He holds his hand out to me. I take it, and he pulls me onto his lap. “You know this must be bogus, right? Katie would never allow wedding invites to go out without her approval. Maybe it’s a prank? Boomer might just be looking for an excuse to go to the strip club.”
I lean my head on his chest. “I’m sure there’s a story, but that’s the thing with him—there’s always a story. He didn’t have the decency to give me a heads up, so I was caught off guard. He’s been avoiding me all night, and it pisses me off that he was too chickenshit to come to me. I can’t trust him. I never could.”
“Well, I hate to give you more bad news, but Henrik called me. Apparently he’s been trying you, but your voice mail box is full. He said he was trying to do you a favor when he agreed to do an interview with some German talk show, but the way they edited it, it looks like you broke his heart. He was rambling about how wonderful you are and went off on a tangent about the special connection you two share. When it was all said and done, it does not cast you in a favorable light.”
I sigh. Knowing Henrik, I can totally see how that could happen. I can only imagine how many women swooned after watching that. “Well, I did break his heart. It isn’t ideal, but it’s not that bad.”
He rubs my back. “I haven’t gotten to the bad part.”
“Oh.”
“The next day, someone leaked that you were cheating on him. The name of the guy wasn’t listed, but everyone is guessing. Some scandalous pictures of you are circulating now.”
“That’s not possible. I’ve never taken scandalous pictures. I’m smarter than that.” I’ve lived my whole life petrified of being caught in a compromising situation. This has to be a mistake.
“The pictures are you, Snickerdoodle. I don’t think you knew they were all being taken, so it could be a collection of pap pics that they’re trying to color as something more.”
He hands me his iPad and shows me the pictures. Some of these could be pap pics, but the picture they’re leading with is of me in high school. Charlie took it on my last day of school before I went pro. I was bored senseless in study hall, watching the clock tick down. I’m in my uniform: plaid pleated skirt, knee socks, the whole Catholic school bit. I’m straddling a chair and sucking a lollipop. If you look carefully, you can see a tiny scrap of my underwear. It looks like porn, but it was innocent. Charlie and Chase are the only ones who knew that picture existed, and I know Charlie would never release it.
The next shot is from when Chase and I played golf in the rain. I was soaked through in my white outfit. By that time of the day, it was practically clear, leaving nothing to the imagination. The picture is of me bent over, wringing my hair out with the rain falling all around me. It looks straight out of a Victoria’s Secret ad. Chase was the only one who saw me in the rain like that.
All in all, the pictures are revealing and not something I’d prefer to have out there, but I’ve been in ad campaigns wearing less. The goal of the pictures isn’t necessarily to expose me but to prove that I was cheating on Henrik. I scroll through the article, “The Naughty Side of Arianna.” Henrik is painted as the doting, devoted fiancé and I’m the philandering whore. They list all the men I’ve supposedly had errant relationships with. It’s all a bunch of bullshit, and it’ll blow over. The only way these things take on a life of their own is if there’re intimate pictures of the couple in the act, which don’t exist in this case. The heat of this doesn’t bother me as much as where it came from.
“The pictures had to have come from Chase, Daddy. He’s the only one who would have some of these.”
He shakes his head. “No. I won’t believe that. There must be another explanation.”
“Possibly. But it’s just as possible that this whole thing was one elaborate plan to hurt me.”
He pats my knee. “I know you and Chase have had your issues, but he would never go to these lengths to settle a score.”
Of course Daddy would think that. Chase could never do wrong in his eyes. By keeping our relationship a secret, Daddy missed all the times Chase paraded his sexual exploits over the internet to hurt me. Chase had no problem using anyone he needed to exact his retaliation. It never occurred to him the collateral damage he was leaving in his wake. Or maybe it occurred to him, but he simply didn’t care.
“It’s actually genius if you think about it. He’s been pissed at me for two years for the way I ended things with him. What better way to get back at me than to reel me in and shatter my heart and my image in one foul swoop.” My mouth goes dry, and my body goes limp. “It makes perfect sense. He maniacally crafted everything. Us getting back together, getting me to trust him. He set this all up so he could crush me.”
Daddy shakes his head. “No. There’s no way he would do that.”
I look at him with disbelief. “Daddy, take your blinders off. I know he’s your golden boy, but I left him. That leaves me up one, and he couldn’t possibly allow that. His ego is too enormous to let that go. His retaliation would have to be epic. Complete and utter annihilation.”
It isn’t a coincidence that the photos released are the type of photos we fought over. The Maxim 100 shot was intended to be a wet shot, not unlike the one he took of me golfing. If I wasn’t devastated, I’d actually have to hand it to him. Well played, asshole. Well played.
