cup when Arianna and Chad walked back into the room.
I didn’t know exactly what I’d expected when they returned, but certainly not for them to be smiling and laughing with each other, or for him to have his arm around her shoulders when they stepped back into the great room.
What the heck had happened in there?
I knew I’d been slightly paranoid that Chad would somehow find a way to wiggle his way back into Arianna’s all-too-forgiving heart, but I hadn’t actually believed it would happen.
I should have gone in there with her. I should have laid everything on the line before she went back there instead of waiting until after the party.
Waiting until it was too late.
When Chad had first walked in the house, Arianna told me to make sure she didn’t go back to him. Had I completely failed? Was it really that easy for him to say a few sweet words and get her to forgive him for everything he’d done to her?
I blinked my eyes a few times, hoping that the scene ahead of me would change if I just looked at it a little differently.
But no, they were still walking side by side and smiling at each other like they had some sort of inside joke.
I tossed my plastic cup into the trash can nearby and blew out a long breath as I wondered whether I should just check out of the party now and head off to California early.
Because if Arianna was still going to choose Chad after everything we’d done the past twenty-four hours—after that kiss this morning—there really wasn’t anything else I could do to convince her to choose me.
Nothing short of getting on my knees and begging her to love me.
I shook my head. And to think I’d thought I was so close.
I was just heading toward the front door for escape when Arianna and Chad said goodbye to each other and she glanced around the room like she was looking for me.
When her gaze found mine, her lips lifted into a tentative smile, the look in her eyes almost hopeful.
And with that one look, I was breathless, my chest refilling with hope of its own.
Hope that I was interpreting things wrong between her and Chad and that this was only the beginning of our story and not the end.
“Are you ready to go?” Arianna asked when she reached me. And the way she looked up at me through her lashes caused my heart to constrict.
She was so beautiful.
“Yes.” I nodded and cleared my suddenly froggy throat. “Yes, let’s go.”
Let’s go together.
When she slipped her hand into mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, my heart filled to nearly overflowing.
Maybe tonight would end differently than all the other nights after all.
We found Zara and William on their back patio with some friends and said our goodbyes, then slipping out the gate at the side of the house, we walked down the sidewalk toward my Maserati.
“H-how did everything go with Chad?” I asked as we walked past a brown stucco house with a flowerbed of peonies. “You seemed to end on a good note.”
“It went all right.” She glanced up at me. “I had lots of plans to go out swinging and really put him in his place, but when it came down to it, I realized I didn’t need any more hate in my life.”
“Yeah?” I asked, confused.
She nodded. “So while I made sure he knew we were over and that he’d definitely need to change the way he did things if he ever wanted to have a healthy relationship in the future, I decided to just try to end things as friends.”
“You think you two are going to be friends now?” I lifted an eyebrow and inspected her.
“Not good friends.” She chuckled lightly, like the idea of them being friends was comical. “I doubt we’ll ever really hang out again. But I’m not planning to think of him as an enemy, either.”
Well, that was a relief.
“As long as you’re not trying to find a replacement for your best friend.” I squeezed her hand. “I think it sounds like you ended things on a healthy note.”
“I think so, too.”
We were quiet for a few moments as we passed the next house and came to the spot where I’d parked my Maserati along the curb. I bent forward and opened the passenger side door for Arianna to climb in.
Before she stepped inside, she turned to me and asked, “Do you think we could