Chapter One:
"Three weeks and I'll join you in Texas." Riley let her fingers trace his jawline as she stared into his meadow green eyes, feeling her heart race in a way that only he was able to create in her.
Lucas looked down at her smiling, "I wish you could come now."
"I know, but I still have finals and have to finish my internship, but I will be on the first flight out as soon as they're done. Nothing is going to stop me from joining you in Texas and becoming Mrs. Lucas Friar." She felt his lips on hers knowing this was the last kiss for a while, she could feel it in her knees, her toes, the strength of his lips as his love swept through her.
"It's just three weeks; I promise I'll have the house as ready as it can be for your arrival." His fingers twisted in the ends of her hair, he was going to miss doing this the next three weeks, all these simple little moments, touches, caresses, but he understood.
She closed her eyes as she held him one last time, breathing in his woodsy masculine scent that always comforted her. "I love you, and in three weeks we're going to start our lives together in Texas and I can't wait."
"I love you to." He kissed the top of her head, "I should get through security now I'll call you when I land."
"You better because I already miss you." She slipped her fingers in with his, "But it's only three weeks, we've done three months before, this should be a breeze."
"And just think, not long after those three weeks, we'll be getting married."
"I can't wait to be married to you, we'll have at least three kids, I can already picture them running around the ranch, and we are going to have a very happy life."
He brought her hand to his lips kissing her fingers and looking down at her engagement ring, "At least you'll have this on to keep the guys from chasing after you while we're apart."
Riley giggled, "No other guys are chasing after me they know you've had my heart all this time."
"Good," he sighed, "I really do have to go."
"The sooner you go, the sooner I'll join you, I promise." She bit her lip trying to ignore the pain she felt of him leaving, "You are going to be so busy on the ranch, setting up the house, getting to know your clients, patients that you'll probably forget to pick me up at the airport."
"I could never forget to pick you up at the airport." Lucas gave her one final kiss before he slowly backed away, "Riley Emily Matthews, soon-to-be Friar, I love you."
"I love you Lucas Merlin Friar" She watched him, feeling her heart tighten as she watched him get in line for security, she waited until he was going through the body scan, after that he was as good as gone, and in a few weeks she would go through that same body scan, get on her own flight to Texas and then they would start their new life together.
Ten Years Later
Riley moved down the streets of New York, dodging other pedestrians as she tapped away on her phone through emails and other messages. When her phone rang she slide her thumb over the screen, "Riley Matthews, no we can't do that, I know that the client wants it but the permits and the insurance would cost three times the budget of everything else we need for the party."
Riley slipped into the bakery, thankful that she'd missed the rush and her younger brother handed her the standard order and gave her a look informing her she had to get off the phone and talk to him. "Listen Cora I have to go, see if you can find something we can project onto the giant video screen that will satisfy them instead. I'll be in the office soon."
"You work too much" Auggie told her as he guided her to the seats in the back, "Listen Riles, I know tomorrow is the big day where you turn thirty, and you're trying to distract yourself from all of that and the fact that you're still single."
"Not all of us marry our first loves." She stiffened, trying to ignore the way her stomach dropped, the chill shooting through her body, the way it felt like her heart was being twisted.
"You could've married your first love, but you stayed in New York, why?" It had been a decade, he'd spent that time not asking, he was sure he knew the answer, but he needed her to finally say it out loud.
"Auggie, you know Lucas broke up with me, it was that flight or never, and I couldn't make that flight, so it's over." She bite the inside of her cheek, "He's like married and has kids or something like that by now. So get that silly thought out of your head. And I'm not freaking out about turning thirty."
"Ava wants to know if you're coming over for dinner tonight."
"I can't, I have work to do and plans already."
"Riles, you're getting drunk with Maya, aren't you over that?"
Riley sighed, "Auggie you make it sound far worse than it is." But she knew he was right, she wouldn't tell him that though. "I have to go, I have a meeting. I'll come over for dinner in a few days, I'll text you my schedule is just crazy right now."
Auggie rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I'll tell Mom and Dad you're off doing body shots off male strippers' bodies again, it won't faze them."
"Auggie" Riley snapped towards him, "That's not funny."
"Then grow up, stop running from" Auggie took a moment trying to stop himself from saying too much, "From whatever it is you're scared of and hiding from. You're going to be thirty tomorrow."
