Page 123 of Ordinary Secrets

“What if they don’t want to move?”

“Then they’re just a plane ride away.”

“Where will we get the money to fly back and forth all the time? Plane tickets around the world aren’t cheap, ya know.”

“Arella...” I say with a groan. “I have plenty of money.”

“You keep saying that. How much money do you actually have?”

I shrug. “Enough.”

“Care to put a number on that?”

“Millions.”

She slumps her head to the side. “Yeah, right.”

Why does she have to say it like that? Like it’s too impossible to believe. Like I’m embellishing it. She doesn’t even stop to consider that I could be telling the truth.

“I could prove it to you. Just need to log into my online bank accounts.”

She presses her eyebrows together. “You don’tactlike you have millions of dollars. I mean, sure, you have nice things, but millions? What did your parents research that you inherited that much?”

Exasperated, I stand, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m not here to try to convince her that I could buy her a private island if she wanted it. I’m here because for some odd reason, she’s pulling away, and I’m not going to allow it. “Look, the way I see it, you’ve got two choices. You can either come to Paris willingly, or tied up and duct-taped.”

“Would youreallydo that?”

“Pretty close to it.” I’m dead serious. We’re running out of time.

Arella glares at me. “Kidnapping is a federal crime, Trey Grant.”

I roll my eyes. I’m notactuallygonna kidnap her—unless it’s absolutely necessary for her safety.

She pushes off the bed to open a drawer. A shirt and a pair of boxers fly at my head.

I catch them against my face. “What the?—”

“It’s the clothes you let me wear home that day we threw flour at each other. I keep forgetting to give them back to you.”

My heart drops. “Why are you doing so now?”

“Trey.” She sighs. “I just need some time to myself, okay? Please, just take your things and leave. We can talk more tomorrow.”

My mouth pops open, but no words come out. It takes me a moment to gather myself. “Why does it feel like you’re breaking up with me?”

“I’m not,” she says, and it only makes me feel a sliver better. “But I still need you to go. And take your belongings.”

In a single motion, I scoop her into my arms and storm out of her bedroom.

She squirms, smacking my chest. “Put me down!”

“No,” I say firmly. “You said to go and to take my belongings, so I am.”

She goes limp, slapping a hand over her forehead, but with a hint of a smile. “And you sayI’mthe difficult one.”

In the living room, I set her back onto her feet before firmly taking her face into my palms. I stare straight into her eyes, silently pleading for her to hear my next words with her whole heart.

“You belong with me, Arella, and I belong with you. I’m not leaving here without you, and if you’re not leaving, then I’m staying.”

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