by Jillian Dodd
I find her sitting on a willow swing in the gazebo overlooking the winery. With my heart in my hand, I stand in front of her and say, “I’m sorry, Ariela.”
“I’m sorry too, Riley.”
I sit down next to her. “Just tell me how you could leave like that. I need to understand how you could do that.”
“My dad told me that I was young. That I was letting love cloud my judgement. That you were just some rich kid going to California on a whim. That you'd change your mind a million times about what you wanted to do. And that you'd change your mind about me. That if I went, it'd be the worst mistake of my life.”
“He was wrong,” I tell her. “I did exactly what I said I’d do. Even more.”
“I know you did, Riley. It may not mean much coming from me, but I’m incredibly proud of all you’ve accomplished.”
“On graduation, your dad told me that I’d never amount to much.”
Ariela’s eyes get huge. “He said that?!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t care because I knew I’d prove him wrong. And I’ve been proving him wrong every day since. Not that it matters, you didn’t believe in me enough to trust that I would.”
“Listening to him was the biggest mistake of my life.”
“So, why are you really here? Because your life sucks and you thought I’d just wait for you? It’s been over ten years.”
“My husband has been cheating on me. When I mentioned it to my mother, she said a lot of men do and that I should just accept it like she has. I was upset because I thought my parents were the perfect married couple. I wanted to emulate them. Everything I thought I knew was wrong. I went to a coffee shop when I was upset and sitting on the table was you. On the cover of that magazine. I read the article, cancelled my appointments, and saw the movie. It was like the perfect storm. I had to come. I don’t expect you to love me again, Riley. I just need your forgiveness. And I need to start living my life for me.”
“I loved you. You walked away and never looked back.”
“I couldn’t have looked back, or I wouldn’t have had the strength to do it. I filed for divorce yesterday. I know it might seem like I did all of this on a whim, but it’s been a long time coming.”
“Finally taking responsibility for your actions?”
“Yes. I’ve been blaming my parents for the decisions I made about my life. Keatyn and Maggie both reminded me of that.”
“How?”
“They said I was an adult when I left, and I was an adult when I got married. That my parents may have influenced me, but I chose my path and I need to start owning up to it.”
“They’re smart women,” I say, completely agreeing with them.
Ariela reaches out and grabs my hand.
“Owwww! Don't touch my hand!”
She leans back, holding her hands in the air. “Why?”
“I think it's broken.”
“Broken? How? It was fine a few minutes ago.”
“Grandpa told me to punch a tree.”
“And you listened to him? That was stupid of you. You had to know it was going to hurt.”
Looking into her eyes, I say slowly, defeatedly, “Sounds like what happened when you listened to your dad. You had to know it was going to hurt.”
“It broke my heart,” she says, tears filling her eyes again.
I touch her face with my good hand.
She grabs it tightly, leaning her cheek against it. When she closes her beautiful eyes, teardrops leak out and roll down her face.
And for the first time since she came back into my life, I feel like maybe things could be okay. I’m soaking up her love. The pain in my hand going away and leaving me feeling lost in time.
“I want to tell you something,” she says, her hand still firmly pressed against mine. “I'm going to live in California regardless of what happens with us. Keatyn says once people know I did her wedding, I'll get other jobs. I don't know if that's true, but . . .”
“Don’t,” I tell her.
“Don't what?”
“Open a business yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not convinced you’ll stay.”
“I’m staying, Riley, no matter what. Can you at least learn to tolerate my presence?”
“Maybe we should do something about that.”
“Like what?”
“Eastbrooke’s Homecoming is next weekend.”
“I’ve never been back there.”
“Neither have I.”
“I don’t know if I can do it, Riley. It would be so hard to go back. There are so many memories there.”
“I know there are, but I think we both need to. Maybe if we go back to where it ended, we can figure out where it's going.”
“Where do you think it's going?” she asks, barely a whisper.
“I don't know, Ariela. I don't know if I can be your friend or not but, if nothing else, maybe this will give us both some closure. Maybe we’ll finally be able to put the past behind us.”
“I’ll have to work my ass off this week getting stuff ready for the wedding in order to go.”
“I have a dinner meeting Monday. Maybe we could go get dinner Tuesday night.”
“Like a date?” she asks.
“More like a meeting.”
She hangs her head. “Okay. A meeting on Tuesday night, it is.”
“Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get some ice for my hand and apologize to everyone else for my behavior.”
“Riley, wait!” she says, grabbing my chin and turning it toward her.
Our lips softly touch in a kiss.
A kiss that isn't like the passionate one we shared at Keatyn’s the night she showed up for dinner. This is more like our first kiss, tentative and unsure.
But her lips feel exactly the same—soft, sweet perfection.
Get Book #5
ALSO BY JILLIAN DODD
The USA TODAY bestselling series, The Keatyn Chronicles®
Young adult contemporary romance set in an East coast boarding school.
Stalk Me
Kiss Me
Date Me
Love Me
Adore Me
Hate Me
Get Me
Keatyn Unscripted
Aiden
That Boy Series
Small town contemporary romance series about falling in love with the boy next door.
That Boy
That Wedding
That Baby
That Divorce
The Love Series
Contemporary, standalone romances following the very sexy Crawford family.
Vegas Love
Broken Love
Fake Love
Spy Girl Series
Young adult romance series about a young spy who just might save the world.
The Prince
The Eagle
The Society
The Valiant
Jillian Dodd and Kenzie Harp
Young adult travel romance.
Girl off the Grid
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian is a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes fun romances with characters her readers fall in love with, from the boy next door in the That Boy trilogy to the daughter of a famous actress in The Keatyn Chronicles to a kick-ass young assassin in the Spy Girl series.
She lives in a small Florida beach town, is married to her college sweetheart, has two grown children, and two Labrador Retrievers named Cali and Camber. When she's not working, she likes to travel, paint, shop for shoes, watch football, and go to the beach.
Check out Jillian’s website for added content and to sign up for her newsletter.
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