Page 109 of Love Arranged

“You might as well have.”

“I’m sorry if it came across that way. I was only trying to support you.”

“I’m not sure why you assumed I wanted that from you.” My voice is snappier than usual, and she winces. “I’m sorry,” I say immediately. “That was stupid of me to say.”

She takes a deep breath, holds it for a few seconds, and slowly exhales through her mouth—a technique I’m familiar with. “Apologize by telling me why you reacted that way.”

She could’ve walked out on me, but she is choosing to stay and give me a chance to explain myself, so I take it.

I stare out the window. “I don’t want you treating me differently because you know about my OCD.”

A wrinkle of worry cuts between her brows. “It’s calledcaring, Lorenzo. I know it’s an unfamiliar concept to you with the way your family has acted, but it’s normal. Hell, it should be the standard, and I’m sorry people in your life made you think it wasn’t.”

“I’m—”

“I don’t want an apology. I want you to do better, or else one day I’m not going to forgive you again.”

She leaves the room without letting me get the last word in, and instead of being happy that she’s gone, I’m worried about where she ran off to. We’re a far cry away from Lake Wisteria, where she’s accustomed to talking to random strangers without questioning whether they’re safe or not.

I drop my head into my hands and groan.

One day you’ll care about someone so much, you’ll miss them as soon as they leave, my dad had told me when I asked why he called my mom as soon as she drove off for work.

Back then, I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, he saw her not even two minutes prior, and he was already calling her to talk?

I tug on the roots of my hair hard enough to make it hurt.

“I don’t miss Lily,” I say aloud, my voice full of false bravado.

I can’t.

Or at least that’s the lie I tell myself only five minutes later when I grab our hotel key off the dresser and head out to find her.

Becoming reliant on Lily feels like a fork in the road, where one wrong step could lead me down a path of no return.

A path riddled with complications, an expiration date, and, worst of all,love.

* Princess.

* Puppy.

* My love.

25

LILY

Since we’re all supposed to meet in an hour for dinner, I can’t go very far, so I decide to explore some shops nearby. I need some time to cool off because I’m afraid of what might happen if I can’t get out of this mood.

Caring about Lorenzo is frustrating, and it feels like a losing battle. He is hot and cold, making me think he cares one moment and leaving me confused and upset in the next.

There is no use denying that I like him. That’s why his reaction back in the hotel room hurt me, because I took a chance and offered my support, only for him to reject me yet again.

No more though. I want to be chased, not be the one doing the chasing.

As if Lorenzo can read my thoughts from a mile away, he surprises me with a text.

Lorenzo