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“I think the work you're doing is going to make a huge difference in Bardstown,” she said, her voice dripping with false sincerity. “Hopefully, we can create some magic together.”
She winked, and her hand playfully brushed my forearm.
It was beyond obvious this woman was flirting with me and I made a mental note to see if there were other agents in Bardstown I could work with. The town was so small that her name was the only one that came up on my search, but this was too much.
I tried to stay polite, but I hated how uncomfortable Arya looked. From her first unwanted touch, I could tell Zara was trouble and was the type of person who chased someone because of their status. I knew plenty of people like that back in New York, and I definitely wasn't interested.
“I’ll be sure to give you a call if I need anything else. Thanks for showing us the properties today.”
I gave her a warm smile as I slid into the car. The passenger door slammed shut, letting me know Arya had enough. I hope Arya saw I was trying to draw a professional line with Zara.
“Well, that was encouraging,” I said, trying to stay positive. Itwasencouraging. We looked at a few different properties in Bardstown and I had seen true potential in all of them for the center I wanted to build. I just had to look past Zara’s annoying, incessant flirting but that was just child's play.
“Are you going to call her?” Arya asked. Her voice reeked of sarcasm and despite the fact that I understood her frustration with the Zara situation, I was also getting tired of her hot and cold game. Did she want me? If so, all she had to do was say the word. Zara was no competition and I just wished she could see that.
But if she didn’t want me?
I didn't even want to think about that. There were tons of women like Zara in the world, but I didn't want that kind of woman. Zara was definitely beautiful and knew how to operate with people who had money, but she just seemed fake. Her personality, her grating voice with the question at the end of every sentence. God, her eyelashes. Especially her eyelashes. I never understood why women liked gluing caterpillars to their eyes.
“Yes, I’m probably going to call her,” I said as Arya barely concealed her anger. “I’ll probably have to if I want to look at a couple of other properties before deciding. She's apparently the warehouse expert in this town. So, I kind of have to.”
“I’m sure she has more to show you than office buildings,” Arya said with her arms crossed, spite cutting into her words.
I almost laughed out loud at how childish she was acting. I wasn’t used to seeing this side of Arya.
“Listen, Arya–,” I began, but she cut me off with a strangled sigh.
“No, Tristan. You’re single. If you want to go out with Zara, then you should. You don’t owe me anything and Zara is a beautiful woman.” Her voice was a little warmer, but I could tell she was only pretending not to care.
“But Arya. Don't you see? I'm not-”. She cut me off.
“I mean, I’d date her, but she’s clearly not interested in me,” Arya said with an uncomfortable laugh. She was rambling now, really laying it on thick.
“Well, I don't know what to say.” I shrugged my shoulders. I was done with this conversation. I didn't know how to make her see while she was in this state. I also wanted her to try and meet me half-way and show me that she wantedme.
The rest of the short ride was silent. I was frustrated that she kept pushing me to see other people. Why wouldn’t she just admit her feelings?
Shit. Why couldn’t I just admit my feelings?
As I pulled up to her house, she barely waited for the car to stop before trying to climb out. I jumped out to meet her outside before she rushed into the house.
“Hey,” I said softly. “Thanks for coming with me today. I really did appreciate your insight. It was really helpful having you along.”
Her face remained neutral, and I couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking or feeling. On a different day, I’d just ask her, but it didn't feel right at the moment. She was shutting down and she didn’t want to be around me anymore.
“Absolutely,” she said, her tone and face full of forced, fake brightness. “That’s what friends are for.”
“Maybe we can do this again?”
“Thanks, but it looks like you’re in great hands with Zara. She’s a real pro, so you should probably just trust her.”
“I will, for the property stuff, but that's just-". She cut me off again, waving her arms.
“Yeah. It's good. It's all good,” she said, shutting down our conversation. “See you around, Tristan.”
I watched her walk toward the front door and wondered how the hell we had gotten here and how I could get us back to that night at the bar. I missed Arya. It had been days since I’d seen the real version of her. I would have given anything to be allowed to follow her into the house and up to her bedroom in that instant.
Chapter 13
