Page 27 of Dare Me

Will remembered shopping with her in Ghirardelli Square and how much she enjoyed walking into every store and touching pretty much everything.

He wouldn’t mind shopping like that again.

And considering no one’s warning him away from her—if anything, it was their suggestion—he thought it might be the perfect way for the two of them to spend time together and reconnect.

He’d never been more excited about a move in his life.

“You should give my daughter Ryleigh a call,” Shane said. “Do it before my wife tries to set the two of you up.”

“Dad!” Liam said with a huff. “What the hell? Why is Mom trying to set Will up with Ryleigh?”

His father snorted with laughter. “Liam, please. You know how your mother is. Now that you’re home, she’ll start trying to find a nice girl for you too.”

Beside him, Liam groaned.

Turning his head, Will grinned. “So this is what it’s like to have a big family, huh?”

“And being that you’re the oldest,” Jamie chimed in, “Mom’s not gonna rest until she sees you settled down with a nice girl.” He clapped Liam on the shoulder. “Welcome home, bro!” And with a hearty laugh, he walked back to the kitchen.

By the time they left the pub, it was after nine and Will desperately wanted to just crawl into bed and sleep. The days were long and a little monotonous, but he knew this was just phase one of the whole thing. He was going to have to sit down and start drawing up actual plans once they found the property they were going to purchase. He already had a ton of preliminary sketches ready to go, but until the property was locked down, it was all up to interpretation.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat,” he said as he kicked his shoes off the moment they stepped into the apartment.

“I hear ya,” Liam agreed.

“Is there anything we have to do tomorrow, or can I sleep in?”

“Sleep in. Definitely sleep in.” Liam walked over and collapsed on the couch, but Will knew him well enough to know he had something on his mind.

“Okay, out with it. What are you thinking right now?”

“Are you really going to call my sister?”

He wanted to ask which one but figured it would be best to stay vague. “I really need the help. I don’t know shit about shopping to furnish an apartment and it would be great if I didn’t find myself sleeping on the floor for a month and eating off of paper plates.”

All Liam did was nod. “No offense, but you’re definitely going to need help.”

“I can’t be great at everything, right?” he asked with a cocky grin. “What are your plans this weekend?”

“Other than sleeping in tomorrow, I’m meeting up with a couple of buddies for drinks tomorrow night. You’re welcome to join us, of course.”

He shrugged. “We’ll see.” Raking a hand through his hair, he yawned. “See you in the morning.”

In his room, he shut the door and stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed, cringing every time the damn mattress bounced. His phone was on the nightstand and he decided to take a chance and text Arianna. It had been almost a week since he’d seen or talked to her, and he figured he might as well test the waters.

Will: Hey!

He stared down and groaned. That was a lame greeting for someone like Arianna and he immediately backspaced before he could hit send.

Will: Truth or Dare?

This time he hit send and almost held his breath, hoping she’d reply.

Arianna: Seriously? You’re texting me a truth or dare?

Will: I figured your curiosity would get the better of you and you’d have no choice but to respond

Arianna: Lol!

---