"I'm not asking you to pay," he snorted.
"You're serious? You'll work with me on this?" Rosalie asked, her face split by a wide smile.
Dylan shrugged. "It shouldn't be too hard. I might even create a simple mobile ordering app for you that should work worldwide."
"Really? When can we start?" Rosalie asked, almost jumping out of her chair in glee.
"I'll check my calendar."
"Okay. Thank you!" Rosalie leaned over to give Dylan a kiss on the cheek before exchanging a pleased look with Linda.
Ari felt like weeping.
How easy was it for Rosalie to take up Dylan's offer? For free. If it had been her, she would have um-ed and ah-ed about it, not wanting to impose or take advantage.
Hell. She really had to change her tune. Why did she find it so hard to accept something, especially from Dylan?
Easily answered, Ari. You're afraid it would be thrown back in your face and you'd end up paying for it eventually.
But Dylan was not Richard.
And Rosalie was spooning food onto Dylan's plate and it didn't seem to bother him.
"Thank you," he said to Rosalie with a smile.
Ari went through the motions of pushing food down her throat. Was he trying to hurt her back?
"I was just telling Ari I have two new customers for her, Jaz," Linda announced.
"Oh, that's great, Mum," Jasmine replied, giving Ari a smile.
Ari plastered a false grin on her face and suppressed a sigh. Linda had bad timing. She didn't want attention on her now, when she was having a damn difficult time hiding her emotions.
"How do you market you work, Ari?" Rosalie asked, seemingly friendlier.
"Well, right now, it's all word of mouth—mainly Jaz's and Linda's."
"I'm sure if you give your designs more exposure, you'll get more customers," Linda said kindly.
"I hope so," Ari replied. "It's tough out there. Not to mention I'm a marketing tragic."
She waited for Dylan to say something—like make her an offer similar to what he gave Rosalie. Anything. Just to show he still cared.
Nothing.
He simply continued eating what Rosalie put on his plate.
Ow. Ow. Ow.
*******
Ari tried not to stare at Dylan as he played pool with Kane. Part of her wanted to leave so she could cry in peace. But another part of her—the desperate part—wanted to stay. She pretended to be checking something on her phone so she didn't have to mingle with the others. It was too painful to watch Dylan laugh at Rosalie's jokes when all he gave her were polite one-line answers when she tried to engage him in conversation during dinner.
With each second that Dylan didn't pay her any attention, her heart slowly withered.
Jasmine joined her in her corner and handed her a glass of wine, which she gratefully accepted. She was driving, but she'd only take a few sips. She needed it to give her courage to approach Dylan. She didn't want this night to end without telling him she was sorry—that she wanted him back.
She wasn't sure how he would react. In fact, from how things were at that moment, she was afraid he'd just walk away after she'd confessed.
But this was her doing. She was the one who pushed him away. It was her turn to grovel and tell him how she felt, regardless of what his response might be.
It was just a little hard to do that with an audience.
Dylan walked around the pool table to take a shot and ended up standing right next to her.
"Are you driving home tonight, Ari?" he asked quietly without looking at her.
"Yes." She trembled at the fact that he was talking to her. She gave herself a mental snort at how pathetic she'd become.
"You shouldn't be drinking," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
"I'm only having a few sips," she replied, thrilled by his concern.
Dylan carried on with his game of pool, ignoring her after that. But their short conversation gave her hope—and the courage she was looking for.
Jasmine squeezed her hand. "What are you going to do, Ari? He's just waiting for you."
"You think?" she asked with a doubtful look.
Jasmine shook her head. "I'm not going to say anything more. You guys have to find your own way, by talking and being open with each other. That's something no one else can do for you."
She nodded. "I know."
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Who's there?"
"Dyl? It's me," Ari said shyly as she spoke at the security intercom of his building.
"Ari?"
"Yes."
The front door unlocked and she walked in.
She psyched herself up as she rode the elevator to his floor, her heart seeming to go a thousand beats per minute.
She'd left his parents' house five minutes after he did, and had driven straight to his place. Yes, she was going to put her heart and soul on the line, hoping against hope that he still cared enough to want to start again with her.