Episode 161
EPISODE 161
ARIEL FALLS
Ariel
I’m in love.
You’ve captured my heart.
I love you. No mystery. No plot twists.
I just fucking love you, Ariel, and I know that surprises you, because it surprises the hell out of me.
Did Alex truly just say all of that?
I’m speechless. My mouth drops open. I’m sure I look like a fish flopping out of the water. And Alex should know. He adores fishing. We talked all about that.
“And it scares me,” he adds, his voice no louder than a whisper. He traces my jawline.
I’m not sure what to say to that.
“Do you feel the same?” he continues.
My breath hitches. The room feels heavy, silence pressing against us like a weight. The sincerity in his question makes my heart pound.
“I...” I start, but my voice trembles, words floundering somewhere between my mind and my tongue .
He slides his finger over my bottom lip. “You don’t have to answer right now.” He brushes a stray lock away from my forehead. “I know it’s sudden.”
I love you.
I want to say the words so badly.
But only days ago I was feeling the same for Brett and then Sebastian.
I was ready to fight Emily for River, who I still haven’t spent any time with.
And then the threesome with Marc and Zion.
Having the attention of two men was amazing, but then they both left me feeling... Feeling...
Well, it’s not their fault how I felt. It was my own for doing it in the first place. I felt dirtier than a pig in a mud puddle after a summer rain.
But I want to tell Alex that I love him too. I want to so badly I can taste it.
“I know you’re young, Ariel,” he says. “The youngest of all the women here. But you’re also the most real, I think. You haven’t had the chance to try to conceal who you truly are.”
“Oh, Alex...” I sigh. “I have. This isn’t me. This place isn’t me. I’m a roller waitress, for goodness’ sake. I left school at sixteen. I still live at home with my mama to help her with expenses.”
“Ariel—”
I hold up a hand to stop him. “Don’t say it doesn’t matter. I’ve come to terms with who I am, and I deserve to be here as much as any of the others. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. But when you said I haven’t been concealing who I truly am...” I shake my head. “This isn’t me. I could never afford to stay at a place like this. Clothes like I have here. I could never?— ”
He places his fingers over my lips. “I know that. I know who is paying for this place. I know who paid for your clothes.”
I can’t help laughing. He paid for all of it, of course. He, Brett, Sebastian, and River. Four handsome billionaires. Maybe they would have been five if their friend had lived.
“Something funny?” he asks.
“No. I just sound silly as a goose, though, don’t I? Of course you know I can’t afford all this stuff. None of us can. Not even Emily, the hotshot fashion designer or Sienna, the law—” I clamp my hand over my mouth.
Not a good idea to mention Sienna. Alex had sex with her the first night.
Then she took off.
Alex raises an eyebrow, but there’s a hint of amusement in his gaze.
“You chose me,” I say softly.
“Yes,” he says, his eyes softening. “I chose you.”
Tears prick at the corner of my eyes. It’s the first time anyone’s ever chosen me without any expectation or agenda. But it also terrifies me, because I don’t know what to do with it.
I think of Sebastian, with his intoxicating charm. Marc and Zion, with their magnetic allure. Brett, with his gorgeous California surfer-boy good looks and a personality to match.
Alex is different from them all. Gentle but mysterious, caring but contained. Except for today. He told me he wouldn’t be gentle, and he wasn’t.
And it was intoxicating.
His confession has me spiraling in a whirlpool of emotions that terrify and excite me all at once .
And I want to be a part of it. Of all of it.
Alex lives in New Orleans. Though he’s not native to the south, like I am, he understands the south. Chooses to live there.
“I love you too, Alex,” I finally say. “I think I’ve loved you since you made that perfect Southern dinner for me.”
“To be fair, the chefs made the dinner.”
“But you told them what to make. You did it so I’d feel special. And I love you for it.”
After a shower, Alex and I head downstairs. Time to tell everyone the good news—and Evangeline needs to know that one bachelor is off the marriage mart.
I’m giddy. I can’t keep a smile off my face. I’m sure I look like a kid who just found out Christmas is coming early, eyes sparkling and heart racing with excitement.
We find Sebastian and Brett standing by the front door talking in hushed tones.
“Hey,” Alex says, his fingers entwined with mine. “Ariel and I?—”
“Riv took off,” Sebastian interrupts. “He’s off to Miami for some fucking reason. Says he’ll be back by tomorrow night.”
“What the fuck?” Alex’s eyebrows nearly fly off his head.
“Right?” Brett shakes his head. “He’s acting so strangely. I know him inside out, and I can’t figure out what’s going on. But we do have some good news.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” Alex asks.
“Sienna’s coming back. Tonight.”
Alex drops my hand .
Just drops it. I’m not sure how he got our fingers untangled so fast, but he did. Then he steps away from me.
And I’m pretty sure my billionaire regrets those three little words he just said.
I slink away, up the stairs. I’m pretty sure Alex doesn’t even notice.