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“The moment I saw you struggle down those stairs, there was something about you that was different, but I was sure as hell you were arrogant, which you are, by the way,” I said, and we both laughed. “However, you’re also the sweetest man I know. I tried to fight this so hard because I wanted to keep our relationship professional—”
Brian interrupted me. “Really? That’s why you've beenavoiding me? I thought you were just trying to torment me. My goodness! Well, it didn't work so well, did it?” We laughed again.
“I told Anderson to do what he did. He knew I was fine. Besides, I was already getting better, so I wasn’t about to pull my hamstring,” Brian said.
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Really? You did? How?”
“I asked him to get ice, and he never returned.”
Brian and I talked into the night until we both fell asleep. The next morning, when I realized I’d spent the night in his room, I got up to leave, but he asked me to stay a while longer. I protested and told him I had to leave because Claudia would be worried, and I didn’t have a change of clothes.
Brian assured me a call or a text would calm Claudia down, and he was right. I told her I was fine, but I didn't give her any of the juicy details. As for the clothes, Brian told me not to worry. He said he wanted to take me out on a date and do things properly. It was so romantic.
As we spoke, he ordered what he considered to be a casual dress for me online—if you consider a $700 Zaradress casual, then a casual dress was what he ordered. In no time, the dress arrived, and we got ready for our date.
Carson was the only other Rodericks left in the mansion. He didn't seem surprised. Apparently, the attraction between Brian and me was obvious to everyone, and they were patiently waiting for us to figure it out.
Brian took me to a rooftop restaurant in Los Angeles. The restaurant was so exclusive that we had to go there in a helicopter. I had no idea a restaurant like that existed. The service there was the best I’d ever had. Brian watched me with utter admiration and adoration.
When he spoke to the waiter, I watched him in awe. I’d seen it many times before, but I never got used to how friendly he was to all the workers no matter where he was. The man was a gem, and I couldn't believe he was mine.
A month later, Brian and I had become an item. He was fully recovered, and the treatment had ended, but our relationship hadn’t. Brian’s family members were a complete joy. The men accepted me with open arms. As a matter of fact, I was exactly what the doctor ordered when it came to taming Brian’s wild nature.
“The movie was great, Brian. It definitely lived up to the hype; Marvel movies are always top-notch,” I said after Brian closed the door to his bedroom.
“Yeah…” Brian stopped speaking when he heard a ruckus coming from outside his bedroom. Before he could open the door to see what the noise was about, the door flung open.
“Brian, baby, you’ve been avoiding my calls for a whole month now. What's going on? Who is this woman—one of your sluts?” a tall, brunette woman said as she came into the room and ran straight into Brian’s arms. She had the body of a goddess and an accent that only made her sexier, but it just pissed me off.
“Slut?” I said, standing.
“Oh, yes. Brian was leaving my house when he had that crash…after a weekend of the kind of hot sex you can only imagine in your dreams. You’ve been a distraction for him, but do you really think you belong in his world? He may have been pulled in by the novelty of your wholesome girl next door charm, but you will never keep him from wandering back to what he’s used to. Brian likes models like me. He’s only going to break your heart,” she continued, her words piercing me to my core.
“Katrina!” Brian yelled, but I couldn’t stand to hear any more, so I ran off. I don't know what broke my heart more, the fact that Brian had lied when he told me there was no other woman in his life or her harsh words toward me. I felt like a fool. I’d just given myself completely to a man who most likely would break my heart. I had been like a little preschool girl playing house. Katrina was right about one thing: I was kidding myself if I thought I could fit into his world.
I ignored Brian, rushed to my car, and drove back to my apartment as fast as possible. The experience was nothing short of heart-wrenching. Brian had lied to me. He’d told me there was no one else. He’d told me that he loved me with all his being. Although I knew I hadn’t been his first, he’d treated our first sexual encounter like the best he’d ever had, but Katrina’s words begged to differ.
“Ariana, what's wrong? You're crying—what happened?” Claudia said as I ran into her arms.
I told her what had happened, how Brian had lied to me, and how he had another woman. I was devastated, but Claudia tried her best to calm me down. Still, I was beside myself. I packed my bags to go to my parent’s ranch. Claudia tried to stop me, but I told her that I didn't want to see him anymore. Going back home had been the plan before I was assigned to help Brian recover, and that’s where I was going now.
Chapter Seven
The Heart Wants
What the Heart Wants
Brian
Immediately after Ariana left, I ran after her. I was dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened? I was having the best time of my life, and Katrina had ruined it.
I knew I should have stopped seeing her the moment I knew she’d developed feelings for me. I raced to the parking lot. “Kendrick!” I called for the chauffeur. I’d learned not to drive when I had little control. The accident had made me more conscious of that than I liked to admit. I instructed Kendrick to take me to Ariana’s apartment; he had taken me there many times before, so he knew the way. When I arrived, Claudia told me that Ariana wasn't there. She said that she’d returned home to Massachusetts, and she didn't want to see me anymore. I wanted to find her immediately, but Claudia would not give me any information because of the damage Katrina had caused.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked Katrina when I returned home to find her perched comfortably on my bed. I was disgusted with her.
“What's wrong with me? Brian, what's wrong with you? We had something. I know you didn’t love me, but what we had could have grown into something beautiful. On the way back from Ariana’s house I had thought about all the unkind things I wanted to say to Katrina, but when I got back to my house, I was too heartbroken to say anything. I was in pain. I felt trapped, and there was nothing I could do. My heart wanted Ariana, but Katrina had ruined our love story.
