Riley knew the second he saw her that she was THE ONE. The one that he would spend the rest of his life with. She was smart and funny and oh so beautiful. They got along like old friends and everything seemed perfect. Even her name was perfect, Valerie. She seemed so perfect there just HAD to be something wrong with her, some tiny flaw. And he knew what that flaw was: she was absolutely in love with Ian Howe. Her and Ian were dating and he could tell by the way they looked at each other that they were both in love. It was that true love that you can spot a mile away. His heart hurt every time he saw them together, laughing and kissing, just staring into each other's eyes as they tried to figure out where this clue for the treasure led them.
They had all decided to meet at Ian's huge house for long hours of clue solving. Valerie would sometimes cook for them. She would cook 'the food of her family' which was usually some dish from wherever she was from. It fed a lot and was perfect for the 8 of them. He remembered the first time he ate something she cooked and how it tasted like heaven. He remembered how he fantasized about them being married and her cooking amazing dishes for him all the time. He usually fantasized about her and hoped that no one, especially Ian, noticed.
He remembered the first time he had seen her. They had decided to meet at Ian's house that day and after they had been invited in, she had walked down the stairs towards them, smiling, and his heart flew. He knew he was head-over-heels in love with her and he knew he could never have her because she was Ian's and Ian would never let her go just like Riley never would if he had her.
Riley knew he would never get her the second he saw her and Ian 'making love'. They had gone into Ian's office to research something and didn't come back down. Eventually he was sent up to ask them what was taking so long and he had opened the door just a little bit and he had seen them. They looked almost fully clothed, but they must have been slightly undressed because those movements they were making were unmistakable. Ian had Valerie lying on his desk as he took her. Ian glanced at Riley for the briefest of seconds and had immediately grabbed her breasts as a sign of 'she's mine'. Riley had closed the door as silently as he had opened and went back downstairs to tell the others that they were working hard and hadn't found anything.
Riley also knew that he would never get Valerie when him, Ben, and Ian were all at lunch in a restaurant somewhere. Ian had pulled out a box and shown them what was inside. He told them he was going to propose to Valerie once they found the treasure. Riley felt his heart drop and shatter into a million pieces, but kept up his smile. Ben congratulated Ian and went on saying how they were the perfect couple. Ian talked about how he thought so too and just hoped she'd say yes. Riley half-listened and tried not to let his disappointment show.
The next day they were all headed to the Arctic Circle, Valerie included, to find The Charlotte.