Sorry this took me a little bit longer than anticipated between vacation and then fighting to get the dynamics just how I wanted them… My best guess is that this sort of wait is what you can approximately expect for updates as we move forward.
Thanks to everyone who has read, reblogged, commented, liked…whatever you've done to support the fic. It means the world to me. And just a reminder, I'm more than happy to chat about this or any of my other fics if you pop into my inbox. I promise I'm friendly.
In this installment, Riley and Lucas are late to dinner, there's some hand-holding, and Riley has a small chat with her dad.
"It went fine." Lucas repeats his assurance with a sigh. It's only the umpteenth time since they had officially checked into their room that he's said something similar but it doesn't do anything to stop Riley's frenzied work at unpacking her things and getting everything in the room set up 'just so', something he is almost positive is a manifestation of her nerves over the whole week.
Of all the clients he's had since he started working as an escort, Riley is definitely the biggest bundle of nerves and insecurities.
She's also the prettiest, but Lucas really does his best to make sure he's not actively thinking about that; it has nothing to do with the job and thinking like that is one of the fastest ways to start forming attachments. Not a good business practice.
"How can you say that?" Riley asks, hanging some of her clothing up in the room's wardrobe. "I was completely flustered…"
"A lot of people get flustered when they're introducing a new partner to their families. It didn't suddenly seem strange because it was you doing it."
Riley counters his explanation quickly. "Auggie was eyeing you with suspicion the whole time."
Lucas has to school his reaction carefully; the seriousness with which Riley makes the statement, looking at him pointedly through the tops of her eyes while arranging a suit on a hanger makes it clear that this is no laughing matter to her, and he's fairly certain she won't take kindly to any sort of laughter or smirking on his part, no matter how cute her concerned expression is. "As your brother, he thinks it's his job to look at any guy you bring home with suspicion. Trust me, he doesn't actually suspect anything."
"But how can you possibly know that? You met him half an hour ago."
"I know because normal people don't just assume that the guy their sister is dating is actually a hired escort."
"Oh." Riley's expression drops into a softer blush and a nervous giggle. "Right." With her clothing hanging safely in the wardrobe and logic temporarily poking a hole in the haze of her apprehension she's left standing there, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Lucas, having already taken care of his unpacking as well, watches her. He watches her chew carefully on the corner of her lip, and he watches her bounce and rock on her heels, and he watches her gaze move from her mostly empty suitcase, to the doors leading out to the room's small balcony, to him, to the room's bed. The room's one and only queen-sized bed that Riley has been edging carefully around and inspecting every time she thinks he's not looking.
Knowing what little that he does about her, Lucas is certain that Riley is not only nervous about being around her family for the wedding and the whole hiring a fake boyfriend thing, she's quite possibly petrified over the idea of sharing a bed with him.
Maybe he hadn't been clear enough when he said he doesn't have sex with clients and that nothing would happen without her permission.
Lucas wants to reassure her, that absolutely nothing is going to happen and that the situation isn't exactly a big deal anyways but stops himself at the last minute. For one, he's not certain that bringing up the subject without warning won't end with the nervous girl having an anxiety attack of some sort, and for another, no matter how routine and rote this week is for him, to Riley it is most definitely a big deal. To downplay or make light of any of it won't make her feel any better; if anything it could drive a wedge between them, making the week harder for the both of them.
He settles on mentally preparing himself to sleep on the room's small sofa should things come to that, and on finding a new conversation topic to fill the silence that's settling in the space. "Remind me who's going to be at this dinner we're going to tonight?"
Riley perks up a bit, seemingly grateful to have been given something to do. "Well, Ava's an only child and her parents are on a Mediterranean Cruise until Friday-they'll be back just in time for the rehearsal dinner- so it's pretty much just going to be the extended Matthews clan." She crosses over to him, removing her phone from the pocket of her shorts. She then pulls up her facebook page (underused if the fleetingly seen last post dated nearly eight months ago is any indication) and starts to bring up various pictures, giving him the rundown of all the family that will be in attendance at the upcoming welcome party.
