Page 3 of Dare Me

And he never looked back.

Chapter One

Present Day…

It sucked sleeping on a bouncy house.

Technically it was just the crappy mattress in her brother’s guest room, but to Arianna Donovan, that’s what it felt like.

“Ugh…”

She tossed and turned and bounced, all the while cursing the fact that she now had to sleep in the guest room after a year of having the main bedroom to herself. But Liam was finally coming home for good—his contract with the US Marine Corps was over—and that meant he was going to want to sleep in his own bed. And really, she couldn’t blame him. It was glorious—king sized, memory foam with cooling gel. Seriously, it was perfect.

This coiled twenty-year-old nightmare of a mattress? Not so much.

With a huff, she flipped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Liam wouldn’t be home for another few days, so…technically…shecouldstill sleep in the main bedroom. She had thought transitioning to the guest room would be a good thing and hoped if she were settled in there, that her brother wouldn’t be too eager for her to move out. But if the choice came down to having to move back in with their parents and sleeping on theircouch or sleeping on this thing, she would almost rather move back in with her folks.

Liar.

Okay, yeah, it was the last thing she wanted to do.

When she came home from her internship in San Francisco a year ago, she had figured she’d be sleeping in her old room and it would be a temporary thing.

But they’d turned it into a home gym.

After that, she’d crashed on her sister Ryleigh’s couch, but that couldn’t work long-term, and her other two brothers never offered her a place to sleep, so…she’d decided to crash at Liam’s. It was sitting there empty. Well…not right away. Her brother had let a friend of his stay there after his time in the Marines was up but as soon as he moved out, Arianna had moved in.

And when Liam got home, she’d be sure to thank him.

Technically, he had no idea she was staying there, but she knew he wouldn’t mind. After all, she was his favorite. There were five Donovan children—Liam, Patrick, Ryleigh, Jamie, and Arianna—but she knew Liam loved her the most. As the baby of the family, how could he not?

Rolling onto her side, she punched the pillow with a loud sigh and was almost comfortable when her phone chimed with an incoming text. Groaning, she snatched it off the bedside table and tapped the screen.

Mark: Had a really great time tonight. Hope we can get together next weekend.

She contemplated replying, but…didn’t.

Mark was a really nice guy, but there were no sparks there. Just like there weren’t any with John, Eric, Matt, and Greg. They were all great guys and they were perfectly fine to go out with.Once. Arianna knew exactly what she was looking for in a man. Hell, she’d even found the perfect man.

Sadly, he’d completely ghosted her a year ago and she’d been in a dating funk ever since.

And, because she was clearly a glutton for punishment and her phone was in her hands, she tapped on her photos app and scrolled to her San Francisco album. Dozens of photos of her and Will popped up. She looked at his handsome face, his incredible smile, and wondered how he couldn’t have felt the same way she did.

Although, to be fair, they’d only had one day together.

One glorious day.

Sighing, she slowly scrolled through the pictures. There was a time when looking at them made her cry, but…she’d gotten past that stage.

Almost.

Her friends had dared her to introduce herself to him after their last brunch together. She was flying home the next day and they encouraged her to have a fling before coming back to Laurel Bay. So, being the sassy, confident woman she was, Arianna had walked right over to Will as he was eating alone, introduced herself, and joined him. Brunch had turned to walking all over San Francisco together, going on a sunset cruise around the Bay, dinner in Chinatown, and then staying up all night up on Twin Peaks and watching the sunrise. They had kissed until they were breathless, but Will had been a total gentleman and told her he wouldn’t sleep with her, knowing that was their only night together.

Plus, they were in the middle of a public park, so…

She was devastated when he dropped her off at her apartment the next morning, but then she thought fate had lent them a hand when they ended up on the same flight to Atlanta.

Eventhathad been perfect. They’d talked and kissed and napped together and she was certain they were going to try having a long-distance relationship. After exchanging phone numbers, Will had left to catch his flight to D.C. and Arianna had gone to her gate for her flight to Wilmington, North Carolina. He’d promised to text her when he got on the plane.

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