Page 78 of Dare Me

“I thought you weren’t looking to move anymore?”

“For now I’m not, but it’s nice to know that I’m a little in demand. I mean…I love what I do and my bosses love me. I just got a decent raise and if I do stay here in Laurel Bay, maybe I’ll look into buying a house too.”

“Damn,” he said, but it was said with awe rather than as a negative. “Look at you being all together. What happened to the scrawny kid who loved to torment all of us with badly sung Taylor Swift songs or threaten to tattle on us if we didn’t let you hang out?”

“She grew up, Liam. I wish you would all realize that.”

“Didn’t I hear about you getting up on the stage at the pub a few weeks ago?” he asked with amusement.

“Well…that was only because Jamie dared me to.” Shaking her head, she added, “I’m still the same person who will take on any dare and who isn’t afraid to look like a goof. But I’m also a grown woman who has a great career and plans for what she wants out of life.”

“And the guy?”

“Ugh…Liam, for real?” she whined.

“I’ll stop asking as soon as you talk to me about it.”

Sitting up straighter, she rested her arms on the table and gave him a serene smile. “Just remember, you asked.”

“Um…”

“So I met a really great guy. Like seriously, he’s amazing.”

“Why haven’t you introduced him to us?”

“Please hold all questions until the end of the story,” she said tartly. “Anyway, we had this incredible connection from themoment we met, but he caught wind of how overprotective my family is.”

He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed.

“We had one perfect date and then he kind of got spooked because of the whole family thing and we didn’t see each other or even talk for a really long time.” She let out a long breath before continuing. “Then we ran into each other not too long ago and I was determined to stay mad because he didn’t care enough to fight for me, you know?”

Liam nodded.

“But I couldn’t stay away. He’s just that great of a guy,” she went on. “So we’ve been quietly dating and everything was fine as long as the subject of my family didn’t come up.”

“Ari, if this guy is as great as you say, he’s going to have to deal with us. We’re not terrible people. We just care. It’s not a crime.”

Reaching over, she patted his hands. “I’m not done yet.”

“Oh.”

Now she braced herself. “He’s older than me.” She paused and waited for his reaction, but she was impressed at how he kept his concerns to himself. “A lot older than me,” she added for emphasis. “I mean not like creepy old like he could be my father, but…he’s older and I know that seems to be a hot topic for everyone.”

Their waitress came back and put their food down, but luckily didn’t linger.

Toying with one of her fries, Arianna looked over at her brother. “He’s tired of dating in secret and I keep hoping the right moment’s going to open up so I can just tell everyone about us. But that moment never seems to come and he’s frustrated with me. Then I sort of got a little bratty and might have implied that this was kind of his fault.”

Liam’s eyes went wide. “How? How is it his fault?”

“Because he initially stayed away because of you!”

“Me?” he cried and she immediately realized her mistake.

“You, as in the whole family,” she quickly said. “If he had just talked to me about this after that first date, things would be different right now. And you know what sucks more than anything?”

“Um…”

“That you’re all going to find fault with him based on our age difference. It won’t matter that he’s the most perfect freaking man in the world or that I love him. You’re all going to try to tell me I’m wrong or that I’m not seeing something that I should or whatever bullshit reason you’ll come up with to make me second-guess myself.” She bit into her fry and shook the other half at him. “But here’s what you don’t know, Liam Donovan; I handled living away from this family for over four years! I kicked ass in college and maintained my position on the dean’s list and did a ton of volunteer work and worked part-time the entire time. I got offered an internship at a top hospital and now I’m at home working a great job with a nice savings account and a plan for my future. I’m not that scrawny kid and I’m not stupid. I know what love is and I know how I feel.” Popping the rest of the fry in her mouth, she glared at him. “Got anything to say to that?”

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