“He doesn’t have a date?” Riley asked. This option had never occurred to her. “Why not?”
“He’s been too busy with the inn to date anyone and doesn’t want to make the wedding his first date with someone.” Olivia leaned closer. “Carson thinks he’s not over you yet.”
“Oh, he’s definitely over me. He wants to dock my pay next summer when I work as a tour guide.
“Really?” Olivia asked. “Why?”
Riley found herself telling Olivia about that decision, adding, “He knows being a tour guide is my favorite part of the job. He can’t fire me, so I think this is his way of trying to get me to quit.”
Olivia listened patiently. “Or, he’s just trying to be cost-effective in the way he runs the inn. He’s worried about letting Carson down and putting a lot of pressure on himself.”
Riley inwardly groaned. She’d just told her friend that Lucas was trying to get her to quit, and Olivia was not only taking his side of the argument, but she felt sorry for him.
It was one more reminder that Olivia was becoming a Clark, through and through. Lucas would be her brother-in-law, and her loyalties had already shifted to her new family.
CHAPTER 16
On the Friday morning before the wedding, Lucas went to find Wendy in housekeeping to make sure the rooms for Carson’s guests were ready. As he walked through the lobby, Riley stepped through the front door.
He did an actual double-take.
Riley had always had a sporty, no-nonsense style, the sort of woman you’d see in an exercise equipment commercial. Pretty, toned, and with a smile that said she could take you on in half a dozen sports and win.
Today she looked like a starlet on the way to a photo shoot—eye-stopping and glamorous, even in a simple cream sweater and black pants. Her hair had shiny highlights to it, looked twice as thick, and somehow had grown six inches longer overnight. Her eyelashes had also grown longer.
He couldn’t decide whether he liked the changes or not. That was the only reason he couldn’t take his eyes off her, the reason he was openly staring. Yes, she looked like a knockout, but why? Who was she trying to impress?
It most likely wasn’t him. And that thought bothered him.
“Morning,” she said.
His gaze kept going over her, cataloging the changes. The skin on her face didn’t actually look like skin. It looked more like a smooth canvas to which she’d added blush. The few freckles sprinkled across her nose had vanished, hidden by makeup.
Were the bridesmaids doing some sort of early photos he didn’t know about? “You’re all dolled up,” he said. “What’s the occasion?”
She swept past him to go to the front desk. “I’m meeting hot football players at a wedding.”
That was the reason for the change? Riley had never been a football player fan. “You got…” he waved a hand in her direction, “new eyelashes for a bunch of guys you don’t know and will only see for a few hours?”
“Maybe I started believing in love at first sight. After all, I shouldn’t rule out the phenomenon.” She picked up the notes from the evening shift and read them.
He sauntered over to her. “So in this scenario, the football player is going to fall in love with you at first sight but only if you have great eyelashes?”
She tapped newly lengthened and painted nails on the desk. “That’s how love at first sight works. It’s all about the eyelashes. Also, I don’t want to talk to you about romance because you’re not at all romantic.” She returned her attention to the report. “Which is why we’re no longer dating.”
“Is that why we’re not dating? I thought it was because you dumped me.”
“Yeah, there was that too.” She put down the report and scanned the check-ins. “Two of Carson’s friends will arrive during my shift, so the eyelashes are totally worth it.” Most of his friends were coming later in the evening. “I can leave the rehearsal dinner early to help Sara check in the rest. She’s going to be busy. I hate to think of her here all alone.”
That was unusual dedication. “You want to leave Olivia’s rehearsal dinner early in order to do more work?”
“It’s not like anyone will miss me. In fact, your family will be more comfortable if I’m not around. That way, they won’t have to make awkward conversation with your ex-girlfriend.”
“It won’t be awkward. My family likes you.”
“In that case, dinner with me will be a painful reminder that I’m the one that got away. I’ll explain that I need to go back to the inn to help Carson’s friends check in.”
Right.