“You can just drop me off at the door,” Arianna said, a bit surprised at how small the terminal was, having been used to the larger airports of LA and New York.
“It’s not a problem for me to park,” Eli said. “I’ve come this far.”
Arianna considered arguing, but she kind of liked the idea of having him come in with her. She finished her coffee then put the travel mug in the cupholder between them. She felt significantly more awake and ready to deal with the flight and whatever lay ahead for her in LA.
After he’d parked, Eli retrieved her suitcase while Arianna got her laptop bag and purse. Once again, the chill of the morning bit at her as they walked quickly from the truck to the terminal. She thought he might leave once he’d helped her inside, but he hung around while she checked in and then walked with her to security.
“I’m going to miss you guys,” Arianna said as she turned to face him. There wasn’t much of a lineup for the flight, so she didn’t feel the need to rush away from Eli.
“We’re going to miss you too.” Eli paused then added, “I’m going to miss you.”
His words wrapped around her heart. Had anyone ever missed her before? Well, her team missed her, but not on a personal level. She didn’t think her parents had ever really missed her either, or if they had, they’d never voiced it the way Eli just had. Perhaps it was because the knowledge was always there that she could come to them, or they could come to her within a matter of hours.
“Let me know what time your flight gets in on Wednesday, and I’ll be here.”
“Should I bother to say you don’t need to?” Arianna quirked her head as she looked at him.
“No. Just save your breath.” He gave her one of his rare smiles, and Arianna found herself shifting closer to him.
“Then I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday night,” she said. “And thank you in advance.”
With a glance at the lineup, she stepped up to him and rested her hand on his arm. Standing on her tiptoes, she brushed a kiss across his cheek. “Take care of yourself.”
Eli stared down at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, making her wonder if she’d made a mistake. But then another smile crossed his face. “I will. You too.”
They stood there for a second, then Arianna dropped her hand from his arm and stepped back toward the security line. Suddenly he took a step toward her and opened his arms. She didn’t hesitate before stepping into them, an ache blooming inside her at the thought of leaving him behind. She inhaled his scent, wanting to carry it with her as she left him behind.
They stood there for a couple of minutes before she lifted her head and moved back a bit from him. “I guess I’d better go.”
Eli let his arms slide from her then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, giving her a nod as she took a couple more backward steps. Finally, she turned to join the line at security, making sure she had her travel documents in hand.
She kept her attention on the line and then went through the process of preparing for the screening. It wasn’t until she was almost through that she glanced back, expecting to see Eli gone, but he was still standing there, watching her. She gave him a final wave which he returned before she finished up with security and headed for her gate.
As she settled into a comfy chair in the departure area, she could definitely see the benefits of the smaller airport. She liked not having a huge press of people around her. The airport, though small, was beautiful and not an unpleasant place to spend the time while waiting to board her plane.
The windows that looked out over the tarmac showed that the sun still hadn’t risen. Something told her she’d be watching the sunrise from her seat—provided she was on the right side of the plane.
As she sat waiting, Arianna felt a keen sense of reluctance to get on the plane and officially leave Washington State. It felt like if she left the area, she wouldn’t be coming back. But then she reminded herself that she was in control of her time in LA. She only had one meeting she needed to attend. She’d fill the rest of the time with her team, trying to placate them before she left again.
And leave, she would, because she was going to be back in New Hope in time for the Fall Festival.
Two days later, Arianna was questioning that determination. Everything had started out fine. On the flight, she’d edited her look-book video, smiling as she’d worked, knowing that the sparkle she had in the pictures and videos could be attributed to the man behind the camera. Once she’d landed, she’d found the car the team had sent for her and had gone straight to their office.
And from that point on, it had just been one storm after another. She’d dropped into bed that first night frustrated and ready to get on the next plane back to Everett. Thankfully, the meeting the next day with the reps from At Home had gone well, making that the highlight of the trip. Kind of like a flower growing in the middle of a cow pie.
Late Wednesday morning, she sat staring at her phone as she tried to gather her thoughts. She was exhausted and could barely think straight. If she’d thought things related to the scandal had died down, she’d been wrong. Somehow David had gotten wind that she was back in LA, and his social media had once again taken aim at her, along with all his fans.
Hey, Eli. I’m sorry, but I won’t be back tonight. I’ve got a few fires to still put out. I’m hoping to make it tomorrow. I’ll let you know. If you can’t make it to pick me up, don’t worry. I can get another rental.
She sat on the edge of her bed for a few minutes, waiting to see if he would reply. When he didn’t, she got up and left her room. Out in the kitchen, Rebecca sat at the table with her laptop open in front of her.
Rebecca looked up as Arianna joined her at the table and frowned. “He’s at it again.”
Arianna sighed and slumped into the chair across from Rebecca. “I wish I could serve him with a cease and desist, but I don’t think that’s a possibility since he’s not exactly lying about what happened.”
