Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (20 page)

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I don’t
think you’re an imbecile.” He stepped up to me, framing my face with his hands
and gave me a gentle kiss. I forgave him instantly. “Here, let me help you
carry these in.”

I opened the trunk and together we hauled the bags
inside.

He dropped his packages onto the counter. As he leaned
over me to take the bags out of my hands, his nostrils flared and he sniffed
hard. He spun around, sniffed again. Then shaking his head, he put my bags on
the counter.

“What was that? Do I smell?” I lifted my arm and
sniffed, but only smelled the floral scent of my perfume and the laundry soap
coming from my black silk blouse.

“No, I just thought I smelled something,” he said with
his brow creased.

“So, what are we doing tonight?”

“I thought we could take the boat out again.”

Just the thought of going out on the boat again made
me glow with happiness. “Sounds perfect.”

After we finished putting the groceries away, Julia
sent us home, saying that Nate deserved some free time. He dropped me off at
home, promising to pick me up in an hour. He was finally taking me to dinner.

I pulled my hair up in a twist, applied my makeup and
then slipped on my black-and-white-striped jersey dress with a short-sleeve
cut-off jacket. I turned around in front of my full-length mirror and smiled. I
looked good enough to be out with the mysteriously hot Nate Green.

“Hey, Meg, I’m glad you’re home. Which one?” Mona
asked, holding up two dresses—a red strapless and a boring navy blue one with
cap sleeves. Mona was thin and very pretty for her age. Not the shockingly
gorgeous pretty like my mom, but understated and classy. Her dark brown hair
was always worn back away from her face. She usually dressed in casual dress
pants and a blouse. But tonight, apparently, she was going to go wild. Her hair
was down in a messy bob and her makeup looked great. And now she was thinking
of ruining the look with the blue dress.

“That depends. What’s the occasion?”

“Ben’s taking me out for our twenty-fifth
anniversary.”

“Well, if you’re going to the library, pick the blue.
But if you want to knock his socks off, go with the red one.”

“Red it is.” She laughed. “What about you? Are you and
Nate going out?”

“Yes, I don’t know where, but since it’s the first
time we’re actually going to dinner I wanted to dress up. How do I look?” I
held my arms out to pose in front of her.

“I think he better hold on to his socks.” She grinned.
“Have a good night, honey,” she called as she rushed out.

“You too!” I yelled, not sure if she heard me. Who
knew a woman of her age could move so fast.

When I heard a knock at my patio door, I glanced once
more in the mirror to check my hair, making sure no stray strands were falling
out. Once I was satisfied, I rushed over to open the door for a very
good-looking guy in a black suit and dark gray dress shirt. The contrast
between the tailored black suit and the unruly blond hair was very sexy.

“Wow! You look gorgeous,” he said, gazing at me with
dark eyes.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” I leaned up to give
him a kiss and then quickly pulled back. “Let’s go.” I followed him to the
driveway. “Where are you taking me?” I asked once we were inside his car and
cruising down the street.

“The Orchid.”

It was very hard to get into The Orchid since it was
the fanciest restaurant in town, located right at the edge of the Marina. The
building was mainly windows, so you ate your dinner while watching the yachts
out on the lake. At the back of the restaurant was a small patio right above
the water.

“How did you get a reservation? Wait, let me guess,
the Rileys.” He nodded as he leaned over to put a CD into the car stereo.

“Why are they so nice to you?”

He shrugged. “I guess they like my work and Lauren’s
dad knew my father.”

He pulled into the parking lot up in front of the
restaurant where a valet stood waiting. When the car came to a stop, he opened
the door for me. Just as I climbed out Nate tossed the keys to the guy and then
took my hand.

As we walked into the restaurant, I noticed how
beautiful it was. I had been here with my parents many times, but I never
really noticed the beauty until tonight. At that thought I panicked, glancing
around quickly, hoping I wouldn’t see them. I sighed in relief when no one
looked familiar.

“Nathan Green,” Nate offered as we approached the
hostess.

“Yes sir, right this way.” She guided us to a table
overlooking the fountain out front.

“Perfect, thank you.” Nate pulled my chair out for me.

“Have you been here before?” I asked him as I sat
down, placing my small clutch purse on the table beside me.

“Actually, no. I bet you have though.”

“Yes, but I’ve never enjoyed it until tonight.”

We ordered our drinks, taking our time looking over
the menu. When the waiter returned I ordered the spinach and goat cheese
stuffed chicken while Nate chose the prime rib, medium rare. After our waiter
walked away Nate asked me about my trip to the grocery store.

“I had a few problems. But I took care of them.” He
didn’t need to know I had help. The article from the checkout popped in my mind
“Did you hear about the two people that were killed?” When he shook his head, I
continued. “I was waiting in line and I noticed on one of the newspapers that
there have been two deaths in Creekford. Animal attacks. Can you imagine?”

His eyes widened and his face paled. “Where were they
found?”

“In the woods over in Baycroft Park.”

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, our waiter came,
bringing our meals. The conversation was forgotten as we enjoyed our dinner.

The Three Lucys

After dinner, instead of leading me to the car, Nate
took my hand and together we walked to the Riley boat. I sat in my usual spot
as he started it and pulled out onto the lake. He slowed down after a few
minutes. “Come here, it’s your turn.”

“What’s my turn?”

“To drive. You can’t expect me to do all the driving,
can you?” he asked, giving me a lopsided grin.

