Page 66 of Dare Me

Another wave and then she leaned forward. “Hey, how do you feel about scuba diving?”

Will paused with the fork halfway to his mouth. “Um…what?”

“Yeah, scuba diving! I thought we could do that next weekend. I haven’t gone in years and it’s so much fun!”

It wasn’t something he’d ever done, but it sounded interesting. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

“Awesome! And maybe we can do a picnic one night this week. We can meet at the beach and watch the sunset.”

He nodded. “That’s sounds good too.”

She smiled sweetly. “Oh, and there’s this amazing indoor sports complex about an hour from here. They have go-carts, an arcade, axe throwing, rock walls…we should totally go there one night.”

Putting his fork down, he gave her a patient smile. “Are these all the places your mother recommended for me and Ryleigh?”

Nibbling her bottom lip, she nodded slowly. “Um…”

Taking her hand in his, Will gently caressed it. “I’m not going to live like a puppet, Arianna, with your mother holding the strings. I love going places with you, but it should be because it’s what we want to do, not because she’s going to want details of a date between two people who didn’t even go out.”

When she tried to pull her hand away, Will held firm and she frowned. “Okay, I get that, but I also don’t want it to be that we’re just sneaking to and from each other’s apartments for sex.”

“You’ve only lived here for like a week,” he countered, “and it’s not like that. I won’t ever let it be just that because it’s not what this is all about between us.” He paused as her expression softened. “This isn’t just about sex, Arianna. It never was. What I feel for you is so much more than that and I’m really starting to resent all the limitations we’re having to deal with.”

“Me too,” she said quietly.

And because he needed her to know, he said, “I’m falling in love with you.” Caressing her cheek, Will repeated it. “I’m falling in love with you.”

Arianna got a dreamy look on her face before she leaned into him. “I’m falling in love with you too.”

The kiss was sweet and a little chaste at first, but when he stood and slowly pulled her to her feet, he took it deeper. They leisurely made their way across the room to the stairs, kissing and sharing little touches. Then Will scooped her up in his arms like he knew she loved and carried her up to his bed.

Where he kept her and proved to her exactly how he felt, and neither resurfaced until morning.

Chapter Ten

Life was so freaking good that Arianna wanted to climb up on the roof and scream it out to the world!

Work was going great, she had gotten a raise at her one-year review, her apartment looked like something out of an HGTV type of magazine, and she was wildly in love and deliriously happy. In the last two weeks, they had done everything she suggested—or that her mother suggested—and they were having a great time. They shared dinners together, watched TV, and took turns sleeping over at each other’s places. It almost seemed ridiculous for there to be two apartments, but moving in together so soon would definitely cause everyone’s heads to explode.

Tonight, she and Will were going out to celebrate her raise and she decided that at the next family dinner, she’d tell everyone about her new place. It still boggled her mind how she’d been able to keep it a secret, but between work and spending time with Will, she hadn’t spent nearly as much time at the pub as she used to.

And the fact that no one was calling her out on it or was trying to make her feel guilty meant that she was possibly earning their respect.

“Yay, me!” she said giddily on the drive home.

But more than anything, tonight she wanted to tell Will exactly how she felt. It wasn’t like she thought she was falling in love with him; she was in love with him.

One hundred percent in love.

Hell, if she were honest about it, she fell in love with him on that very first day and even with a year apart, it hadn’t changed anything. She might have been mad at him when he first showed up in Laurel Bay, but her feelings hadn’t changed. And now, after spending so much time together, it just confirmed it and she was tired of keeping it to herself.

“Well tonight, Will Jameson is going to know that I love him,” she said proudly to the empty car. “Will, I love you.” She paused. “Hmm…no, maybe a few more words. Will, I am totally in love with you.” Shaking her head, Arianna didn’t think that sounded right either. “Will, you make me so happy and I want you to know that I love you. I am desperately and helplessly in love with you.” Rolling her eyes, she fought the urge to groan. “That sounded a little needy.”

Deciding that now maybe wasn’t the time to practice, she turned on the radio and sang the rest of the way home. When she spotted Liam’s truck pulling into the parking lot, she kept going and drove around the block like a coward.

“I loathe myself,” she muttered and ended up circling the block three times just to be safe.

When she finally allowed herself to park, she nearly sprinted up the steps to the fourth floor. She’d seen Will’s Jeep so she knew he was home, but decided to wait to reach out to him until after she had freshened up and was ready to go to dinner.

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