Page 8 of Solitary Man

“I love the wedding ring you chose, and you know I adore my engagement ring,” Riley said, breaking the silence and beaming at me, then glancing down at her hand. “I know I already emailed you that I loved it, but it really is perfect. I couldn’t have chosen better myself.”

I flushed with pleasure. I’d been terrified of getting it wrong. “Good,” I choked out, my vocal cords feeling impossibly tight. I’d picked them out of a catalog Landon had ordered for me. The engagement ring had a diamond in it, was dainty and pretty like Riley, which is why I chose it.

I looked down at the one she’d slid on my finger earlier and swallowed, hard. I liked seeing it there. I liked the way it made me feel. Like I belonged to Riley. Like we belonged to each other. Insane, I know, since I could barely goddamn talk to her.

“I almost forgot. I have something for you,” she said, breaking through the silence and my racing thoughts. She left the room and was back a few minutes later with a book. As she handed it to me, her face lit up in a way that stole my breath and made me nervous at the same time. “You said you liked thrillers. I bought you the new Stephen King.”

How did she know I liked thrillers? Had I told her and forgotten? I didn’t think so. I took it from her and frowned down at it.

“Um…is it okay if I take a bath?” she asked.

“Don’t need to ask,” I said roughly as images of Riley naked in the tub filled my head. “Towels are in there.”

She started toward the kitchen.

“Thank you,” I blurted. “For the book.”

She smiled at me over her shoulder, then disappeared around the corner.

I wandered around the house, shaking out my hands, not sure what to do with myself. There was a restlessness inside me, something I’d never felt before. I gripped the back of my neck and dragged in a deep breath. It didn’t help, nothing helped. And every now and then I’d hear a splash in the bathroom as Riley moved in the water. My imagination ran rampant. I may not have ever been with a woman, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d seen movies. I had a large DVD collection, and I obviously read books, lots of books.

The bathroom door lock clicked, and I froze in my position right beside it. I hadn’t meant to move so close. She’d think I was listening on purpose. You were.

The door swung open, and Riley jumped, looking up at me wide-eyed. She was wrapped in a damp towel. Which meant she was naked underneath. “Cash?”

“I-I was just…” What? I couldn’t think of a good excuse.

She let out a shaky breath and winced, her cute little nose crinkling. “Look, I know things are…awkward right now. And Lord knows, I’m no expert. I wasn’t around my parents enough to know what a healthy relationship looks like. But we know each other, we’ve talked over email for months. And I like you, Cash. I’ve grown to…care about you. A lot. We got married today.” She smiled up at me. “But I’m so incredibly nervous. I don’t know what to do or say. And I think you might be feeling the same way?”

I nodded, nostrils flaring, breathing in her scent, a scent unique to Riley, mixed with my soap. I barely stopped myself from leaning down and licking the drop of water sliding over one of her creamy, smooth shoulders.

She touched my arm, and I jolted. “Are you, Cash? Are you feeling the same way?”

She needed something from me, and I didn’t know what to do, what to say. My inclination was to howl in frustration, but that would only scare her. So I went with the truth. “I’m not…great with words. I want you to feel…”

“Kiss me,” she said.

I froze, again. “What?”

“I think we should just…get it out of the way, don’t you? I know some couples in situations like ours wait before they start the…intimate side of their relationship. But I’m worried the longer we wait, the harder it’ll get. What do you think?”

I wasn’t thinking. Not one damn thought. All I could see was her pretty, rosebud lips. “Yep,” I choked out.

“So you think we should…um, kiss?”

“Yep.”

She moved closer, her face tilted up to me, waiting, waiting for her husband to kiss her. I wanted to do this right. I didn’t want to mess it up. Do it, Cash. Kiss your damned wife.

I thought about our short kiss at the general store, the way her tongue had darted out. How I wanted to sink into it, into her. I’d let nerves get the better of me then, and it was happening again.

Riley was right. I didn’t want weeks of this tension. Of leaving it so long that it made things harder. I needed to do this now. I wanted to do this now.

She was a lot shorter than me, which made it difficult. If I was going to do this the way I needed to, and I had to, bending or crouching so much would make it more awkward. So instead, I gripped her hips over the damp towel and lifted her.

She made a little squeak sound, grabbing my arms, and I sat her on the kitchen counter in front of me.

We stared at each other.