Page 9 of Dare Me

“But…I haven’t given myself the time to really think about it. Part of me thought this day wasn’t going to come.”

“Seriously? Why?”

Another shrug. “I don’t know. I think I was still considering just staying in so I wouldn’t have to decide. And with no family to go home to…”

“Well, that’s just stupid. I’m telling you, Will, you need to at least come home with me and just spend a few weeks in Laurel Bay. It’s not like you’ve got anything else planned. Just check it out and come with me to look at property—both for the project and for my own personal home purchase—and if you totally hate it there, I’ll let it go.”

It wasn’t the worst idea, but…

No, wait. Itwasthe worst idea. It wouldn’t matter if he went with Liam for a few weeks or a few days or even a few hours.Being around Arianna would be torture and there was no way he’d be able to avoid her.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to.

Maybe if he could just see her and explain why he did the things that he did…

She’d still end up hating him.

Probably more than he hated himself for it.

“Plus, I have a huge family!” Liam went on. “I guarantee you, once my mother meets you, you’ll be one of us!”

Yeah, that so wasn’t the way he wanted to become part of the Donovan family…

But…it also had merit.

Maybe if the rest of the Donovan family saw that he was a decent and trustworthy guy, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for him to start dating Arianna properly. They could have the kind of relationship they should have rather than cramming a month’s worth of dating into a single day.

Okay, maybe he could get on board with this plan of Liam’s. He just had to make sure he didn’t appear too eager.

“What about financing?” he asked casually. “You don’t know anything about my financial situation, just like I don’t know anything about yours. How is all of this going to work? Especially if you’re also looking to buy a house.”

“I’ve had the down payment for a house put aside for years and I’ve lived very frugally during my time in the service. So the house is a non-issue. As for a business loan, I don’t see that being an issue either. If we present a solid business plan, there shouldn’t be any problems. As veterans, we’re eligible for plenty of programs. And with a veteran business loan…”

Will nodded. Of course his friend would have this all figured out. Everything in him wanted to say yes, but…what if Arianna had moved on?

And why wouldn’t she? You never kept in touch.

Yeah. That.

There were so many variables in play here that it wasn’t such an easy decision to make.

Actually, it was downright difficult.

“Tell you what,” Liam said, interrupting his thoughts. “Just take tonight to think about it. Tomorrow we’ve got a lot to do with packing up and all that. Promise me you’re going to seriously think about it.”

“I will. I promise,” he said, and hoped this conversation was over. What he wanted most right now was some time to himself to actually think without Liam yammering on and pressuring him.

As if reading his mind, Liam picked up his phone and stretched. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to call my baby brother and threaten to strangle him if he keeps on setting our sisters up with his friends.” He clapped Will on the shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night,” was all he said before putting his attention on his own phone. Once Liam was gone, however, he pulled up his photos and found the ones of him and Arianna. Just looking at her beautiful, smiling face made his heart ache.

Seeing her again would be both pleasure and pain, and he had to be realistic. It wasn’t going to be some big romantic reunion. What he did—while right at the time—was still really unfair to her. Knowing how stubborn her brother was, Will had a feeling it was a family trait. If she couldn’t forgive him or—worse—if she’d moved on, could he really stay in their tiny town and make a life for himself there?

His gut told him no. It would be too hard and it didn’t matter that they’d only had the one day; he knew Arianna was perfect for him.

But could he possibly convince her and her family that he deserved a chance?

That was the million dollar question and he wasn’t sure he could handle the answer.

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