Dating the Guy Upstairs Read Online Free Page B

dating, but it didn’t mean that they actually were. More to the point, even if he did want to date anyone, Riley would be the last choice. Not because she wasn’t gorgeous and smart and funny and a hundred other things, but because she wanted a boyfriend about as much as he wanted a girlfriend. In fact she’d probably take a frontal lobotomy rather than date anyone.
    None of which he could tell his brother.
    Not unless he wanted to be set up with every bridesmaid at the wedding, or deal with facing his toxic family alone. And right now, he needed all his focus to be on his business, not on avoiding Cupid’s arrow. It wasn’t as if they would have to keep up the charade for long, and he was sure that Riley wouldn’t mind since she’d already agreed to go to the wedding. Okay, that was a lie. He knew that she’d hate it, but he also knew that she’d be too sweet to say no to him. At least he hoped that would be the case. This time, it could work in his favor. He took a deep breath, but before he could reply there was a knock at the door, and a moment later Riley poked her head in.
    As was her normal morning ritual, her long red hair was in two braids and her glasses were pushed back on her head, which meant she’d probably been reading in bed.
    “Will. I figured that you wouldn’t have had time to get to the store, so I brought you up some milk and— Oh, hey, Tucker. I didn’t see you there. Congratulations on the upcoming wedding.”
    “Thanks, Riley. And congratulations right back at you.” Tucker stood up and scooped her into a bear hug. Will winced and tried to catch Riley’s eye to mentally inform her of the situation. It didn’t work.
    “Um, okay.” Riley wrinkled her nose. “So, that was different. Anyway, I’ll just put away the milk, coffee and bread and leave you two guys to catch up.”
    “You don’t need to go on my account,” Tucker assured her before giving her a broad wink. Will let out a silent groan. And to think that this was all a mess of his own making. “I’ve got to get to the office, but I’ll look forward to seeing you tonight and hearing more about how it happened.”
    “Tonight? How it happened?” Riley took off her glasses and rubbed the lenses as if that would somehow help her understand what Tucker was saying. “I’m not sure I follow. I thought that the wedding was on Saturday.”
    “It sure is. But now that Will’s told me the big news about you two dating, you have to come out to dinner tonight with the rest of the wedding party. I absolutely insist. Danni’s going to love you.”
    “Will? Why did Tucker just say that we’re dating?” Riley turned to him, her dark eyes enormous and full of confusion. Not that he could blame her, since there was never a good time to discover that you had a new fake boyfriend.
    “Because Will just told me that you were. And I think it’s great. I really do,” Tucker said, causing Riley’s mouth to drop open. “Though he was still a bit shy on the details. Like how come it has taken you guys so long? And what’s with all the secrecy?”
    “Will and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends, you know that.” Riley titled her head, as if trying to decide if he was drunk or not.
    “What do you mean?” Now it was Tucker’s turn to stare at him, his eyes full of questions. “What’s going on?”
    “Nothing.” Will ran his hand through his hair and sucked in his breath. As far as he could tell, he had two choices. He could either have a complicated conversation with Tucker about why he’d lied, and then suffer from his brother’s attempts to set him up, or he could just stop Riley from saying anything else and then convince her to go along with his plan later.
    Plan B it was. Before she could open her mouth, Will purposefully wove his way through the various potted plants until he reached her. Up close, her eyes were more like chocolate with small flickers of black running through them, and on the tip of her nose was a