Caleb's POV
Damn it all to hell! Everything had been going so perfectly. Riley was finally opening up, letting me into her world instead of keeping those walls sky-high. When she invited me to her birthday dinner, the shock nearly knocked me flat, but the happiness that followed was something I hadn't felt in years. She was actually including me, after all the damage I'd caused.
I had friends scattered everywhere, people who would answer my calls without question, but lately none of them mattered. The only person occupying my thoughts was her. And now, discovering just how deeply my abandonment had wounded her all those years ago, rage burned through my veins like acid. I needed someone to pay for this. I shot to my feet, every muscle coiled for action. "Absolutely not! We have zero proof! You don't make a move until we know with complete certainty!" My father's voice thundered across the room, reading my intentions like an open book.
