Page 17 of Dare Me

By the fourth block, Arianna let out a growl of pure anger. Not only did she willingly state that she’d walk the mile back to Liam’s, but she was doing it while wearing cute shoes that were not meant for this kind of thing. Muttering a curse, she crossed yet another street and contemplated how she was going to handle this job situation. If they called her and offered her the position, she didn’t need anyone’s permission to take it.

And that realization hit her so hard that she stopped in her tracks.

“Huh. I do not need anyone’s permission,” she murmured. “Imagine that.” She was about to start walking when a car pulled up beside her. Turning her head, she noted it wasn’t a car, butsome sort of Jeep SUV. When she took a closer look, her heart kicked hard in her chest when she realized the driver was Will.

He got out and walked over to her, his expression cautious.

Smart man.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Are you okay?”

For a moment, Arianna just stared at him.

Am I okay? Am I okay? No! You broke my heart, you bastard!

Chances are she’d say those things eventually, just…not right now.

“What are you doing here, Will?” she asked instead. “And not here on the sidewalk, but here in Laurel Bay with my brother.”

Will let out a long breath and raked a hand through his blond hair. “It’s a really long story. Can we maybe go somewhere and talk?”

“Welp, since you’re the reason I’m going to be homeless, how about we go to Liam’s so I can pack while you talk?” she asked sarcastically.

“I didn’t know…”

“Yeah, whatever,” she said as she walked over to the Jeep and climbed in. Will followed and neither said a word the entire drive.

Thankfully, the drive was only three minutes, but it felt like a lot longer.

As soon as he parked, Arianna got out and started walking up the steps to her brother’s third-floor apartment. She didn’t wait for Will and stomping her feet was a great way to get out some of her rage, and she needed a few minutes to herself before talking to him.

Once inside the apartment, she considered storming right to the bedroom and packing, but she opted to simply pace until he caught up with her.

It didn’t take long and as soon as he walked in, he quietly shut the door behind him. She turned and looked at him and just wanted to cry. She’d been dreaming about this moment for a year and yet…this was so not the way she thought it would go. And right now, she was pissed off at everything and everybody, and this man was going to be on the receiving end of it all.

She didn’t even feel a little guilty about that.

“Okay, now can you tell me why you’re here with my brother?” she snapped.

“Maybe we should sit…?” he suggested as he slowly walked over to the sofa.

“I’d rather stand.” Yeah, she knew it was a bratty response, but right now she felt entitled to that.

Part of her expected him to maybe pace or at least stand and face her, but he sat down with a weary sigh, raking his hands through his hair. When he looked up at her, she could feel his helplessness. “It wasn’t until we were on the plane and you were talking about your family that I realized who you were,” he began. “I’ve known your brother long enough to know he’s passionate about a few things—his service to his country and his family. And he’s particularly protective of his sisters. So once I put it all together, I knew the best thing to do was to walk away.”

“Best for who?” she shouted, and almost hated how shrill she sounded. Before Will could respond, she went on. “Did you hear what happened at dinner? The way my father tried to tell me I couldn’t decide about my own damn life? Dammit, Will! I’ve had to deal with this sort of thing for so long and then you go and do the same thing!” Now she felt like crying and that just made her angrier.

“I had no idea about that,” he said weakly. “All I knew was that there was no way I was going to come between you and your family. Maybe it was wrong, but…”

“Oh, it was definitely wrong,” she countered. “So unbelievably wrong.” Now she needed to pace. “I realize it was only one day and that maybe I over-romanticized it in my head—but I truly believed we had a connection. You could have at least had the decency to text me and just say that you changed your mind! Even if you didn’t want to bring my brother into it, you could have just said something, Will! Anything! The few, the proud, my ass!”

“Arianna…”

“No! You don’t get to say anything now!” she cut him off. “You had a year to say something and you chose not to. You took the coward’s way out!”

“It wasn’t like that!” he said, jumping to his feet. “I thought I was protecting you! And after witnessing what I did at dinner, I still believe that!”

“No, Will, you were protectingyou,” she said sadly. “You don’t know anything about me or my family other than whatever nonsense my brother yammered on about to you. And you know what? I can handle myself. I don’t need you or anyone intervening for me.” Sighing, Arianna walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator for herself before facing him again. “The thing is, if you were really interested in me, you would have at least tried. So…I get it.”

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