“True, but he’s going way overboard,” Rebecca said.
“What does he want?” Arianna asked.
Rebecca’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“What does he hope to accomplish through all of this? This is definitely not the way to win me back, and the longer he does this, the more people he’s going to alienate from his own audience.”
Rebecca snorted. “I’m not sure he knows exactly what he hopes to accomplish. It’s not going to help him save face at this point. I think he’s ticked that you didn’t fall for him, and his hurt feelings are powering him on to make some bad decisions. Bad, bad decisions.”
Arianna thought about Eli, and she could say with one hundred percent certainty that he would never behave the way David was. He would never treat her in such a disrespectful way. That fateful decision to agree to the fake relationship was the biggest regret of her life.
She looked at her phone, just to make sure she hadn’t missed a message from Eli. When it was clear she hadn’t, she frowned. Of course, Eli didn’t strike her as someone who was tied to his phone, so maybe he hadn’t seen her message yet. She didn’t want to think he was just ignoring her.
Though she’d messaged him a couple of times, it was clear that texting wasn’t really Eli’s thing, and in truth, it wasn’t her favorite way to communicate with him either. She had been busy each day until late at night, leaving her no time to even call him.
The first night, she’d ended up at a makeup launch for a brand she’d worked with previously. It was an invitation she’d accepted prior to everything going down, and apparently they hadn’t rescinded her invitation despite the scandal. Her team had felt it was important she make an appearance. The next night she’d ended up at dinner with the team from At Home. It had been a social event but still necessary for her to attend to help keep the relationship between them strong for the duration of her contract with them.
Arianna hadn’t wanted to go, but Steve and the rest of the team had insisted she accompany them, and she hadn’t ha
d the strength to fight. They’d already had a big disagreement over her determination to return to New Hope so quickly. It was an argument she’d anticipated, but it had still been draining for her.
“I guess we need to head for the office,” Rebecca said as she closed her laptop. “You have two more meetings this afternoon, and Steve wants another team meeting before that.”
Though they’d only asked her to come back for one meeting, once she’d agreed to come, they’d lined up a few more that they hadn’t told her about until she’d arrived. “Yeah. Okay. Let me just get my things.”
Arianna pushed up from the table and went back into her bedroom to get her laptop and purse. She paused in front of her full-length mirror, taking in her appearance. The black slacks and green silk blouse she wore made her fit right back into her world in LA, but she missed the more casual clothing she’d been wearing in New Hope.
With a sigh, she turned away from her reflection and went to pick up her laptop from where she’d left it on the bed earlier. After putting it in her bag, she rejoined Rebecca, and they left the apartment.
As they walked out the front door of her apartment building, someone shouted her name.
“Oh no,” Rebecca muttered.
“Where are you parked?” Arianna asked as they turned in the opposite direction and began to quickly walk away from David.
“Arianna! Wait!”
“Should I talk to him?” Arianna asked as she followed Rebecca down the block.
Rebecca slowed, so they were in step again. “You keep going, I’ll turn around to see if he has a camera on you.” She pressed a set of keys into Arianna’s hand and pointed. “I’m parked just down there.”
Arianna spotted the familiar red jeep and headed straight toward it as she heard Rebecca greet David. The chance he had a camera focused on her was pretty good. After all, videos and filming were their world. And getting her on camera would be a goal for him. One that she was in no hurry to help him achieve.
As she approached the car, she pressed the button to unlock it, but instead of getting in the front, she climbed into the rear seat since the windows were more darkly shaded in the back. From her position, she could see Rebecca and David nearing, and in David’s hand was his vlogging camera.
When he reached the car, he tried to film through the windows as Rebecca rounded to the driver’s side and got in. Arianna handed her the keys, feeling herself relax as the door locks snapped into place.
“He is nuts, Arianna,” Rebecca said as she started the jeep and waited for the traffic to clear enough to pull away from the curb.
Arianna looked out the window at David’s angry face as he thumped on the window.
“What did he say?”
“He was rambling on about showing people what you were really like and proving to the world that you were a fake.”
“I need to get out of here.” Arianna stared down at her phone. “I need to go back to New Hope.”
“You’re right.”
Surprised, Arianna looked up and met Rebecca’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “I am?”
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but you seemed happier when you weren’t here. From the moment you stepped into the office, I’ve seen your stress levels begin to rise. David aside, I just don’t think LA is where you want to be.”
Arianna shifted her gaze to stare out the window at the familiar streets as Rebecca drove them to the office. Could she leave LA behind completely? Was New Hope just a novelty, or could it truly be something more for her? And if there wasn’t anything long-lasting between her and Eli, would she still want to live there? Or had Eli and New Hope become entangled in her mind? Could she accept New Hope even if she didn’t get Eli in the end?