Riley looked down at her coffee cup, "Auggie, I love you, but let me deal with my own anxiety about this life change; you deal with the fact that your wife is pregnant."
"Fine Riley, keep being miserable, keep trying to save Maya from herself, when are you going to save yourself, when are you going to make a decision for your own happiness, not for hers?"
"I make decisions for my own happiness all the time." She told him, but the words felt as if they were the most dishonest ones she could possible speak.
Auggie sighed, his heart breaking for his older sister, "I wish you did Riley, I really wish you did. I got to get back to work. We'll talk later."
"Yeah, yeah we will." Riley clutched the coffee cup close to her as she moved towards the door, trying not to let what he said get to her more than it already was.
Once she was at work she got lost in meetings with clients and dealing with vendors when she got called into her bosses office. "What can I do for you Sheri?"
Sheri was a tall woman, former runway model who'd had the kind of connections to the wealthy and famous inner circles to become the party planner to all the most glamourous events. "Riley how long have you worked for me?"
"About nine years, why" Riley knew this conversation could go one of two ways. "Is something wrong?"
"I just got off the phone with Melanie Donald you've been working on her daughter's sweet sixteen New Year's party, right?"
Her stomach dropped, "Yes, I've been trying to find a work around to the indoor fireworks idea they had, like a projection screen or a laser show."
"They're not very bright are they?" Sheri tapped her acrylic finger nails against the glass top of her desk, "Do you have numbers yet for what the cost for either of those would be yet?"
"Not yet, I've got a call into the venue to find out which one they would even allow, or what they need to do to have an installation for either done, and what the cost would be."
Sheri nodded, "You do good work Riley, you always come up with a creative solution, I trust that you'll get this figured out, I know Melanie can be a lot to handle, but I would've have given you this party if I didn't think you couldn't do it."
"Thank you Sheri, that means the world to me."
"Good, now get out of here, I'm sure you have things to do with your night, a young man to see, be romanced by."
Riley shook her head, "No, I've been single for a while." She confessed.
Sheri looked to her, "Don't turn being alone into a badge of honor Riley don't become cold and cynical because you think it will protect you and others, you have to be open to love."
"I was, once, and I gave him up."
"And if he were to walk into this room right now can you say your heart wouldn't do flip-flops that you wouldn't feel your breath hitch?"
"My heart probably would flip-flop, my breath would hitch I would probably faint the second I laid eyes on him or heard his voice. But I made a choice, and he made his, and that led us in two very different directions. I'm here, and he's probably married with three kids by now."
"Such a shame, don't get lost in your career Riley, or whatever it was that kept you from him in the first place."
"I'll keep that in mind, goodnight Sheri." Riley left the office returning to hers and grabbing her things before heading out.
"Hey Maya," she spoke into the voicemail box as she left the lobby of the high rise office building, "I'm off to change, but I'll meet you for dinner at eight like planned, just don't start drinking without me okay."
She tossed a few dollars into charity Santa's bucket "May you get your Christmas wish" the Santa called out.
Something about it sent a chill through her body as she crossed the street and made her way to the subway station, where she just caught the train to her apartment, as she looked around getting lost in the nostalgia as she watched a young couple giggle and flirt and she couldn't help but remember the way it felt to be around Lucas.
When she got back to her apartment she changed, pulled her hair up in a fun twist and started to dig through her jewelry box to find something more fun than what she would wear to work when she pulled out the charm bracelet that Lucas had given her their sophomore year of high school, it was filled with charms he had given her on her birthday, Christmas, and their anniversary.
She felt a pang in her heart as she studied the charms, and couldn't help but wonder if he would've kept up the tradition of the charms once they married.
She wasn't sure what compelled her to do it but she put the bracelet on, watching the way the different charms dangled she couldn't help but smile. She adjusted her skirt, grabbed her jacket and purse and made her way out of the apartment. She hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of the restaurant and when she got out she gave him a nice tip since he didn't try to make small talk with her.
She studied the high rises around her, for a moment she was sure she saw a shooting star across the evening sky feeling warmth in her heart. When she turned around the horse of a mounted Police officer got spooked right in her face and she fell backwards before everything went dark.
"Riley, can you hear me?" His voice echoed in her ears as she blinked her eyes open, the pounding headache as she gasped when she looked into his eyes.
"Lucas?" she couldn't believe it, of all the people in the world who could've caught her when a police horse knocked her over it would be him.