in, ready or—”
The rest of the words died as his head appeared in the doorway. He sucked in his breath as his mouth dropped open.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Is it too much?” Riley tried to ignore the heat that was flowing up to her cheeks. “It makes me look like I’m trying too hard, doesn’t it?
“No.” Will seemed to have difficulty swallowing. “Definitely not.”
“So, what’s wrong? Does it make me look fat? Flat-chested? Like an acorn? Will, you need to explain yourself because your entire family is going to be there. Your dad. Lisa. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
“Trust me, there’s nothing you could do to embarrass me. Not ever. Are we clear? Besides, this dress looks amazing. If anything will convince my family that I’ve fallen for my best friend, this is it. Okay?”
“O-okay.” She nodded just as Fiona reappeared holding a delicate golden necklace. The next ten minutes were spent discussing shoes and purses as Riley tried to remind herself that just because they were pretending to date, it didn’t mean that they actually were.
***
“I swear that this is better than what I ate when I was in Hanoi,” Will said several hours later. He gave a short groan, continuing to hand-feed Bingley a piece of lettuce from his Vietnamese takeout.
“And it’s only ten minutes from home rather than fifteen hours,” Riley teased as she pushed away her plate and stretched her legs out in front of her. She’d changed into sweats as soon as they’d arrived home and her red hair was in a messy pile on top of her head. Unfortunately, thanks to seeing her in
that
dress, Will now knew that underneath the baggy clothes she preferred was a figure that had almost caused him to lose the power of speech. And now that he knew, he could never un-know. “It’s also the perfect way to help me recover from such an exhausting day. Everything hurts. Even my nose.”
“Your nose hurts from shopping?” Will pushed his brows together in mock outrage and tried not to look at the adorable way her nose peaked at the end.
“Yes.” She reached for her beer and took a sip. “Shops are smelly. It was hard work.”
“I’ll have you know that today was a perfectly planned shopping experience that was designed to give you maximum enjoyment and minimum annoyance. And then, despite my brother’s lavish but inappropriate offer to send us on a romantic dinner, I wined and dined you with your favorite takeout. I don’t like to boast, but it was pretty perfect.” Will reached for his own beer and took a deep pull.
“Fine, Mr. Smarty Pants, so it was a lovely afternoon that was followed by a thoughtful dinner.” Riley poked out her tongue at him. Bingley lost interest in the lettuce leaf and ambled toward yesterday’s newspaper, his guinea pig eyes full of evil intent. “But I have to pretend it was exhausting so that we don’t have to do it too often.”
“What’s that mean?” He stiffened. He’d had a pretty amazing day, culminating in eating and drinking beer while listening
She stared at her reflection. It still didn’t seem right. The Riley she knew stayed in, worked hard and patted her favorite books when no one was looking. But the person in the mirror had hips and curves and she almost looked like the kind of woman who Will dated.
What would it be like if Will wasn’t just her fake boyfriend, but her real one?
Her body tingled in response and her cheeks heated before she remembered—not only did she look like the kind woman Will dated, she also looked like the kind of woman whose heart inevitably got broken after two weeks.
“Hey,” Will’s voice called out from the other side of the door. “Tucker just called. Please, can you explain how my levelheaded brother is suddenly having a meltdown over whether it’s tacky to have pink champagne for the first toast? Anyway, Fiona told me that you’ve found the dress, so I’m coming in, ready or—”
The rest of the words died as his head appeared in the doorway. He sucked in his breath as his mouth dropped open.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Is it too much?” Riley tried to ignore the heat that was flowing up to her cheeks. “It makes me look like I’m trying too hard, doesn’t it?
“No.” Will seemed to have difficulty swallowing. “Definitely not.”
“So, what’s wrong? Does it make me look fat? Flat-chested? Like an acorn? Will, you need to explain yourself because your entire family is going to be there. Your dad. Lisa. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
“Trust me, there’s nothing you could do to embarrass me. Not ever. Are we clear? Besides, this dress looks amazing. If anything will convince my family that I’ve fallen for my best friend, this is it. Okay?”
“O-okay.” She nodded just as Fiona reappeared holding a delicate golden necklace. The next ten minutes were spent discussing shoes and purses as Riley tried to remind herself that just because they were pretending to date, it didn’t mean that they actually were.
***
“I swear that this is better than what I ate when I was in Hanoi,” Will said several hours later. He gave a short groan, continuing to hand-feed Bingley a piece of lettuce from his Vietnamese takeout.
“And it’s only ten minutes from home rather than fifteen hours,” Riley teased as she pushed away her plate and stretched her legs out in front of her. She’d changed into sweats as soon as they’d arrived home and her red hair was in a messy pile on top of her head. Unfortunately, thanks to seeing her in
that
dress, Will now knew that underneath the baggy clothes she preferred was a figure that had almost caused him to lose the power of speech. And now that he knew, he could never un-know. “It’s also the perfect way to help me recover from such an exhausting day. Everything hurts. Even my nose.”
“Your nose hurts from shopping?” Will pushed his brows together in mock outrage and tried not to look at the adorable way her nose peaked at the end.
“Yes.” She reached for her beer and took a sip. “Shops are smelly. It was hard work.”
“I’ll have you know that today was a perfectly planned shopping experience that was designed to give you maximum enjoyment and minimum annoyance. And then, despite my brother’s lavish but inappropriate offer to send us on a romantic dinner, I wined and dined you with your favorite takeout. I don’t like to boast, but it was pretty perfect.” Will reached for his own beer and took a deep pull.
“Fine, Mr. Smarty Pants, so it was a lovely afternoon that was followed by a thoughtful dinner.” Riley poked out her tongue at him. Bingley lost interest in the lettuce leaf and ambled toward yesterday’s newspaper, his guinea pig eyes full of evil intent. “But I have to pretend it was exhausting so that we don’t have to do it too often.”
“What’s that mean?” He stiffened. He’d had a pretty amazing day, culminating in eating and drinking beer while listening
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