doorstep the other night.”
“Where was Scotty?” Adam’s voice was low.
“Not there.” Riley’s brain shot in a hundred directions. “We just watched a movie at Dakota’s place after she tucked Toby in bed. A rom com. The new one with Meg Ryan.” She was babbling, but she couldn’t seem to stop.
Kathryn and the twins edged out the other end of the aisle, and the crowd around them thinned.
“Where was Scotty?” Adam’s voice was even quieter, but the steel in it was unmistakable.
“He invited himself to our table at the diner. I didn’t encourage him, no matter what you think.” Just the thought. The guy made her skin crawl.
“And the McDiarmids were there, too?”
Riley nodded, daring a quick peek at Adam’s face from beneath her lashes. Oh, boy. His jaw firmed, and his eyes were hard and unyielding. “I couldn’t help it.” How weak her voice sounded.
“Have you been sneaking around with him behind my back?”
Riley snatched her hand out of his and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you kidding me? First of all, he’s a creep. And secondly, this is the first time I’ve been off the ranch without you for two solid months.”
“And straight into Erickson’s arms.”
“Are you being stupid on purpose?” she hissed.
“What am I supposed to think?”
“You’re supposed to believe me. Trust me.” Love me. Marry me.
Adam bent slightly so she couldn’t avoid his piercing eyes. “You know the problem with our charade? I don’t know where it begins or ends, but I do know you made a promise.”
Her chin tipped up. “I’ve kept it.”
“You’d better have, because if Mrs. McDiarmid gets back to Declan, this gig is up.”
“One week. It’s up to you to nail things down before she does that. Anyway, when are they ever going to see each other?”
“Have you forgotten? He’s coming to church tonight.”
In the heat of the moment, she hadn’t remembered. “Oh. Right.”
“I’m warning you, Riley. It’s on your head if this falls apart.”
“Not a chance, cowboy. I’ve put my life on hold for you. I’ve done everything you asked me to do. Have you even talked to Declan after that one time?”
His jaw tensed. “The timing hasn’t been right.”
“It better be right any minute now, is all I can say. I’m tired of living a lie.”
“You two coming?”
Riley whirled to see Nathaniel at the end of the aisle, his face as blank as his brother’s. Adam had said Nat had overheard too much on Friday. It was clear whose side he was on. As it should be, she supposed. The lines were clearly drawn. Soon everyone in this disjointed family would be against her, and she’d deserve every bit of their scorn.
“We’re coming.” Adam’s pressure on Riley’s lower back wasn’t as gentle or tender as usual. His sharp knuckle dug hard as she gritted her teeth and moved in the direction she was being pushed.
“You coming for lunch at the Golden Grill?” asked Nathaniel.
“No,” said Riley just as Adam answered, “Of course.”
Sure, it was their habit, but it was Christmas Eve. Weren’t they due back at Rockstead soon? Not only that, she didn’t want to keep up the pretense in a public place.
One more week. Then she’d fly to a... a beach in Florida, maybe, where she could cry in peace.
Noah, Blake, and Ryder carried the conversation over lunch at the Golden Grill. Just as well. Adam was still reeling. His house of cards wobbled over his head. If he were honest with himself, a few cards had already slipped off the edifice.
Back at Rockstead, Mom and the twins had decorated the family room downstairs with a fake tree and a few handmade decorations. A small pile of gifts sat beneath it.
Declan took his place in a large recliner across the room, his face set in stone. The brothers gathered around on the sectional and chairs. Toby ran circles with Ezra on the fluffy white rug until he collapsed in Travis’s lap, the Yorkie panting at their feet.
Adam wrapped his arm around Riley’s shoulders on the love seat and pulled her close. She leaned against him just enough that no one probably noticed the tension in her body, but he could feel it. What had seemed like such a good idea that October night had turned out to be anything but.
Emma and Alexia proudly presented each brother with a framed watercolor painting. Riley opened one that matched Adam’s — two presentations of the autumn woods with glacier-clad peaks in the distance. “For your new home,” Emma offered shyly.
“Thanks.” Riley