Chapter 163 Planning to Reconcile?
The vibe between them got awkward for a second. All eyes were on Riley in a flash.
She squinted, feeling uneasy about getting too deep into it with Donovan. She turned to Dalton and shot, "Need something, Mr. Benedict?"
Dalton hesitated for a beat, then replied, "Figured it'd be rude to leave you hanging after inviting you over. Just wanted to shoot the breeze."
After Dalton wrapped up, he shot a quick look at Donovan. Donovan's poker face stayed put, showing zero interest in jumping in. So Dalton had to face the music.
Catching on, Riley flashed a cool smile. "I'm good. Ran into my schoolmate Adam here. Rare occasion, you know. We wanted to catch up. It's nice of you to consider my situation, but no need to go out of your way for me."
Riley's words laid it out straight, giving Dalton pause. Just as he was about to suggest they all chat together since they were acquainted, the click of high heels approached.
"Donovan, there you are. Your mother's on the hunt for you. You better go check it out." Hollis's voice cut through.
Dalton had to bite back his excuse.
Donovan scowled but didn't bolt right away. Meanwhile, Hollis sidled up, shooting Riley a doe-eyed look.
Seeing them side by side made Riley's stomach turn. "Looks like you're tied up, so I won't disturb you."
With that, Riley murmured something to Adam and they left. Since Hollis kept emphasizing Catherine's hunt for Donovan, he got no chance to ask them to stick around.
"She's on edge. I'll roll with you." Hollis noticed Donovan eyeballing Riley too long, sent a shiver up her spine. Her push got more urgent involuntarily.
Irritated, Donovan shot her a cold stare after the nagging, and Hollis cut her yap mid-sentence.
In a flash, he strolled past her, stone-faced, dismissive.
Hollis froze for a beat before catching on, clenched her jaw, and hustled after.
Riley and Adam posted up in a nook.
"Riley, spill on you and Mr. Wilder." Adam couldn't resist.
Riley gave a wry grin. "Huh? Just happened to cross paths."
Adam looked skeptical. "Really? Seemed like you two were ironing things out."
Donovan's vibe from earlier lingered with Adam.
Riley didn't see that coming and laughed it off. "Seriously? You missed his woman glued to his side?"
Adam had more to ask, but Riley redirected, "Let's drop it. Where were we, again?"
Hence Adam didn't press further and followed her lead back back to what they were chatting about before Dalton's crew crashed the convosation. Both bigwigs in their fields, they dove into their chat, leaving personal matters behind.
As the night dragged on, nudging ten, the party showed no signs of tapping out, and Riley got antsy. The trio of munchkins were waiting back home, especially Finley who needed her to tuck her in, no fail. Without Riley, Finley wouldn't catch Zs.
Thinking this, Riley wrapped up her chat with Adam, darted to find Daniel for her goodbyes.
