Page 50 of Arden

“Like what?” she asks.

Since there’s no sense in dancing around the subject, I just blurt out, “Arden and I slept together.”

Her dark brows shoot up, and she starts bouncing around with excitement. “Holy shit! No way. This is so incredible.”

I wince, as she’s obviously thrilled with my admission.

See, I knew she wanted us to hook up.

Too bad it’s hit a snag.

Softly, I hiss, “Yes, yes, it happened. Calm down, okay?”

“All right.” She composes herself. “I’m calm.”

I take a breath and, after releasing it slowly, I explain, “So, sleeping together isn’t the problem. In fact, I’m falling for him. Hell, check that—I’ve already fallen. I know he has strong feelings for me too.”

“Um, I’m not seeing a problem here,” Addison interjects.

“Just wait.” I clear my throat. “Things were going well until last night. We went to a fair to see fireworks, and as we were leaving, some bimbo-looking chick was waving at Arden—I mean really freaking waving. She clearly knew him, but when I asked, he brushed it off like she was some kooky fan. I just want to know who she is and why he wasn’t open and honest about it. Like, what is she to him now? Ugh!” I run my free hand down my face. “This is exactly why I swore off men. I should have stuck to that.”

Softly, my sister says, “Willow, hold up. Arden isn’t Liam. Don’t lose hope. I’m sure he’ll tell you who she is. You’ll get the whole story. And it’s probably not as bad as you think.”

“I don’t know about that,” I mutter dejectedly.

Undeterred, she goes on. “Just give him some time, okay? Your relationship is new. You’re both feeling your way around right now. There are bound to be missteps. God knows there were with Hayden and me.”

“I guess,” I concede. “But seriously, enough about my messed-up love life. Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure, of course.”

Addison and I chat a while longer, primarily about her trip. I love hearing the details. Unfortunately, her and Hayden’s European adventures only serve to distract me for the duration of the call.

Then it’s back to reality.

Still, I decide to follow my sister’s advice and give Arden some time to come clean with me about that woman.

I’m not giving him too much time, though, as I don’t want this to become a bigger problem than it’s already shaping up to be.

So, yeah, the clock is ticking.

Arden

Icall Nils the next morning to see if he’s up for a weekend morning workout. We usually stick to weekdays, but he’s game.

Thank fuck. I need to think about things before I make any moves with Willow.

After Nils and I get in a good skate and workout, my head feels clear. I didn’t mention anything to him, but I feel like I now have a fresh perspective on a damage control plan.

First up, I’m driving straight to Willow’s house to make sure we’re all right. Mostly, though, I just fucking want to see her. I should have spent the night. I also should have never acted so strangely.

But what can I do about it now?

Just fix things and move forward, right?

Part of moving forward is that I plan to hold off on bringing anything up about Lydia. The past is the past. If Willow doesn’t ask about her, I’m not volunteering any info. I really would like to pretend we never saw her at the fair.

Hopefully we can do exactly that.

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