Page 6 of The Next Chapters
“Just when I worry you hadn’t thought of everything,” Riley teased. “Text me when you get home.”
“Always.”
Gianna hardly even remembered the ride home, if she were entirely honest.
Because she was fucking floating.
As she hung her jacket in its proper spot in the coat closet before placing her shoes in their proper spot – by year, then by designer – she dug her phone out of her pocket.
Even though she was chronically on her phone – it was quite literally her job – she’d had no inclination to check any notifications or anything tonight. All she’d done had been to call her car.
She poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher in her fridge before she looked at her texts.
Ellie Beckett – 9:34 PM
I’m sure I will be hearing from Riley soon, but I’d like to know everything from your perspective, too. I hope it’s everything you have ever wished it could be.
Sweet, sweet Ellie.
There was also a text from her Mummo, asking Gianna to call her in the morning with the details. Obviously.
Pulling up Riley’s text thread, a knock on her door gave her pause.
Gianna frowned, tilting her head to the side – could she have… imagined it? She wasn’t really in the habit of surprise house guests in the middle of the night.
Nope, not imagining it. There was another knock.
Frowning, Gianna left her water but took her phone with her as she meandered back toward the front door, confused and mildly alarmed.
Quietly, she peered through the peephole. And that confusion and alarm dissipated immediately, replaced by a different kind of confusion laced with anticipation. Excitement.
Undoing both of her locks, she pulled the door open, already speaking, “Riley? What are you doing here? Are you okay?”
Riley was still dressed exactly as she’d been twenty-five minutes ago. Her hair was a little windswept, and her nose was kissed with a slight pink from the windchill.
She felt struck and enamored all over again.
Especially as Riley shook her head, smiling up at her. “No. There’s nothing wrong. I just – I need to talk about the date I went on tonight with my best friend.”
Oh, there it was.
Everything inside Gianna melted, her grin pulling widely at her mouth as she fully pulled the door open and urged Riley inside. “By all means.”
She watched, keeping wanting hands to herself, as Riley shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up in the closet where she always hung her jackets before she took off her shoes and put them in her spot.
“I was just standing in the lobby of my building, you know? Still flying so high from this date, and… it was the best date I’ve ever had. Seriously.”
“Seriously?” Gianna echoed, feeling both thrilled and victorious. Logically, it was one thing to know that she’d pulled off Riley’s best date ever.
But to have it confirmed was even better.
Riley turned to face her, and she took a deep breath as she held Gianna’s gaze. Not that it was going anywhere. “And I realized – I needed to come and see you. Because after every date I have, you’re the person I want to talk to about it. You’re the person I want to see. You’re the person I want whose opinions I want. Good, bad, ugly, and everything in between. You’re the person I trust.”
None of these statements were new information, but Riley had never stated them like this before. It made Gianna’s heart beat faster.
“You want me to get the wine?” She managed to ask, knowing that she couldn’t possibly dim the blinding smile on her face. “You can tell me all about this best date ever.”
Before she could take another step, though, Riley reached out and grabbed her wrist. Her hand slid slowly down, and Gianna opened her fingers automatically as Riley’s laced between hers.