Page 179 of Dare To Live

I let the server fill my glass, avoiding the stares of the men around our table.

As much as I love Miles, I’m annoyed he’s interfering. Things between me and Eli feel like they’ve shifted. There’s a new tension between us. It makes me hesitant to open up, and even if I do, I’m not doing it in front of an audience.

Eli is silent beside me. When I glance his way, I can’t read the expression in his eyes.

“So, you aren’t planning on staying in L.A.?” Garrett’s voice draws my attention away from the man beside me.

“I’m not sure yet. It depends if I can find a fashion house with an opening.”

“Bella quit her job to come to the reunion,” Miles shares.

Eli frowns. “You quit your job?”

“My boss was an asshole who stole my designs. Turns out he’s Ivan’s ex. I didn’t find that out until I asked for the time off to come here.” I take a sip of my drink, hoping the alcohol will calm my nerves.

Ivan toys with the delicate stem of his glass. “Marcel and I only dated for six months. I had no idea he was Arabella’s boss until she mentioned his name after she quit.”

“He decided to take out his failed relationship on me.” I continue, anger rising at the memory. “All because Miles is my best friend and is now with Ivan.”

“That’s fucked up.” Garrett says.

“We might have worked out what his problem was sooner, if my fiancé shared things.” Miles arches an eyebrow at Ivan. “It could have saved Bella all that frustration and upset at work.”

The older man shrugs. “My exes are in my past. They don’t have any bearing on my future with you. I don’t find any relevance in mentioning them. If I had known that Marcel was causing trouble for Bella, I would have had words with him and made sure it ended.”

“Have you applied for any other positions?” Garrett asks.

Miles answers before I can. “She was looking at a job in Milan.”

Eli stills in the middle of reaching for his glass. “Milan, Italy?”

I lick my lips. “It’s one of the cities I’ve always dreamed of working in. I applied for the position there at the end of January, but I haven’t heard anything.”

Right after I’d returned from the cabin after Eli’s rejection. I can still feel the humiliation, pain, and misery from that encounter.

Garrett flips open his menu. “You’ll get to visit the rest of Europe while you’re there.”

I shake off the unpleasant memories. “That would be the plan if I got the job.”

“When were you going to tell me?” Eli asks.

“There’s nothing to tell. I probably don’t even have the job.”

He stares at me for a second, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “Would you have told Elena?”

I frown. “Of course, I’d tell my mom if I moved.”

“And I would have learned about it from her?”

“I guess, in theory…it’s not like we were talking when I applied for the position.” I can’t hide the defensiveness from my tone.

We’d been virtual strangers, absent in each other’s lives for ten years. But now he’s back in my life, and I’m scared that if I blink, everything will change all over again.

“Can you believe New Year was only two and half months ago?” Garrett opens his menu. “It feels a lot longer.”

“This has been a long week for all of you,” Ivan says. “But it has given you time to put all the ghosts to rest.”

Chapter 102

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