Page 51 of Conflict
I’M HAVINGthe most delicious dream about tulips, pool boys, and endless orgasms when Shane’s suddenly serenading me with a sexy rendition of INXS’s “Need You Tonight.” The image of him fades and I wake only to realize it’s my phone, not the man in bed with me.
My sister’s name is on the caller ID. It’s the middle of the night though, and I wonder where she’s been. Where she ended up.
“Ari? Is that you?” I ask.
“Hey, Lyss.”
All drowsiness washes away at the sound of her scratchy voice. I sit up in bed, turning on the lamp on my nightstand. “Ari? Are you okay? You sound strange.” That’s when I notice the beeping in the background and the sound of distant voices. “What’s that beeping noise?
“I’m okay. I promise. Look, don’t freak out…”
I cut her off, doing just that. “Oh my God! Ariana Genevieve Covington! You cannot run off from your wedding, taking off to who knows where, and not answer your phone for hours only to call me in the middle of the night and tell me not to freak out. I’ve been alternating between cheering you on and freaking out since you left!”
It’s the truth. Sure, Ari’s an adult and can take care of herself. I just worried about her state of mind, you know, after calling off the wedding she’s been preparing for for the better part of five years. I tried not to bug her, but after two hours, I couldn’t help myself. Except every single call went to voicemail and every text message was left unanswered.
So, yeah, kinda freaking out over here, even if I am insanely proud of her.
“Calm down, Lyssa,” she says, her tone soothing. It works—a little. “I’m fine. I promise. There was just an accident and I’m in the hospital.”
I jump out of bed, nearly tumbling to the ground as I get tangled up in my sheets. “OH MY GOD!” I’m shrieking, running around the room, and throwing clothes on until Ariana’s voice cuts through my madness.
“Are you done?” she asks, her tone teasing.
I sit on the edge of the bed, trying not to think the worst. Apparently, she’s okay, or else she wouldn’t be the one calling me. Still, the idea of my sister in some hospital God knows where terrifies me.
“Ari, what the hell happened? What do you mean ‘there was just an accident’? You can’t tell me not to freak out and then dump something like that on me. What the hell happened?” I ask again with emphasis.
“There was a semi that crossed over into my lane, and before I could react, it hit me,” she begins.
I have to bite the inside of my lip to keep from shrieking again. I listen patiently as she details what happened, and I want to know immediately who this stranger is that saved her. He’s a hero in my book.
“And, Lyss, the weirdest thing about all this? The guy who saved me? The stranger? Well, he’s not exactly a stranger.”
Even though she can’t see me, I furrow my brow. “What? What do you mean? Who do you know in.. Wait, where are you?”
Ari releases a deep breath. “It’s not important.” I’m about to protest and she rushes on. “Do you remember last Christmas when I disappeared from the company party?”
“Oh yeah. Ben left you high and dry. You said it was too stuffy and you were going to get some fresh air. You ended up in the hotel ba—” I stop, instantly knowing just who this mysterious savior is. “Holy shit. Are you serious? Of all the men in the world, how in the hell did you two end up in the same place at the same time? Again? And this time, the roles were reversed and he was the one taking care of you? I’ll be freaking damned.”
“I know. When I saw him, I thought I was seeing things. I do remember him saying that he lived in the Nashville area. But still. Out of all the freaking people here. And now, he’s hurt. All because of me.”
I sigh. It’s so like Ari to feel guilty because a man saved her life. As if she’d had any control over the situation. “It’s not because of you, sweetie. He risked his life to save you, which is kind of crazy because the guy you described to me sounded more like a drunken jerk than a real-life Superman. Makes me wonder if that night helped him as much as it helped you.”
The air fills with silence as Ariana thinks on my words. And then, she changes the subject. “Speaking of, on a scale of one to ten, how livid are Victoria and William?”
“Girl, there’s no one to ten here. We’re talking mega mad. Richter-scale-off-the-charts livid. The level of their anger puts even the worst earthquake to shame. The only thing keeping Dad from disowning you is the fact that Benjamin’s a delusional asshole who thinks you just need to sow your wild oats. According to him, you’ll come crawling back when you come to your senses.” I brace myself for the rest. “In fact, they didn’t even cancel the wedding. A simple postponement was announced, and everyone’s acting like there’s nothing wrong. Of course, now this accident will give them just what they need to prove it.”
“No!” she yells sharply then coughs. “I mean, I don’t want them to know. I’ll be out of here in a few days, and I just need the time alone. The last thing I need is them barging in here, especially not Benjamin. I can’t stomach the thought of him trying to play the caring, concerned, dutiful fiancé. Hell, he’d probably try and drag a justice of the peace in here just so he can have his trophy wife.”
I’m about to tell her I’ll never let that happen when she continues.
“Plus, my big mouth may have gotten me in trouble here already.”
I smile, wondering what in the hell Ariana could’ve done to get herself into trouble in a hospital. “Oh, Ari. What’d you do?” I ask, knowing she’s probably making it seem worse than it actually is.
“They weren’t going to let me see him, and I have to. He saved my life, and he doesn’t deserve to be lying in that hospital bed all alone. So when the nurse told me, I glanced down at my engagement ring, and before I could stop myself, I was blurting out that he’s my fiancé.”
“You didn’t!” I gasp at the scandalous detail.
