“I'm not going to grow old with you on a farm with a bunch of animals in the middle of nowhere!”
“But —”
“No!” Angry tears filled her eyes. “I've been working hard at what I do to get where I am now, and I'm not just going to throw that aside because you're too afraid to go home again. There's nothing you need to be afraid of back there, Bryce. Unless this is about Katie, still. I should have known better than to think you were ever over her. So you think that if we stay here and fade from the public eye, your life will be easier? It doesn't work that way. She's still going to have broken your heart, and you're still going to see her in some way, shape, or form. Grow up and stop running from all of your problems!”
Bryce blinked, stunned. “Arial, I'm not running. If you would let me talk —”
“There is nothing more to talk about,” she stated. “Excuse me, I have places to be.” She pushed past him and stepped back out onto the street. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed a cab company to come and pick her up.
Her phone started to ring. The temptation to just ignore it or smash it on the road was great. Thinking it was Bryce, she was ready to silence it and walk home if she had to. The caller ID read Marcus Markae.
“Hey,” she answered with a lot of forced enthusiasm.
“Well, hello there. I saw your name trending online, and I thought I'd give you another call to see if I can talk you into coming over to my party tomorrow night.” His voice was smooth and cool, as usual.
Arial nodded. This was exactly what she needed. She'd forgotten who she was, and it had nearly destroyed her and everything she'd been working for. “I'll be there. My schedule suddenly opened up.”
Chapter Nineteen
Arial slammed the door behind her as she entered the house. She still saw red any second her mind went back to Bryce and everything he’d said to her. Why would she want to listen to him talk any more about his dream of growing old with her on the farm? Of all the places he could have picked in the world, he’d chosen that one? He knew she still had problems with living in Gloriana. Things were getting better with her family, but she didn't want to settle back down in the middle of nowhere either. She didn't have her future mapped out that far. Just saying that he wanted to grow old with her was more than enough for her.
“Honey, is everythin' okay?” her mother asked.
“No,” Arial said and made her way up to her bedroom so she could book a flight back to Los Angeles. The sooner she could get out of there, the better. She'd hoped her mother would just let the whole thing drop, but the woman followed her up.
“What's wrong?”
Scowling, Arial spun on her heel to face her. “Bryce told me he's in love with me.”
“I'm not sure I understand how that's a bad thing.”
“He then went on to say how we'll live here forever, and blah, blah, blah. Forget about going back to our lives in California where we both have work commitments. I should add it's work that I, personally, love to do.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “I told him he needs to stop running away from all of his problems and face the facts. And I refuse to be his replacement for Katie. I should have known better than to ever believe he was over her!”
Her mother laughed, and that was the last thing Arial expected her to do. “Honey, I think you're overreacting. He's not interested in her anymore. I can tell because he looks at you like a man who's longing for love, not lust. If he was only lookin' to fill a hole in his heart that she left behind, he would be a lot slimier. He'd slip right through your fingers every time you touched. He sure is going a long way to impress you and respect you for someone who's only lookin' for a rebound to kill some time.”
“So you've said,” she said. “You didn't hear what he said, or how he said it.”
“Oh, boo-hoo, he wants to grow old with you in a place that's special to you both,” Caroline chimed in from down the hallway. “What a jerk!”