Page 187 of Love Arranged

If my bed wasn’t so far away, I’d grab a pillow and launch it at her head.

“Well, what happened was way worse!”

“Can I see the app? I’m curious how it looks.”

My cheeks flush as I redownload the app and log back in. With how Lorenzo and I left things, I don’t expect to see a new message notification in the corner fromLaurence.

“Laurence! Like the note he left with the bracelet.” Dahlia clicks on the inbox because she’s a nosy brat.

“Hey!” I push her away before she can see the screen before me.

The last message has a time stamp from two days ago, but the ones before that… There are probably fifty unread messages in our chat, with the oldest one dating back to about a month ago.

Shock doesn’t scratch the surface of how I feel.

Lorenzo has been using our old chat like a diary, and I almost feel like I’m in the wrong for reading the messages, even when I know he wrote them here on purpose.

Because I can’t help myself, I read the newest ones first, ignoring the way my sister does the same from over my shoulder.

Laurence

Doctor Martin had asked me to think about what Lake Wisteria means to me, and I finally figured out my answer three weeks later.

At first Lake Wisteria was a place to escape to, but over time it became my home, and that is all because of you.

If our situation was different, I’d want to spend forever in this town, and I want to spend forever with you.

Warmth spreads through my body, and I reread that sentence three times before Dahlia startles me.

“What does he mean by ‘if our situation was different’? Does he not plan on staying here?” she asks.

“Not if he loses.”

“What? Why?”

“I…I honestly don’t know.”

She stares at me, probably gauging how serious I am. “And you haven’t pushed for an answer to literally the most important question of your entire relationship?”

“No.” I stare down at my lap.

“Lily,” she groans. “You have to ask him why. If not for you both to overcome it, then for closure.”

“But what if it proves that I’m not good enough?”

“Did you read his messages? Because he might be a man with many issues, but none of them seem to be aboutyou,” she says right as the doorbell rings.

“Shit! What time is it?”

“Five.”

I look at my half-finished face of makeup. “I can’t go out there looking like this.”

Dahlia stands with a smile. “Oh, don’t worry. Lorenzo and I have a few things to catch up on.”

“Dahlia…”

“I’ll buy you ten minutes, so get to it.” She escapes my room, careful not to trip over the random obstacles in her way.