AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cross my arms in amusement, “But?”
“I just don’t want you getting scared off,” she says, looking down at her feet.
I step forward, tilting her head up to look me in the eye as I kiss her gently.
“Not going to happen.”
She kisses me back, firmer this time. It takes all my restraint not to pin her against the door and deepen the kiss the way she likes it. But instead, I make the most of being able to taste her tongue on mine, the feeling of her soft lips that she parts so willingly for me now…
“Roisin MAGUIRE! Who thehellis this?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Roisin
I flinch as Arnie and I break apart.
The door to my apartment has been thrown open by my roommate Felicity. Her British accent still echoes down the hall as Bella pops her head around the doorframe, too.
“See! I told you it was her,” Bella says a little proudly. “Felicity said I was just hearing things.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Felicity ignores the interruption to interrogate me further. “And who’s this guy?”
“I missed you too,” I try to say lightly.
But Felicity crosses her arms. “I’m not letting you through this door unless you give me an answer.” Despite the hardness of her tone, I can hear the genuine concern behind her words.
We stare each other down for another few seconds, but I know Felicity won’t budge. She’s a force to be reckoned with.
“Fine,” I say through my teeth. “This is my fiance–”
“You’reengaged?” Bella blurts out before I can finish.
Felicity’s eyes go wide as she looks between the two of us. “You’re fucking with us right now.”
“Look at that ring!” Bella snatches up my hand and holds it in the air for Felicity to see.
“You weren’t even dating anyone,” Felicity stares at my ring finger in disbelief.
“Well, I am now,” I say, snatching my hand back and pointing to the man at my side. “Girls, this is Arnie. Arnie, this is Bella and Felicity.”
Arnie seems more than a little amused by the situation. “A pleasure,” he bows his head a little.
Felicity blinks at him before turning back to me. “Okay, but who the hell is he!?”
“Oh my god,” Bella jumps in. “Are you pregnant?!”
“I see there’s a lot of reasonable confusion here.” Arnie levels the chatter with his firm voice. “May we come in and sit down?”
Felicity hesitates but finally gives in with a sigh and retreats back into the apartment, allowing us both through.
The apartment hasn’t changed much since I left. The communal space holds a couple uncomfortable couches and linoleum-covered surfaces that the girls and I have done our best to add some life to. Posters are plastered to the walls, blankets and cushions cover the seating area, and there’s a rug I’m fairly sure Bella stole from the last production she was in.
I feel instantly at ease as I take in the familiar sight. I stare longingly at one of the four doors leading off the communal space that will take me straight to my bed, but Felicity is on the warpath.
“Sit down, both of you!”
Arnie slips his hand into mine as we take a seat, offering me a comforting squeeze. Felicity seems torn between sitting down herself and pacing the room like a madwoman. Whereas Bella drags a chair from her room and sits backward on it as she watches the interrogation unfold.