“I’m not going to drive someone else’s boat.” I was
terrified to break something.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over. “It’s really
quite easy. Just steer like you would a car.” He placed my hands on the wheel
and after a few minutes, he let go. He was right, it was easy. He told me where
to go. And when we came up on the spot where we had parked the last time, just
beside a small island, he showed me how to slow down and eventually stop.

We lay down on the deck again and Nate took me in his
arms for a long, amazing kiss. It was intense and full of feeling. He pulled
back and stared down at me, his eyes filled with emotion. “Megan,” he
whispered.

 “Yes?” I asked, breathless.

“I love you.”

I smiled widely, a warm glow spreading inside me at
the words I wanted to hear, but wasn’t sure I ever would. It took three years
for him to even speak to me and admit he liked me, I wasn’t expecting these
words for a while. I was so glad I didn’t have to wait. I reached up and
touched his cheek with my hand; his skin was soft. “I love you too,” I
whispered.

He smiled, his eyes shining with happiness. He kissed
me again, taking us to new levels. It felt so amazing, kissing and embracing,
now that we knew how we felt about each other. It meant so much more.

Eventually, we pulled apart and stared up at the night
sky.

“Sit up,” he commanded, tugging me up with him. “I
want to give you this.” He pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket. “It’s
been in my family for generations.” When he opened the box, a necklace shone
from inside. It was a gold chain with a half-moon pendant. It meant so much
that he wanted me to have something that had belonged to his family.

“Oh, Nate, I love it, thank you.” He stood up to
fasten the clasp around my neck and then wrapped his arms around me. I leaned
in for a kiss. “And I love
you
,” I said when we finally pulled apart.

When he sat down again, he pulled me with him, to lean
against the deck’s railing. We sat snuggled up, so close to each other I could
feel the heat from his body. “Tell me about your childhood. Were you always so distant
with your parents?”

“No.” I shook my head slightly. “They didn’t become
consumed with appearances until my dad took over the company from his father
and we moved into our house after my grandparents died.”

“I thought I heard Mr. Riley say once that your house
belonged to the Stewarts. Did your grandparents buy it from them?”

I stared at him, wondering if he was kidding, before I
remembered he wasn’t from here. He had only moved to Creekford three years ago.
“No, my grandparents were the Stewarts, my mother’s family. She’s an only child
so the house went to her when they died. She has cousins that could have gotten
the house, but my grandmother was the oldest within her family so it went to
her only child.”

A quick look of terror crossed his face, but he
quickly recovered with a slight smile.

I frowned. “What?”

“Nothing. Tell me about your mother’s family. You
never mention them.”

“There’s not much to tell since she was an only child.
I don’t have any cousins. But my grandparents were the best. You know the type;
my nana always made me chocolate chip cookies when I came over, even though
they had a cook. And my grandfather always had gum in his pocket and he would
sneak me a piece when no one was looking. My mother wouldn’t let me have any.”

“They seem wonderful. When did they die?” He reached
over and pulled a brown fleece blanket out of a wooden box that was attached to
the railing, unfolding it over our laps.

I lifted the blanket up to my neck, snuggling under
it. A cold breeze had suddenly come out of nowhere turning the once warm air
chilly. “When I was nine. My granddad died of cancer and my nana went a few
months later. My mom said she died of a broken heart. I miss them. They weren’t
snooty like my parents are now. But when we moved into the house and my mother
started mingling with all the rich women in town, she changed. And when my
father’s company took off, she wasn’t even the same person.”

I paused for a few seconds watching a falling star.
“My mother, my nana and I used to go on treasure walks in the woods behind the
house. I’d find pine cones, snails and flowers and put them into a basket my
grandmother carried. They’d
ohh
and
ahh
every time I found
something. Then I’d get excited to run back and show my granddad. He’d stand in
the kitchen door to watch for us and yell, ‘Where are my three Lucys?’”

“What?” he asked, straightening up and staring at me,
the look of terror from earlier returned.

“What do you mean what?”

“You said something about his three Lucys.” He paled
and the terrified expression on his face deepened.

“Oh, that’s what he called us when we were together.
In my nana’s family the first daughter born of each generation was named after
some ancestor that was killed a long time ago.” Nate’s eyes closed, a look of
misery flitted over his face. “Are you okay?” I asked, leaning up to him. He
had turned away from me and all I could think to do was rub his back. He was
silent for several seconds and then abruptly stood up, moving over to stand on
the other side of the boat.

He stood with his back to me, staring out at the
water. “Is something wrong?” He was really starting to worry me.

After a few torturous minutes of strained quiet, he
turned around and started the boat. “We should go,” was all he would say before
he pulled the throttle and took off. I flew back into the cold metal railing as
he sped off.

I just sat on the deck, where he had left me staring
at him, wondering what I had said to make him act this way. He never once
glanced my way and each time I yelled over the motor to ask what was wrong, he
ignored me.

Once he docked at the marina, I followed him as he
took long quick strides to his car. It was difficult to keep up with him while
I was wearing my three-inch heels.

He opened the door for me and then silently climbed
into the car and drove away.

He was quiet all the way to his home and distant when
we arrived at the cottage. He said he was tired and went to bed early. I lay in
the bed right next to him, but he felt miles away.

The next morning, Nate decided to make me breakfast,
blueberry waffles. He was still in a mood, although he tried to hide it. He
acted normally, kissed me back when I kissed him, even laughed a little. But he
was somehow distant. When he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes. And I wasn’t
exactly sure, but he seemed to touch me less. If I wasn’t in the room, his face
would take on a far-off, distant expression and when I walked in, he’d recover
with a slight smile. I was worried, but I didn’t know what to do to bring him
back, so I tried to act normal. Hopefully he would snap out of his mood soon.