Arabella plants one hand on her hip. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more bothering you than a tight timeline?”
Shoving my hands in the front pockets of my dress pants, I say, "That’s because therearea few things that are bothering me. Big ones, starting with the fact that I feel like a pawn in a game between you and Dylan.”
Arabella’s head snaps back. “A pawn?! What are you talking about?”
“You said it by accident when we first started talking—you want to beat Dylan at her own game. This is about you and Dylan."
Scoffing, she says, "Can you blame me for wanting to get back at that awful woman after what she tried to do to my family?"
"No, but—"
"But what? Are you telling me you actuallywantto continue working under those terrible conditions?"
"You're making it sound like I’m in a coal mine all day,” I say with a shrug. “I host a nature show."
"You know what I meant,” Arabella answers. “I can't believe you're actually upset about this. If I didn't know any better, I’d think you are having second thoughts about the wedding."
"Do not try to turn this around on me. You're the one that decided to stoop to Dylan's level. Not to mention, you did it without bothering to consult me about it."
"Only because I thought you would be thrilled."
"Do you know how mad you would be at me if I pulled something like this without talking to you first? We actually broke up over it."
A sheepish look crosses her face. "Okay, you may have a point there."
"Yeah, I have a point."
"I'm sorry. I should've talk to you about it first."
"Yes, you should have,” I say, raising my voice slightly.
She walks over to me, taking hold of both my hands and rubbing the backs of them with her thumbs. I mentally prepare myself to accept her apology and hear some sweet sentiments about how much I mean to her. But then, she speaks… "Come on. Isn't there just the tiniest bit of you that is happy to screw her over? I mean, just the teensiest bit? Here she thought that we would jump at this contract without even realizing how long she could keep you,” she says, with a wide grin that looks like a cross between a smile and a wild animal baring its teeth. “For her, it was a no-brainer—she probably assumed it would take a good eighteen months, or two years even, at which point your contract would be almost done. And the whole time, she'd be getting exactly what she wants—she’d have you under her thumbandshe’d have the rights to our wedding. And I took that from her today. In under three short months, you will be free from her forever. Just think of that. Will the staff be pissed?” She nods. "But they'll get over it. And at the end of the day, you and I win for once. Don’t you want to win, Will?”
“What I want is to be on the same team as you.”
“The samewinningteam, right?” she asks with a hopeful smile. When I don’t smile back, she lets her shoulders drop. “Okay, fair enough. I messed up and I can admit it. And I promise I will never do anything like this again without speaking to you first," she says, reaching up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss on the cheek. "I’m really sorry. But I did do this with you in mind too. Are we okay?” she asks, looking concerned.
“Not really,” I tell her.
She takes a step back. “What do you mean?”
“I spoke with Harrison today. He told me you sent my family the etiquette handbooks.”
Her face fills with confusion. “Won’t that be helpful for them?”
“It’s a little insulting, to be honest,” I say. “I mean, it’s like saying ‘Here are the rules to being acceptable for us.’”
Gasping, Arabella says, “That’s not how I meant it and you know it! I only thought it would help them feel more comfortable. I even wrote a note to that effect.”
“He told me, butagain, this is something you should have checked with me about before you did it.”
Ignoring my last comment, Arabella says, “Are they hurt? The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt their feelings.”
“They’re fine. Rosy was a bit put out, but Harrison and Libby are already studying, and Emma just finds it hilarious. In fact, I’ll never hear the end of it, I’m sure.”
“Damn. I am so sorry,” Arabella says. “How can I fix it?”
“Just don’t do it again.”