She bent her head and rubbed her forehead. It was too much to have to figure out right then. The clarity she’d had in New Hope had faded with each new storm that had come her way since arriving back in LA. She checked her phone again, but there was still no message from Eli.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Once they got to the building that housed the office, Arianna and Rebecca silently rode the elevator up to the floor the office was located on. Rebecca led the way among the desks to the meeting room on the far side of the office. The other team members were already there, waiting for them.
With a murmured apology for being late, Arianna slid into a seat, pulled her laptop from the bag and set it on the table. She set her phone next to the laptop, face up so she could see if a message came in from Eli.
“You need to refocus,” Steven said as a way to start the meeting. “You need to refocus and give your job—your career—your full attention.”
Arianna stared at him, anger coursing through her veins. Of course, they needed her to focus on her career. If she wasn’t making money, they weren’t making money. Not off her anyway. That’s how it worked for them. Of course they would pressure her to keep focused on her job. It was odd how it was only in the last couple of months that it had really begun to feel like a job. Before that, it had been something she enjoyed. It hadn’t felt like a job.
“I haven’t taken a vacation in a very long time. Every single day I work. I want time off. I need some time off.”
“You’ve had almost a month. It’s time to come back to work and figure out how to repair the damage caused by what’s happened with David.”
“Which wouldn’t have been an issue if you hadn’t pressured me.”
“And yet the final decision was yours,” Steven said, his gaze hard.
Arianna couldn’t very well argue with that. Though she wanted to drop her gaze at the wave of shame that swept over her because of her decision, she continued to hold Steven’s.
“And the final decision on what I do now is up to me as well.” She hesitated, glancing at her phone again. “I need a break. I need to decide what my next step is going to be.”
“Next step?” Steven asked, a frown clouding his features. “What exactly are you talking about?”
“I’m not sure how much of this I still want to do.” As soon as she said the words, relief began to trickle through her.
Steven’s hands hit the table with a thud. “What do you mean you don’t know how much you still want to do?”
“I’m not sure I want to continue to do all of this. I want to be able to have a life away from the camera.”
Steven scoffed. “You already have that. It’s not like you’re vlogging every minute of every day. Plus, the brands you have agreements with will expect you to continue to maintain your popularity.”
“I’m not planning to stop altogether. I just don’t want it to consume my life the way it does right now. In the meantime, no more brand deals. No more collaborations. And definitely no more situations like the one with David.”
“And you’ll stay in LA?” Steven asked.
Arianna hesitated, glancing around the table. From the wide-eyed looks of the others there, she wondered if they felt like they were at a tennis match, bouncing back and forth between her and Steven.
“I’m not making that decision yet. Tomorrow, I’m going back to where I’ve been staying, and I’m going to take some more time off except for a few videos I’ve already got planned. I’ll let you know when I’ve come to a decision about my future in LA.”
Her phone chirped a text alert, instantly grabbing her attention.
Eli: Sorry to hear you won’t be home tonight. It’s no problem to pick you up whenever you get in tomorrow.
Thank you. How has your day been?
Eli: Had my interview with Kieran.
“Excuse me,” Arianna said as she got to her feet. “I have to make a call.”
“Arianna,” Steven called after her as she headed for the door.
“I’ll be back.” She left the room and headed for another smaller meeting room that was currently unoccupied. Closing the door behind her, she pressed the button to call Eli.
“Hello?”
His voice washed over her like a gentle br
eeze, soothing the jangling of her nerves. “Hi. Are you able to talk?”
“Yep. I’m just sitting in my truck outside the police station.”
“I wish I could have been there with you,” Arianna said as she walked over to the wall of windows that looked out over the city around the building.
There was a hesitation before he said, “You wouldn’t have been able to go into the interview with me.”
“I know. But I could have prayed for you before and during it.” She pressed her fingertips gently to the glass, staring at the light smog hanging over the city. “How did it go?”
“It wasn’t much fun, that’s for sure. Kieran was there, but he didn’t ask any questions. I have a feeling the other detective figured he would be biased.”
“And he probably would have been,” Arianna agreed. “But hopefully he’ll be able to offer the other detective some insights into you and the town.”
“Maybe.” Eli didn’t sound convinced.
“You sound tired.”
Eli sighed. “I am. It was pretty intense even though all I did was sit at a table and talk.”
“Will you have to talk to them again?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. They talked to me several times ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry you have to face this again.”
“Me, too.” He let out another sigh. “But enough about me. How are you doing?”
“I’m tired too. I’m actually supposed to be in a meeting right now, but I walked out to call you.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Eli said.
“I know, but I wanted to. I needed to.” She turned away from the window. “I’m sorry I won’t be back to help with the festival like I’d promised.”
“Don’t worry about that. There will still be lots to do on Friday.”
“I hope you’re right.”
A knock on the door had her looking toward it in time to see Rebecca poke her head into the room.
A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1) Page 26