As the ersatz introductions and commentary progress, the pair slowly drift to the couch and sit next to each other while chatting. Lucas tries to take in as much as he can and commit it to memory; as far as anyone else knows, he and Riley have been dating for months and even if they have been keeping the relationship quiet, it would be strange if he didn't know a thing about her family.
Riley's information stays very fact-based, so unfortunately he doesn't pick up very many hints as to why she doesn't spend much time with her family or why she wanted to lie in the first place (when it strikes him as being in stark contrast to her personality), but the longer they talk and the more she relaxes, the more comfortable Lucas feels about meeting everyone and playing his role properly.
It won't exactly be hard to look at this girl with adoration.
He knows a lot about her. Yes, she's guarded about the details of whatever it was in her past that drove a wedge between her and most of her family, but between the time they've spent together in the day since they've met and the background check he runs on every client, Lucas is really starting to get a feel for who Riley Matthews is.
She's kind-hearted and soft, brimming with joy and innocence when she lets herself relax but there's also something harder behind her eyes-a fiery wall lying in wait should anyone or anything happen to cross her. She's clumsy and nervous, self-conscious and self-critical. But she's also hard-working. Nurturing. Independent.
Not to mention beautiful.
Riley Matthews is exactly the sort of client that his business partner has always kept him away from. Using distance in addition to the hard and fast rules they've come up with to ensure that things don't become too complicated. Because if he wasn't on the job, Riley Matthews is exactly the sort of person he would fall for. And there has already been a moment or two where he's felt something more than just a hand brushing against another hand or eyes meeting during a conversation.
Over the next week he's going to have to be incredibly careful.
"Take my hand." Lucas instructs.
"What?" Riley, who had been standing stock still and staring at the door they really should be going through, snaps her head to look at him, eyes wide.
By the time they're standing outside of the bed and breakfast's dining room, ready to join Riley's family for the welcome dinner, Riley is palpably and profoundly nervous. And not just because they're nearly twenty minutes late because they got caught up in their chat and they had to rush to change into dinner appropriate clothing and make themselves presentable, although that certainly hasn't helped matters.
No, Lucas knows that his client is worried about being on his arm and walking into a room where she's going to be under the scrutinous eyes of her parents and extended family (although which worries her more seems to change at any given moment) and the next few hours for him are going to be a delicate dance. Doing his job means being a steadfast, calming presence for Riley, while deflecting attention when and where it's needed, coming off as a charming and doting partner, gathering information that will help him fine-tune his performance to better do his job, and, should things get really tense, jumping in as any good partner would and protecting and defending his 'girlfriend'. Thankfully, it's a dance he's familiar with, and he knows how to guide someone else through it as he performs.
"Take my hand." He repeats softly. Riley continues to look more stunned than understanding of his words so Lucas goes on to explain himself. "You're nervous. Very understandably so, but when you come off as nervous it tips everyone else off to look for what's wrong; so you should take my hand when we walk in there. It will remind you that you're not facing anything here alone, and it will catch everyone's attention. I'm the story here, not you."
"You being here might be a story," Riley answers, "but the story they're really gonna be interested in is that I'm here with a guy like you."
It's not the first time she's made such comment, implying he's not what her family will expect, or that she'd never normally be able to date someone who looks as good as he does. Lucas has been chalking that up to her self-esteem and perception issues but he's starting to wonder if there's more to that story as well.
"Let me handle them." He encourages. "That's why you hired me."
"And because I'm a lying liar. Who lies." She chews on her lip.
"Only to take care of yourself."
"Well, when the truth comes out, and it always gets forced out somehow, none of them are gonna care about that."
The comment raises another flag or three about the story that he's missing, Lucas is sure of it. Nobody is naturally that pessimistic about a few whitish-gray lies. It's just another thing that he'll have to ask about later. Right now, they're already late and drawing attention to themselves; every moment they stand around, worrying about joining the party is another moment that makes their arrival seem like more than it is. Right now, the focus is on getting Riley through the evening, hopefully without a panic attack.
"I have never had a client outed who didn't want to be." He tries to assure. "Riley, my number one priority this week is to take care of you. That means I will help you handle anything and everything that comes up. You just have to hold my hand and remember to breathe."
