Instead of answering, he zips ahead of us to grab James, who has gone off the path and is now heading in the direction of the river. Tessa and I immediately stop running, both of us bending at the waist with our hands on our knees.
“Well, I suppose when he does stuff like that, it’s worth having him around,” I say.
“Just barely,” she answers.
13
Liar, Liar, Chanel Skirt on Fire…
Arabella
“You’re in Italy?”I ask, sitting back down on my bed. It’s early morning and I woke to a text from Will telling me to call him as soon as I got up. “So I guess we’re not going out tonight?” I ask, unable to come up with anything intelligent to say.
“I’msosorry. Supper with Kenneth went so much better than I could have expected. We got to talking about the best places in the world to climb—he’s a real climber too—and it turns out neither of us have been to the Dolomites, which is crazy when you really think about it because it’s in the top five climbing spots on the planet. Honestly, it’s right up there with Kalymnos and El Capitan. So he just said, ‘Let’s go, we can film the commercial while we’re there,’ and we hopped on his jet and here we are,” he says, sounding far too enthusiastic for this hour of the day. “Kenneth’s so cool. You’ll love him. He even called Bear Grylls a total hack. Can you believe it? He also said I’m the real deal, which is why he wanted so badly to meet me. It’s actually kind of flattering.”
“Sounds like it,” I say, aiming for a supportive girlfriend tone but missing badly.
He doesn’t seem to notice. He just keeps rambling. “Anyway, I didn’t want to call from the plane in case I’d wake you. I hope you’re not upset. We’ll only be a couple of days, and to be honest, it’s going to be really great for the show, because we’ll be live-streaming our climbs. But I’d hate it if you were mad about this.”
“Mad?” I ask. Hell yeah I’m mad. Who goes to Italy on a whim without bothering to tell his girlfriend he’s leaving? I get up, tucking my mobile between my ear and shoulder, then pull on my ivory silk robe. “Of course I’m not upset. This is huge for your career.”
“Thank God, because the entire time we were flying, I was so worried that you’re going to be really upset or that you’d feel like I’m basically abandoning you when things aren’t necessarily going well.”
“Not going well? Between us?” I ask, my heart speeding up in my chest as I stare out the window at the meadow.
“No. God, no. I meant with your family and the whole first episode and all that.”
The way he says it is casual and detached, as though it has nothing to do with him. It’s as if the fact that my family completely disapproves of him is utterly irrelevant to him. Or maybe he’s just excited and I’m reading something into it that isn’t there. “Do you know when you’ll be back?”
“Kenneth thinks we should be in and out of there in three days. He knows I’m expected back in Avonia by Tuesday. Dwight booked me a breakfast television guest slot teaching people how to make bannock or something like that. I’m not really sure. Anyway, I’m hoping to see you Sunday night, but Monday at the very latest, depending on the weather. Either way, I promise I’ll make our date extra incredible.”
“Brilliant, yeah. It’ll be all the more wonderful for the anticipation.” There, did that sound sufficiently supportive? I turn from the window and walk toward my en suite, my bare feet slapping against the cold marble floor.
“Have I told you lately how lucky I am that you’re my girl?” he asks, melting my chilly heart a little. “Honestly, Belle, you’re the best. A lot of women would be annoyed when something like this pops up without any notice, but not you. It’s one of the things that makes us such an amazing couple—we both understand what it’s like to have to rise up to these types of obligations.”
“Well, in your case, it’s rising up by way of belaying.” I chuckle a little to soften what started out as a supremely sarcastic comment.
“You are upset, aren’t you?”
Apparently my chuckling didn’t quite cover my true feelings. “If I were, would you get on a plane and rush back home?”
“See, when you say something like that, it makes me think you’re actually not happy.”
“Honestly, my feelings on the matter are irrelevant to the outcome. You’re already there, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for you, which I would never want to take away. And so, we pivot and press on.”
“Is that your family motto?”
“No, our motto isneque oblivisci nec ignoscetis. Neither forget nor forgive.”
(That’s not really our motto. It’s actuallyofficium potissimum, which is Latin for duty above all, but scaring him a wee bit isn’t necessarily a bad thing, is it?) “Now, I really must run because I have a full day ahead of me. Have a marvelous time. Be safe and I will see you in a couple days for our incredible incredibly romantic date.”
“Yes, you will. And yes, it will be.”
“Love you.”
“I love you too.”
* * *