Daddy puts his arms around me. “Why would he make that big show of things in the Bahamas? He wouldn’t have involved the families. He wouldn’t have involved me. I saw the look in his eyes. He can’t fake that.”
“He lied to your face for years, and you had no idea. His hatred for me runs so deep, he’d stop at nothing to put me in my place. Even lying to you.”
We go round and round but don’t get anywhere because there’s nowhere to get to.
“Daddy, we aren’t going to solve this tonight. I need to get you to bed.” I usher him out the door and down the hall to his room.
On my walk back to my room, Chase’s door opens. My fingernails dig into my palms as my fists clench in preparation for a fight, but it’s not him—it’s Jenna, dressed in the T-shirt I bought him while we were in the Bahamas.
She waves and giggles. In her left hand is an ice bucket and adorned on that left hand is an Asscher cut diamond. Five karats, if I had to guess, maybe six. “Hey, Arianna.”
The bitch and I have never met and she has the nerve to speak to me as though we’re friends. I stare down my nose at her. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“Oh that’s right, we haven’t met.” She shifts the ice bucket into her right hand and holds out her left. “I’m Jenna. Chase’s fiancée.”
I just stare at her extended hand, not moving mine from my side. “How nice for you.” Never in my life have I been this rude to a stranger, or to anyone other than Chase for that matter. But since she has his ring on her finger, she’s worthy of the Chase treatment in my opinion.
Her fake smile disappears as she draws her hand back to her body. “Do you know where the ice machine is?”
“Can’t say that I do,” I reply. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” I step to the side to move past her but she steps in front of me.
“I’m sure it’s down the hall somewhere.” She smiles and bats her eyelashes. “It’ll be worth the hunt. The things that boy can do with an ice cube.”
Yeah. I remember.
That fucking bastard. He’d better hide.
To be continued……
Love To Hate You
Releases October 7th, 2015
Available now for Pre-Order
Dear Reader,
You don’t love me right now. It’s okay, you can admit it. You hate me. Dare I say you Love to Hate Me? But I promise relief is in sight! Book Two in the Love/Hate Series, Love to Hate You, releases October 7, 2015. Four tiny weeks from now, you will have the epic conclusion to Chase and Ari’s story. I promise you, it is worth the wait.
In the meantime, I am available if you want to vent!!Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I’d l
ove to hear from you.
https://instagram.com/isabellerichards8
https://twitter.com/88IsabelleR
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Acknowledgements
Chase and Ari’s story came to me one day while driving. Need You Now by Lady Antebellum came on the radio. As I sang along an idea slow started to form. Every time I came to a red light, I furiously scribbled down notes and ideas. The story has come a long way since that day, and it would have never made it to print without the help of so many people.
Kimberly- I was so nervous when I sent you Chase and Ari to read. You were the first one to get your hands on this crazy story. I was so unsure of it, but your love of these characters gave me the confidence I needed to push this book as hard as I have. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything. You’re my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on, and you never let me settle for anything less than what the characters deserve. Since you read Chase first, you have first dibs.
Cassie, editor extraordinaire. Thank you for your infinite patience and endless tolerance of my missed deadlines and crazy ideas. Every time we work together, my writing becomes stronger as a result of it. Working with you is one of my favorite parts of the writing process.
Linda – Where do I even begin? You’re my own personal publishing GPS. You always keep me on the right track. You’re the kick in the pants when I need one. You’re a cheerleader and full of endless support. Without you this book would have gotten lost in the infinite e-book abyss. I could never do this without you!
Jenn and Candace- I would not have made it through the month of August without either of you. Talk about an angst filled month!!! You held my hand as I struggled. When I lost my inspiration, you always knew just what to say to help me get it back! I love you both!
My wonderful betas! Kiki, Trish, Melissa, Cora, Keri, Argie. Thank you for reading and all of your suggestions. I used them all!!! You picked up on so many things I never thought of. Your perspective is invaluable. THANK YOU!!!
Thank you to all of the bloggers that got a sneak peek and have been so supportive. Lisa from Three Girls and a Book Obsession, Dena and Jaimie from Fiction Fan Girls just to name a few. Bloggers make this industry run. Without your support, none of this would be possible.
I have a million thanks for my family for understanding the long hours, forgiving the rushed bedtimes, for tolerating unfolded laundry, dust bunnies, and uninventive meals. Despite it all, Hunter is my biggest supporter. I’m one lucky mama!
Infinite thanks to my mother, without her none of this would be possible.
I owe the biggest thanks to my father, from whom I developed my love for sports. Tennis and football were big in my house. Some of my favorite childhood memories are watching sports with my dad. He’d patiently explain the rules and the history. I feel in love and am now a proud sports fanatic. I never would have been able to write this story without his influence.
Hate to Love You Page 35