Not a Chance(62)

She had a point. Arden reached out and stroked her hair.

"I'd cry," Alice said. "But I think I'm all out of tears."

"Can't you two get some help? Maybe Vince needs someone to talk to?"

"He and I have been through it all. There's no use bothering trying to fix it. The only reason I haven't left, yet, is I can't stand the thought of not having his arms around me when I fall asleep. No matter how much I hate him, he wraps those big bear arms around me and I just relax all over. But last night he wasn't there. So now I know what it feels like. I don't know. Maybe it's time to cut him loose."

Arden and Shannon remained silent for several uncomfortable moments.

Suddenly, Alice laughed. "What a dour bunch we are tonight. It's almost Christmas. We should totally break out the cookie dough and watch some Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye."

They all agreed. Arden helped Shannon wash dishes and Alice cleaned the table. Shannon whipped up a big batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, baked half of it, and saved the rest for them to eat.

They'd each seen the movie a hundred times. Once they got Alice comfortable and distracted, Shannon turned to Arden. "So you didn't get a chance to tell us why you're here tonight."

Arden felt the tears start to sting again, but she was able to push them back. "I had a fight with Nick."

"Over Ashley?"

Arden shook her head. "No. We resolved that on Sunday."

"You resolved it," Shannon repeated, staring at her in disbelief. "The woman he was cheating on you with gives you a black eye...and that's a resolvable issue?"

"You know, if you're just going to judge me..."

"No, no," Shannon said. "I won't judge you. Tell us what happened."

Arden sighed and told them about Sunday. "After he left, I just felt so...actually I didn't feel anything at all. I haven't felt anything since, until we fought tonight. He said some really horrible things to me and I said some bad things to him. I've never felt so hurt."

Shannon took a bite of cookie dough. "You should break up with him, sweetie. It's past time."

Arden shook her head. "No. This was my fault. I'm not giving him enough attention."

"And why is that?" Alice asked. Shannon looked at her with approval.

"Because I really don't like spending time with him."

Alice burst out laughing. Arden sat up straighter, not sure what she'd said that was so funny. "I'm sorry," Alice said. "But do you know how ridiculous that sounds? You don't like spending time with him? Your fiancé?"

Arden lifted her chin slightly.

Alice was still laughing, so Shannon asked, "What is is that you like about Nick?"

Arden turned to her. "I don't understand the question."

"What do you like about him? What is it about him that makes you want to spend the rest of your life with him?"

Arden took a breath and thought. "He's stable. He has a great job. Our families get along. We're compatible physically...by that I mean that we just look good together. And we enjoy each other's company sometimes. Like when we're with friends or we're just watching a movie or something."

Shannon glanced at Alice but otherwise kept her composure. "Okay. So now, what is it you like about Travis?"

"Travis? How'd he worm his way into this conversation?" Arden asked.

"He was always there," Shannon said. "Now tell us what you like about him."

Arden sighed in irritation. "Well, to start, he's a good friend. He listens to me and we have good conversations. He's the most emotionally transparent person I've ever met. He just wears it all out there and I really find that...sweet. He's strong and rugged, but yet I know he'd never hurt me. He's intelligent...I mean, really intelligent. Not school smarts or anything, but he's really insightful. I bet he knows all of us better than we know ourselves." Arden was getting into this now. "He's generous to a fault. I love the way he takes care of his family. And did you know that little old ladies literally pay him with pie for fixing their cars? Drives his brothers crazy. I'm pretty sure without Dustin, they wouldn't make any money ever." Arden smiled and shook her head. "And he's sexy. I mean, just mouth-watering sexy. Sometimes I think I want to tie him up and lick stuff off of him. Mmmm," she trailed off.

Shannon and Alice laughed at this. Arden suddenly remembered that they were in the room. She looked at them, indignant for a moment, and then joined in their laughter.

"Look," Alice said, "I know I'm the last person who should be giving advice. But marry for love. It's the right thing to do."

Arden shook her head. "Didn't seem to work out with you, Alice."