"Hold your hand," Riley mutters and plunges her hand into a death grip with his, "and remember to breathe." She inhales deeply, in an almost exaggerated manner.
Lucas is fairly certain that if he can get her to smile before they walk in the room, she'll follow his lead and it will be hectic, but relatively smooth sailing. He starts to walk her to push open the door to the dining room, guiding her through; at the last second he leans down to whisper in her ear. "Do you know why the snowman was looking through all the carrots?"
Riley doesn't stop moving with him, but once again she snaps her head to look at him, this time with an utterly confused look on her face. "What…?"
"He was picking his nose."
Her puzzled frown morphs into a resonant giggle, and as they step into the dining room to join everyone, her eyes gain a spark.
Lucas grins. Mission accomplished.
"Riley! Finally! There you are!" A loud, borderline brash female voice cuts through the quiet chatter of the dining room not long after he and Riley enter, drawing everyone's attention. A perfectly put together young woman, easily identifiable to Lucas as Auggie's fiance Ava, shoves between her companions to rush up and grab Riley's shoulders, drawing her into the ritual of kissing near each other's cheeks. "We were starting to worry that you had decided to run back to California."
The room titters at the comment, and Lucas notices several people sharing knowing glances or nudges.
Riley's smile tightens, her cheeks bright red. "No, we just lost track of time while we were unpacking." She repeats the excuse she had given when Auggie had called, wondering why they weren't at the dinner with everyone else.
"Well, with a man like this on your arm, who could blame you?" Ava eyes him up and down, not dissimilar to the way his business partner had when they first met; if possible, Riley's cheeks flush hotter while Ava holds out her manicured hand. "Ava Morgenstern, soon-to-be Matthews. You must be Riley's new beau."
"Lucas." He shakes her hand, still holding onto Riley in his left. "Riley's told me so much about you and the wedding. You must be counting down the minutes until Saturday." Thus far it's not the quiet entrance he was hoping for to help put Riley at ease, but getting the bride-to-be to start talking wedding details should help deter most people's interest and reduce the amount of eyes on them to a more manageable number.
Ava rolls her eyes and sighs heavily. "More like counting all the ways everything can go wrong and making sure they don't happen. As beautiful as they are, weddings are a nightmare. But," she brightens and reaches behind her with a quick glance to grab Auggie's hand and pull him into the conversation, "it will all be worth it when I have the perfect ceremony and I am finally and officially Mrs. Ava Matthews-Morgenstern."
"Officially?" Lucas asks.
"They had a small, informal ceremony when they were six." Riley answers for them. As Lucas had predicted, letting Ava move the discussion away from their arrival has caused several people in the room to lose interest and return to their other conversations and under less scrutiny, Riley's death grip on his hand relaxes and she starts to breathe a little easier. "Nothing too fancy, just a tasteful promise of their eternal devotion to each other."
Auggie puffs up his chest and grins. "Well it worked, didn't it? We've been together ever since."
"Ensuring that the Matthews' legacy lives on." An older man, who Lucas figures Auggie could easily turn into twenty or thirty years down the line, steps behind Auggie, placing a hand on either of his shoulders and shaking gently.
Lucas reasons that the newcomer is Riley's dad, Cory. For one, he matches the pictures that Riley had shown him in preparation for this dinner. For another, he sees Riley's smile falter at the mention of a 'Matthews' legacy' and the blink that takes a second too long before she drops his hand. And lastly, there's the greeting.
"Hey Dad." She says rocking on her heels.
"Riley!" Cory steps around Auggie and Ava, holding his arms out; Riley obliges the offered embrace, putting her hands on his forearms and leaning in to kiss his cheek. As she pulls back, he keeps an gentle grip on her elbows and looks her up and down. "You look...really pale for someone who lives in Los Angeles."
"Yeah, well, work really gets in the way of beach time." Riley nods.
"You're really working that much?"
"Since my landlord and the grocery store and student loan providers like money...yeah. Work is pretty much what I do with my time." She presses her lips together.
Cory's puzzled frown deepens, taking on a more unhappy slant. "There's a lot more to the world than work and paying the bills, Riley."
