Only taking a second to look at the ring, she brings her eyes back to Aaron and whispers, “Yes.”
I had not expected to react in any way other than joyous smiles, but damn if tears don’t prick at my eyes. I hastily blink, but they keep forming, and I’m forced to wipe at them. I find Riggs staring at me, his dark eyes giving away nothing as he watches me cry.
I angle away, embarrassed, and focus on Clarke as she jumps up from her spot, moves past me around the table to Aaron, and throws herself at him.
What follows next is a lot of hugging and kissing and Clarke chastising Aaron for the fake headaches that scared her, but then oohing and aahing—me included—over the ring once he slips it on her finger.
I pull out a bottle of champagne we had hidden in the bottom drawer of the fridge, and Riggs opens it while Aaron and Clarke hug and kiss some more. I’ve never seen Clarke so emotional, and Aaron has always been such an easygoing, funny guy, but now he looks like someone who’s been given the world’s most prized possession, and he can do nothing but stare at it in awe.
Champagne is poured, and I make a toast to my friends. Riggs merely lifts his glass and says, “Congratulations.”
And then… it’s time for me and Riggs to go. Aaron and Clarke will want to be alone.
We make our goodbyes, and Aaron and Clarke barely register we’re leaving. They’re way too caught up in each other.
Riggs opens the door, and I slip out before him. I make my way down the porch, Riggs right behind me.
“Well, that was miserable,” he mutters as he pulls keys out of his pocket.
“Not a romantic?” I ask snidely over my shoulder as I traverse the sidewalk to the short driveway where my Mercedes is parked. Riggs’s car is behind me.
“Nope,” he replies, but then adds, “Neither are you.”
How dare he make such an assumption about me? Even if it’s partly true. “You have no awareness whatsoever, so I don’t believe you’re in a good enough place to make such judgments.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demands as I reach my car.
I turn around to face him. “You’re cold and detached.”
“You’re vain and shallow,” he tosses back. “So lack of awareness cuts both ways.”
“You’re insipid and boorish,” I retort.
He actually laughs and waves his hands in a way that mimes he finds me amusing. “Ooh, look at the fancy, rich lady using fancy, rich words.”
Fancy? Rich words?
“Listen, motherfucker—”
That’s as much as I get out—an effort to show him I can be coarse—when his arms come to my shoulders and he snatches me against him. His mouth collides with mine, and there is no holding back the groan of pleasure that rips out of my throat from his taste and touch.
And, oh wow, can the man kiss. Domineering and in full control, he presses my entire body against my car and holds me hostage while his tongue invades my mouth.
It is the most searing, penetrating, debilitating kiss I’ve ever had, and I find myself getting dizzy.
And then… Riggs wrenches away. I’m only momentarily pleased to see his chest heaving slightly, telling me he was as affected by that as I was.
But his eyes narrow, dropping briefly to my lips, which feel bruised and swollen. “That was eye-opening. At least now I know how to get you to shut up.”
I can’t even gasp in outrage because I see his words for what he’ll never admit them to be—a coward’s way of removing himself from a situation that felt all too real and good.
It scared him.
I don’t say a word in reply, because it scared me too.
Never in a million years would I have thought the best kiss of my life would come from someone I abhor. I have to wonder what’s wrong with me.
Riggs gives me no more time to contemplate. He pivots sharply and marches to his Lexus. Without a backward glance, he gets in his car and drives away.
CHAPTER 11
Veronica
Sitting at my kitchen table, I take final stock of my school supplies. I have the same giddy feeling I would normally have on the first day of any given school year. I may have turned my back on college when I met Jace, but no one understands how hard it was to give it up because I absolutely love learning. I love lectures and reading and taking notes and I even love being tested on my knowledge. I’m a natural in an academic environment, and I’m eager to knock out the rest of the classes I need to complete my business degree.
I feel like I’m making headway to meet my long- and short-term goals. Classes start next Monday—four short days away, and I cannot wait.