following me around all weekend…”
Brendan trailed off as Riley tried to parse some meaning out of the alpha’s rambling.
“Your parents are having some kind of anniversary?”
“Uh-huh. Wedding anniversary.”
“And there’s going to be some kind of family get-together?”
“Right.”
“That your grandmother was planning to use as an opportunity to set you up on a blind date?”
“Yeah.”
“So, to avoid that, you told them you were already in a relationship. But you’re not.”
“No, I’m not.”
Riley felt the beginnings of a headache and wondered if he could start the day over. “And I come into this how, exactly?”
He suspected he knew very well where his involvement came into play, but he wanted to hear Brendan say it.
“I was hoping you’d agree to play my boyfriend for the weekend. We already know each other well, we’re comfortable together, and you’ve played the role before.”
Riley couldn’t help scoffing at that, given how that little game had played out.
“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate, Riley. It’s only three days. And my sister has promised us the cottage, so we’ll have a place to ourselves, and you can spend as much time as you like there outside of family dinners. And I’d pay you, of course. Double what I’d normally pay.”
Riley pushed back his chair and stood up.
“You’re crazy.”
“Desperate,” Brendan admitted. “I talked myself into it, and then I couldn’t talk my way out again.”
“There are so many ways this could go wrong.”
The alpha shook his head. “Not as many as you’d think. We’ve worked together for months now, we know each other’s quirks. They won’t suspect we’re nothing more than colleagues.”
“We’d have to act like a couple,” Riley pointed out. “Which I thought we’d already agreed was a terrible plan.”
“Was it really so bad the last time?”
Not bad. Never bad. Just… tempting in ways it shouldn’t be.
“You know it wasn’t.”
“We’re both adults. We can handle this.”
Riley knew he should say no, but Brendan’s bright eyes held his gaze, beseeching him.
“I’ll think about it,” he said finally, deliberately turning his attention back to his desk and the mound of paper collecting on it.
“Can you let me know by end of day?” the alpha asked softly. “If I need to make other arrangements…”
Riley made the mistake of looking up again, catching Brendan’s worn eyes.
“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“My family means well. But success to them isn’t a profitable business or a good life. It’s a mate and kids. Otherwise, you’re seen as the sad bachelor.”
“You don’t want that life?”
“A mate and kids? Sure. It’ll happen when it happens. But it’s not likely to be with some grandson of a friend of my Grams. I’ve seen too many lukewarm relationships among friends and family. People who got together because they felt under pressure to settle down. I want something more—real, passionate love. The kind that takes your breath away.” The alpha rubbed his hands up and down his thighs, and then stood, sighing awkwardly. “If you think you can see your way to helping me out, I’d appreciate it. But I completely understand if you feel you need to say no. I’m putting you in an awkward position, I know that. So, no harm, no foul if you decide you can’t do it. Okay?”
“Thanks,” Riley said softly, already knowing that he was going to go through with it. For some reason, he couldn’t turn his back on Brendan when the alpha so clearly needed him.
Chapter Seventeen
Riley said yes. He said yes, and Brendan could have kissed him then and there. Of course, that would have sent completely the wrong message about their carefully cultivated and totally platonic friendship. The relief almost made him giddy and he gulped down his dinner that evening, insisting on doing the dishes while the others left the table. He gradually became aware of Mrs. O’Brien hovering nearby and realized something was up.
“I’m almost done,” he told her.
“I can see that.” She regarded him steadily, and Brendan felt like he was under a microscope.
“You look like you have a question.”
“More of an… observation.”
He took a guess. “About Riley.”
“The two of you are orbiting around one another, like the moon to the Earth. You have been ever since you brought him here.”
“We’re just colleagues, Mrs. O’Brien. And I know your rules. I wouldn’t break them.”
“I know you haven’t been in Riley’s room, and he hasn’t been in yours, but I’m not blind, Brendan. There’s something between you two.”
“We’re handling it. Or… not handling it. We’re just friends. Colleagues, more so.”
“So he’s not going home with you