It's not exactly the sort of greeting that Lucas would expect to see between a man and his daughter. It's not even the sort of greeting he would expect between a man and his realtor, and he can't help but be a little surprised. Riley had explained the disconnect but he she hadn't painted a picture of this kind of distance; it bothers him more than he expects and it takes an extra beat for Lucas to remember his job is not solely to observe.
"Actually, Riley's sense of responsibility is one of the many things I love about her." Lucas slides his arm around Riley's waist, relieved that she doesn't tense up more than she already is at the new touch; although they had discussed close contact as part of selling the relationship and had talked about what she would be comfortable with there's no distancing from the fact that he's little more than a stranger getting up close and personal without much warning.
Cory blinks and frowns, assessing him as a newcomer. "And you are…?"
"Dad, this is Lucas." Riley introduces. "He's the guy I've been seeing for the last few months."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir." Lucas offers his hand and does his best to put a touch of earnestness in his smile, not so much as to be blatantly sucking up, but enough to try and appeal to Cory's sense of flattery.
It doesn't work. Cory shakes his hand, but doesn't return the smile, narrowing his eyes instead. "Do you have a last name, Lucas?"
"Friar, sir." He gives his own last name. Clients know it anyways because it's all over the contract that they sign, and although it doesn't often come up with the other people he meets while on the job, he figures when it does, there's little point in lying. He's not doing anything wrong, and it's not as if he'll ever see them again anyways.
"And what do you do for work, Mr. Friar?"
"I have a customer service job at the moment that's putting me through Vet School." Again, not a total lie. Being an escort certainly is related to customer service in a way. And he's not attending classes right now but outside of his living expenses and the loans from his undergrad degree, all the money he earns working is going into savings to eventually pay for Veterinary School. Still, this feels a little more strange coming out of his mouth than his last name did. It's not something that he normally shares with clients and he's not sure why he's let it slip now.
"Work and school and still you find the time to date my daughter?"
The interrogation rubs Lucas the wrong way. Two minutes before his introduction Cory didn't seem to know Riley at all, but now he's jumping straight into protective father mode as if she's still a young girl going on her first date? It's a dynamic that leaves him wondering at the pieces of the puzzle he's missing, but unless Riley asks him to, his job isn't to unpack that or get defensive.
He keeps up his smile and he shrugs. "I've found that if things are important enough to you you can make the time, sir."
"Interesting."
Riley frowns at the obvious judgement in her father's tone. "Dad, Lucas didn't come here for you to give him the third degree."
"Maybe not but I think a father has a right to know who his daughter thinks is worthy of her time when she has rejected-,"
"Dad!" Auggie cuts Cory off, a very definitive warning look on the young man's features. "I thought we agreed that you were going to drop that? For the sake of the wedding and for Riley."
The non-verbal exchange that follows between father and son is fascinating and Lucas could probably watch it for hours but Riley sighs and interrupts before it goes on too far. "It's fine, Auggie. I should probably make the rounds with Lucas and introduce him to everyone else before they serve dinner, anyways. Where's mom?"
"Topi's out on the deck." Ava waves a hand towards the double doors that lead outside. Peering over, Lucas can just see the imposing older woman standing with a short blonde. "I tried to keep her in here but you were running late and her favorite daughter had something she wanted to talk about so they stepped out a few minutes before you got here.
Lucas doesn't know if Ava means to be so cutting with her explanation, but between the admonishments she receives from Auggie, the strange look that passes over Cory's face and the hurt that flashes in Riley's eyes, he figures that the bride has hit a nerve somewhere. "You never mentioned a sister."
"She means Maya." Riley says, pressing her lips together. "Uncle Josh's wife."
Again, Lucas gets the feeling that there's a massive story that he is just...missing. From Cory's flinch when Riley calls Maya 'Uncle Josh's wife' to Ava feeling totally confident calling the girl Topanga's favorite daughter...there's something more happening than just a woman who doesn't connect with her parents. He's feeling a bit more like he's in the position to ask (what kind of boyfriend wouldn't inquire about such obvious tension?) but he doesn't get the chance.
Riley slides her arm around him, finally reciprocating his embrace. "Come on Lucas. You should meet my grandparents."