page57 (1/1)

I open o “I’ll call you later”

“No, Ari, I’ll see you later and don’t forgetwith me for the weekend” He kisses me quickly, squeezes my ass, and walks away

Exasperated, I get into the car and go back to work

“Are you looking for reasons for the two of you not to work?” Sophie takes a sip of her wine and raises her eyebrows at me

“Not at all Don’t you understand how this would upset me?”

“Not really I think it’s hot Especially after what I think happened this weekend He’s already declared his undying love and devotion to you Reed’s always been intense His protective nature comes out when it has to do with his family Look what he did when he found out about his sister’s e—he hid his own child to shield her from the hurt and wanted to beat the dad up”

“I agree with Sophie, dear, you’ve got to pick your battles and this doesn’t seeood one” Katy pats my shoulder

“You guys are no help! Whose side are you on?”

“I didn’t realize there were sides Your protective, head over heels boyfriend wants to get to the botto precious away fro Give up so control and bend a little”

“Jesus, Soph, have I pissed you off? This is the second time you have jumped my ass when it comes to Reed”

“No, you just don’t understand I need you to try for this Don’t let it be one-sided I love you like a sister and when you lost your parents, ere just kids I watched you grieve but Katy was there You were resilient and amazed everyone around you with your ability to pick up the pieces”

Tears fill her eyes and she shares a glance with Grandma Katy I can’t understand “But, Ari, with Reed it was different I won’t relive the situation, but you shut down coone and I was really scared It was a different kind of grief and it didn’t go away I prayed every single day that you would be okay Once Davis was here and healthy, I prayed for you to move on and not let theI was scared you would never tell Davis about his dad and he was conceived out of love No matter who you went out with, there was never a spark in your eyes But the day you saw Reed on the beach, I could hear it in your voice It was back The tinge of hope I had you would be okay blossomed Then I prayed for the ultimate love story for you I know I’m a sap and believe in the happily ever after that hardly happens But I want that for you Now every ti you off Can’t you at least try and see where he’s co from?”

Grandet rid of “That’s theanyone has ever told me” I croak

“She’s right, sweetie Sophie’s shared this withcame when Reed showed up” Katy pats my hand

“Holy hell! How did this happen?” I cry not even hiding the tears falling down my face

“Babe, it happened when you fell back in love You and Reed have a cosine he will need to be reeled in during your lifetiether because men can be idiots But this is not one of those times Go with this”

“Okay, but I’irls but also about everything We have a lot of hurdles to jump Not just our careers, but our whole relationship is different”

“Arianna, have I ever told you about inning?” Katy asks softly reaching for my hand

I shake randparents, I thought their life together was perfect

“Well, we hteen and coood fae issue I wasn’t allowed to date him My brother and sister helpedI ith theh school in the Navy Back then, things were much different But his patriotis, o to the last school dance with him, it’s called prom nowadays We had to double date with my brother, but we didn’t care