Reconsidering Riley (40 page)
Read Reconsidering Riley Online
Authors: Lisa Plumley
Tags: #adventure, #arizona, #breakup, #macho, #second chances, #reunited, #single woman
"Reassigned."
"What about your job?"
"I'll handle it. Nothing matters more than
you."
"Oh, Riley." Tentatively, Jayne took his
hands. They wove their fingers together, and a giddy feeling filled
her like bubbles of happiness. "Do you mean it?"
"Do I
mean
it?" Riley lowered his
brows, gazing down at her seriously. His hands felt warm and steady
in hers, and wonderfully familiar. "Jayne, I need you. I need you
like I need a tarp in a mountain rainstorm, like I need an oar for
my kayak, like I need...like I need friends gathered around on the
happiest day of my life."
Everyone around them sucked in a surprised
breath. Jayne only snuggled closer, having already fully understood
the truth. Riley was just a big mushball at heart.
"Please," Jayne said, "say we can try
again."
"Please," Riley said at the same moment,
"say we can try again."
"
Yes
!" they both yelled, laughing
aloud with happiness. "Yes, yes, yes!" Riley pulled her into his
arms and kissed her, and the instant their lips met, everyone in
the room shouted out.
"Yay!" they yelled, feminine voices mingling
with gruff male ones, younger with older and loud with quiet.
"Yay!"
Apparently not a man to be dissuaded by a
little thing like the overwhelming approval of their friends, Riley
tilted up her chin with his hand and deepened their kiss. It felt
like a homecoming, like a reunion of the best kind...like a promise
to never be separated again.
And this time, Jayne knew, they'd both
learned enough to keep that promise. Forever.
Finally, Riley raised his head. He bracketed
her face in his hands, and gazed down at her with remarkable
tenderness. "I love you, Jayne. I always have, and I always
will."
"I love you, too. So much."
The cheering resumed. Their friends
surrounded them, the men slapping Riley on the back and the women
hugging Jayne with squeals of joy. Thoroughly taken aback, Jayne
shook her head. They really
approved
? She couldn't believe
it. She'd been so sure they'd be disappointed in her.
Another thought occurred to her, and Jayne
squeezed Riley's hand to get his attention. Instantly, he gave it
to her.
"Riley," she began quietly, "are you
sure
you want me? Even if I don't have a 'gift?' Even if I
can't help people with a second book?"
He frowned. Everyone grew silent, including
Jayne. She bit her lip, waiting nervously for his answer.
"You do have a gift," he said. "A gift for
caring about people,
and
a gift for helping people. A gift
for making me a better man. That'll never go away."
Jayne promptly burst into tears. He was
so
sweet.
"Besides, we'll have none of this 'no second
book' nonsense," Doris interrupted, giving Jayne a stern look.
"There's
got
to be a second book. It's already in great
demand among
certain
circles. Like right here."
She nodded, exchanging a meaningful glance
with her sister. Donna spoke up next. "Yes, I agree with Doris,"
she said to Jayne's utter astonishment. "We can't wait to read it.
We
need
that book, so you can't stop now, Jayne."
"What do you mean?" Mystified, Jayne dabbed
her eyes, then searched the faces of everyone around them. "What
book?"
"Hell,
True Love 102: Living Happily Ever
After
, of course," Bruce said, slinging an arm around a smiling
Mitzi. "With the two of you for an example, what else could it
be?"
Hey, that wasn't a bad idea
, Jayne
thought, reassured that her breakup-ees seemed to have happier
futures ahead of them, just like she did. Maybe she
had
done
some good here, like Riley had said.
She just might consider that
True Love
102
book idea further, she decided. Later.
After
she had
Riley had done some more
personal
celebrating. She gazed
into his face, and found him already watching her. A smile tipped
his lips. It probably matched the one she wore. Their gazes caught
and held, united in rediscovered love.
"I almost forgot," Riley said suddenly. "My
surprise."
He bent to the container he'd brought, a
container nearly knee-height and almost perfectly square. A faint
scuffling sound came from inside it as Riley worked at the
latches.
"I wanted to make sure you knew I was
serious about this 'forever' stuff," he said as he crouched. He
hesitated, and directed a meaningful look at Jayne. "I wanted you
to know I had plans for our future already. So I brought
you...this."
He unfastened the latch all the way and
reached inside. Riley stood, cradling something small and tan
against his chest. He turned to face her, and....
"A puppy!" Jayne stared at the tiny,
wriggling bundle of furry puppyhood in Riley's big hands. Her heart
melted. "You got a puppy?"
"For us. To raise together." He stepped
nearer so she could pet its soft fur. He raised his eager gaze to
her face. "Someone at the airport recommended a private breeder to
me when I asked where I could get one. Once I saw this little
guy—"
"He's adorable!" Jayne cried, still petting
the puppy. Her breakup-ees gathered around, too, exclaiming over
his floppy ears and wavy fur.
"You like him?" Riley asked. "He's a
cockapoo. Half cocker spaniel, half poodle. But we can get a plain
old poodle, too," he added hurriedly, "if you'd rather."
She didn't understand the vulnerability in
his worried, hopeful look. But she did want to ease it.
"I love him! I can't
wait
to raise
him together," she said, nuzzling the puppy's nose. "You know,"
Jayne added thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about this, and I
could write anywhere. I could travel with you, and so could
he."
"I could take pictures anywhere," Riley
countered, "even in San Francisco. I'll walk little Primp every
day."
