Either it was missing a few chapters or it was mostly fiction.
"I know you're not stupid," I told her. "And that's the problem."
She blinked. "What? Why?"
"Because your story's a crock."
She drew back. "What?"
"You own half a house for what? Three years? And you don't check on it? You just keep writing checks? That's not the Arden I know."
"Oh yeah?" Her voice rose. "Then maybe you don't know me at all. You ever think of that?"
I had been thinking that, but not in the way she meant now. And this wasn't the time to get into it.
When my only reply was a tight shrug, she said, "And this is why I didn't want to tell you."
"Yeah, I can see why."
"You know what?" she said. "Forget it. I'm sorry I told you anything."
"And I'm sorry I asked."
"Oh, boo hoo," she said. And with that, she turned and stalked back toward her bedroom.
As I watched her go, I might've smiled if I weren't so pissed off. Boo hoo?
Like an idiot, I almost went after her, because there was part of me – a very stupid part of me – that wanted to yank her into my arms and tell her that I'd make everything alright.
It would be easy. Too easy.
As far as giving her back the house, hey that would be easy, too. I had plenty of money, and the deed free and clear. One quick phone call, along with a few signatures, and the house could be hers for good.
But who would be the sucker then?
Me.
And I was no sucker.
I held my ground, even as she disappeared into her bedroom and slammed the door so hard, I felt it in my bones.
Shit.
As I stood alone in the silent kitchen, I stared toward her bedroom, fighting like hell to keep myself from striding down the hallway and knocking on her door – or busting through it, if that's what it took.
I wanted answers. And yeah, I wanted her. She was like an itch that I couldn’t scratch, and it was making me fucking crazy.
But I wasn't so crazy that I'd act on any of those impulses. So instead, I played it smart and headed in the opposite direction, leaving through the same door I'd come in.
Chapter 40
Arden
He was such a jerk.
I stewed for almost two hours in my bedroom before I decided that Brody deserved a piece of my mind – and not a nice piece either.
But when I left my bedroom to find him, he was nowhere in sight. Neither was Waverly. Both of their bedroom doors were shut, and the rest of the house was eerily silent even if the lights were still on.
By now, it was past midnight. Were they asleep?
Probably.
After only a moment's hesitation, I marched up to Brody's bedroom door and pounded on it anyway.
Nothing happened.
When I pounded again, the only door that opened was Waverly's. She emerged from her room wearing black silky pajamas and matching slippers. At the sight of me standing at Brody's door, she gave a loud sigh. "What do you want?"
"I wasn't knocking on your door," I said. "I was knocking on his."
"Oh, give it up," she said. "It's a waste of time, and you know it."
I so wasn't in the mood for this. "What exactly do you mean?"
"I mean he's not interested."
Oh, for God's sake. "In what?" I said. "Sex? Is that what you're getting at?"
"Obviously." She smirked. "You do have it, don't you?"
In theory, yes. In reality, it had been a while. In college, I'd had a few steady boyfriends, but none that had lasted, mostly because I'd been far too busy for any kind of relationship.
Plus, I wasn't a quickie kind of gal, which made Waverly's comment all the more irritating. "For your information," I told her, "I'm not knocking for sex. I'm knocking because there's something I need to tell him."
"Oh yeah?" She was still smirking. "What?"
Where to begin? For starters, I was going to tell him that he was the biggest jerk on the planet for asking me about the house and then acting like such an ass after I'd given him an honest answer.
And then, I was going to tell him to shove his condescending attitude where the sun didn't shine. And after that? Well, I wasn't quite sure, but I had plenty of material. All I needed was an audience. And Waverly wasn't it.
I coldly informed her, "That's between me and Brody."
"Just admit it," she said. "You're knocking because you want to hate-fuck him."
Huh? Was that