Page 24 of Their Little Christmas Bounty
He just nods, his jaw tight.
When we pull up to Ariel’s place, I get out, but Lyle hesitates before moving from the car.I lean in through my door.“Come on, man.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if this doesn’t work out.”
“You can’t give up before it’s even begun.That’s what Ariel was doing.She figured it out, though.Now it’s your turn.”
“You’re right.”He opens his door.
“I know I’m right,” I mutter as we walk to her apartment door.
Lyle knocks.Soft footsteps sound within.
The door swings open, and there she stands.Ariel.Her light green eyes meet mine before switching over to Lyle.
“Hi,” she says on a relieved sigh.“You came.”
She’s in the same outfit she wore in the photo on Kynkworld.
“Of course we came.”I hold out my arms and she steps into my embrace.“You want us, you got us.”
“But no more games.”Lyle’s voice is hard.“We’re here for real.We expect you to be, too.”
“I’m so sorry I ran out like that.”Ariel steps away from me and grips her hands together, like she’s trying to stay grounded.“My last relationship did a number on me.It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason.It’s part of why my dad and I were estranged—he took my ex’s side.”
“Hewhat?”Lyle snaps.
Ariel waves a hand.“It’s in the past.But it was horrible when it happened.I started to feel like maybe I’m not cut out for relationships, because everything I thought was true, turned out to be a lie.And to my dad’s credit, he eventually believed me.Just not at first.”
Lyle wraps his arm around Ariel’s shoulders.“We’re always on your side, little girl.”
In our week of chasing her, I got to know her.Those sexy little images and videos she shared, our search for clues in her files and in the places she stayed.She showed her playful nature, her brattiness, and even her insecurities.But I want to know her more—I want to know everything.
“Let’s go out for ice cream,” I say.
“In December?”Ariel grins.“It’s kind of cold, isn’t it?”
It’s never truly cold in San Esteban.Maybe a little brisk.I take her hand.“Trust me, this is the best ice cream you’ll ever have, any time of year.”
She laughs and pulls a bigger sweatshirt on over her other one, hiding the words she wrote on her stomach.“Okay, let’s go.”
The three of us get in the car.This time, I drive.Lyle and Ariel sit in the back, but Ariel leans forward and keeps hold of my free hand, unwilling to break contact.
Isabelle’s Creamery is located in Dorado Heights, not far from Ariel’s place.“You’ve never been here?”Lyle asks.
“No, never.”Her eyes light up when we walk inside.
It’s a small ice cream parlor, with fewer than twenty flavors at any time, but each one is more decadent than the last.I order lemon, like I always do.Lyle gets a chocolate and hazelnut concoction.And Ariel orders green tea and strawberry.
We find a free table and sit down for our treats.The conversation flows as we learn about each other’s childhoods, hobbies, hopes, and dreams.Everything matches up perfectly—Ariel never wants to leave San Esteban, and neither do we.Eventually we might want kids, but nobody has strong feelings one way or the other.We even discover some friends in common—Ariel knows Leah Shreve, and Lyle and I are friends with Leah’s partners, Gage and Dmitri.
The conversation is easy and fun, full of little jokes even when the topics are heavy.Then we hit one minor hiccup.
“What do you mean, you hacked into Ironwood?”I can’t keep the outrage from my voice.
“Well, just to learn more about the two of you.”Ariel pouts.“It’s not like I messed with anything important.”
Lyle shakes his head.“Some of the best in IT security work for Ironwood.They’re world-renowned.And you got in?”