"Primp?" Jayne raised her eyebrows. "We
can't call him that. It's one letter away from being a criminal
offense."
"Well, Leopard Print Compact just sounds
stupid." Riley pet the puppy, making googly eyes at him. "But you
inspired me to get him, so his name will have to remind me of
you."
"He's a boy. We'll turn him into a sissy
dog."
"With a rhinestone collar like the one they
gave me, he's already on his way."
"Never mind. We'll think of something."
They huddled together over the puppy, their
fingers touching as they got acquainted with "family life." Then
Jayne and Riley smiled. An unspoken accord traveled between them.
As one, they turned together to their friends.
"We'd better go walk the dog," Jayne
said.
"Yeah, right away," Riley agreed, grabbing
the leash from the corner of the pet carrier. "I'll take Jayne back
to the other lodge in my suburban, if you all want to rendezvous
there."
Everyone looked skeptical. Jayne and Riley
didn't care. The outdoors waited—and along with it, privacy. After
a few goodbyes (and a promise to meet later at the Hideaway Lodge),
they carried the puppy and leash outside. They breathed deeply of
the fresh air surrounding them. They smiled.
Jayne glanced at Riley. "So...you wanna
sneak back inside after they leave and have a real reunion?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Riley
said, grinning. "After all, we have a reputation to protect," Jayne
went on. "If I'm going to write that
True Love 102
book—"
"Which, of course, you should."
"—then we're going to have to live it. We're
going to have to live true love, every minute of every day."
"That'll be easy," Riley said, and kissed
her. "Because I truly love you. Every minute of every day."
"And I love you. Every minute of every
day."
They put on their puppy's leash, linked
hands, and started walking. This time, their steps fell perfectly
in sync.
"It's the only right thing to do," Jayne
told the man she loved, shrugging playfully as she considered their
future together. "We have to fulfill our destiny, after all."
Riley agreed, with another kiss to seal the
deal. And then, for every minute of every day afterward...they did
share true love.
Hiking, shopping, and one
completely
cute puppy included.
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From the Author
Thank you for reading this book! If you
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Lisa Plumley
Like connected stories? Look for Lisa's series
romances!
Perfect Together
Perfect Switch
Home for the Holidays
Holiday Affair
Together for Christmas
**
All He Wants For Christmas
The Matchmaker
The Scoundrel
The Rascal
"Marriage at Morrow Creek" in the
anthology Hallowe'en Husbands
Mail-Order Groom
The Bride Raffle
Wanton in the West (short-story/e-book
exclusive)
"Something Borrowed, Something True" in
the anthology Weddings Under a Western Sky
The Honor-Bound Gambler
Notorious in the West
Morrow Creek Runaway
All of Lisa's series books stand alone and
can be read in any order. Remember, you can also
visit
Lisa's RomanceWiki
page
to view a list of books in the "Perfect,"
Kismet Christmas, and Morrow Creek series in reverse order (most
recently published first).
*Note: So
Irresistible is a
prequel
to Together for
Christmas, but is not part of the Kismet
Christmas series.
**Don't miss
Recipes From Together For Christmas
, a collection of
five delicious holiday recipes for miniature pies!
More from Lisa Plumley: Mysteries
Lisa also writes cozy mysteries
as
Colette London
. Her
Chocolate Whisperer series (featuring chocolate expert—and amateur
sleuth!—Hayden Mundy Moore) kicked off with Criminal Confections
and Dangerously Dark and continues with The Semisweet Hereafter in
October 2016, all from Kensington Books.
Visit
www.colettelondon.com
today to sign up for updates on Colette's books, catch all the news
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Praise for the novels of Lisa Plumley
"Plumley's Morrow Creek series continues to
delight! The latest entry is a tale of love lost and found. It's
funny, charming and full of sexual tension, complete with a
fabulous cast of characters fans will love."
—Romantic
Times (4 stars!)
"Fourth in the Kismet Christmas
series, All He Wants for Christmas is the perfect
combination of naughty and nice. The Christmas spirit in a small
town paired with steamy hot romance will satisfy all fans of
contemporary romance this season. The witty banter will have
readers laughing, and the sexy interludes will delight."
—Romantic Times (4 stars!)
"In the charming fourth contemporary set in
Kismet, Mich., (after Together for Christmas), a charismatic CEO
falls unexpectedly for a store manager. Jason and Danielle
have incredible chemistry—and very different ambitions that might
drive them apart. Plumley paints a beautiful portrait of a town
where the holiday spirit is felt all year round and gives readers
warm glimpses of the couples from previous stories."
—Publishers
Weekly
"Plumley returns with a new novel in her
Morrow Creek series: a western version of Beauty and the Beast.
Opposites attract in this funny, loving battle of the sexes with
strong characters and lots of witty banter. Readers are in for a
sizzling treat."
—Romantic Times (4 stars!)
"Plumley delivers yet another witty romance
with this fun read featuring likable characters and plenty of
steamy scenes."—
Booklist
"So Irresistible is a fun, sexy read with
characters readers will immediately love. Their sexual chemistry
burns up the pages
.
"—
Romantic Times (4
stars!)
"Welcome to Morrow Creek, Plumley's little
slice of the West and a romance with heart and grit. Lively
storytelling and a cast of engaging, delightful characters—from a
rapscallion little boy to a conniving reverend to a hardened
gambler and a preacher's daughter—are simply perfect for this tale.
Love and redemption are the soul of this heart-tugging
charmer."—
Romantic Times (4 stars! + K.I.S.S. hero)
