Unraveling the Truth About Love by Addison Cole

Author:Addison Cole [Cole, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: World Literary Press
Published: 2018-11-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

RILEY HAD BEEN hunkered down, laboring over Josh’s dining room table all afternoon and into the evening, adding the final touches to Max’s wedding gown design. She’d changed into a cotton skirt that reached her ankles and a thin sweater, the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Music filtered into the room through an intercom in the wall just beside the doorframe where Josh was leaning in his pressed jeans and polo shirt, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in each hand. She’d been working for hours, and Josh had tried to leave her alone and not hover like a needy boyfriend, but he found himself drawn to her, and every half hour or so he’d wandered into the room just to touch her shoulder or kiss her cheek. He loved knowing she was there. His apartment had felt different since she’d arrived. The starkness he’d felt that morning had dissipated. Now it felt more like home.

Riley set down her pencil and lifted her head, smiling when she noticed Josh. “Sorry I’ve been at it for so long,” she said.

“I could get used to this.” He handed her a warm mug.

“Mm. Thank you.” She took a sip. “Now I see why you moved here. Until the sun went down, the warmth of its rays through the windows was so inspiring. I swear, if I were you, I’d forget the office and just stay right here.” She ran her finger over the intricate carvings on the edge of the stately dining room table, upon which Josh had laid a worktop that he’d had specially made for the surface. “Of course, it does put a damper on the beauty of your dining room to have notes and drawings scattered about.”

He pulled out a chair and sat beside her. “I never entertain, so the dining room has been unused for the most part. It can get too quiet here when I’m alone.”

“I can see that. When I was talking with Max, I realized how much I missed working with the public. I know I have to learn the business, and I appreciate the opportunity, but I do miss interacting with customers.”

“You’ll do just that with the buyers at the trade show, and this”—he pointed to the wedding gown—“this will bring you to a whole other level. But do you think you’ll be happy when you’re a designer? There’s a lot of pressure, even more so than when you’re assisting, even though it seems the assistants do all the dirty work. And the people you’re designing for, at our level, they’re not Weston customers. Some of them are notoriously picky, conceited bastards. A designer’s life is not as glamorous as it looks from the outside.”

She reached out and touched his thigh. “I know. I’m not that naive. Josh, I know you love designing, but how do you really feel about the business of it? It’s just you and me here, and I’d never say anything to anyone.”

He looked at her then and knew he wanted to share this with her.

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