Deny Tomorrow Page 18

  “Nothing except she just had a little too much to drink and passed out. All she needs is to sleep it off.”

  Pilar, finishing up in the kitchen, caught up with them. “Here. Let me help,” she said.

  As Juan laid her on the bed, Arianna started mumbling something, but it wasn’t coherent. Then, she passed out again. Pilar began to help her out of her clothes and to tuck her into bed when she noticed she was wearing Zach’s jacket. She handed the jacket to him, and said, “I believe this is yours.”

  A knowing look passed between them.

  “You can go now,” Pilar said. “I’ll take care of her.”

  With one last look at Arianna, Zach exited the room with Juan following. “I don’t understand. How much did she have to drink?”

  “Too much. But hey, Zach, I wouldn’t worry about it. She’s had three stressful weeks and a very eventful evening from what I heard. She’s entitled to drink herself into oblivion if she wants. She’ll be fine as soon as she sleeps it off. Question is—how are you doing?”

  “Don’t ask. This is turning out to be the longest night of my life, and it can’t be over fast enough to suit me.” Letting out an exasperated sigh, he rushed off to rejoin Lydia at the party.

  THE NEXT thing Arianna knew, the room was spinning round and round. She got up and stumbled to the bathroom just in time to throw up in the stool, ferociously until she had nothing more to throw-up. Threw up everything but her memories of what had happened. Pilar, who’d been catnapping on the bed beside her, came to her aid, wiping her face with a cold washcloth.

  Arianna rested her head on Pilar’s shoulder and sobbed, “Oh, Pilar. I can’t take the stress of this anymore.”

  “Shh! It will be all right,” she reassured her, as she held her and continued to put cold compresses on her face. “You’ve had too much to drink, but things will look better in the morning.”

  “But you don’t understand what I did,” she cried. “It’s all a mess now. I, we... Zach. I let him...”

  “Shh! It’s okay,” Pilar interrupted. “Don’t worry about it. Zach is going to take good care of you.”

  “Zach is going to take care of me? How is that? He’s ...” but without finishing whatever she was going to say, she leaned over and vomited once more.

  Arianna’s continued to throw up until she had the dry heaves. Pilar thought she should check with Zach about what to do for her, but he and Lydia had gone to bed hours ago, and she did not want to get in the middle of that. Taking matters into her own hands, she called Zach’s personal doctor who came and gave Arianna something to curb the nausea and stop the dry heaves.

  “When she wakes up, make sure she drinks lot of liquids, but not too much at once. She’s bound to be dehydrated and need fluids. I’m also leaving some medicine to counter the effects of the hangover she’s going to have in the morning.”

  Pilar tucked Arianna in and made sure she was resting comfortably before lying down herself. Whatever happened tonight must have been momentous. It looked like Zach and Arianna were finally together and though the road ahead may still be rocky, it thrilled Pilar to know these two were finally a couple.

  Arianna moaned and held her head. Despite having the hangover from hell, warm memories of the romantic interlude between herself and Zach washed over her. She relished the memory of his tender kiss as he held her in his strong embrace, and a shiver ran down her spine as she recalled how her body had come alive at the touch of his hands caressing her from head to toe. But now, she felt a twinge of uneasiness, and her initial happy glow dissipated. She didn’t like the feeling of having made love to a man, only to find herself abandoned and alone the next morning.

  There was a soft knock on the door. Her first thought was, please, don’t let it be Zach. She didn’t think she could face him this morning, fearing she’d see a cool, detached look on his face… one that said she meant nothing to him. She didn’t think she could bear that.

  “Ari, it’s Lisa. Can I come in?”

  “Yes, come in,” Arianna said. She sat up and pushed her wild mop of hair back off her face.

  “Boy, you don’t look so good,” Lisa said, entering the room carrying a food tray. She set it down on the nightstand and handed her a glass of juice. “Pilar told me to make sure you drink all of this. Doctor’s orders. It’s important to get fluids back in you. I brought you some meds the doctor left, too.”

  Arianna popped two pills in her mouth and washed them down with a glass of chilled orange juice. She took a couple nibbles of a piece of toast and tossed it back onto the plate.

  “Pilar was amazing last night,” she said. “I was sick as a dog, but she never left my side. She was like a second mom, taking care of me. I can’t believe I drank so much. I’m sure paying for it today.”

  “Yeah, I heard you had a rough night.”

  “Really? So, what else did you hear?” Arianna asked.

  “Enough,” Lisa said with a sly smile on her face. “Is it true?”

  “Is what true?” Arianna tried to stand, but felt weak and sank back onto the bed.

  “Don’t play coy with me. You and Zach? Is it true you’re a couple now?”

  “Didn’t Tony tell you everything?”

  “Are you kidding? He told me a little, but when I tried to get more information, we got into our very first fight. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I was to never give him the third degree about Zach’s business again. End of story. So, come on. I’m dying to know. What happened?”

  Arianna drank more juice and sat there not speaking.

  “All right. What’s wrong?” Lisa asked. “If you and Zach are really together, I’d think you’d be happy. Did something bad happen?”

  Arianna sighed. “You could say that. I lost my head and did something stupid.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, Lisa. He followed me to the beach, and it all happened so fast. He kissed me, and I kissed him, and I, he...we just never stopped.” Arianna exhaled. “What was I thinking? I mean I wanted him, and he wanted me, but… but...”

  “But what?” Lisa asked, throwing her hands in the air. “This sounds great. Pardon my stupidity, Arianna, but I fail to see the problem.”

  “The problem is I was stupid. Do you see anyone lying here beside me in bed this morning? No. That’s because Zach has a girlfriend for God’s sake! The other problem is that he’s wealthy, and I could never fit into his circle of friends. Anyway, we hate each other. He hates me. He just used me, and I was stupid and let him. The term ‘booty call’ comes to mind.”

  “No, Arianna,” Lisa said, sitting down beside her. “That’s not how it is, I’m sure. No way is Zach the ‘booty call’ type. That’s silly. And I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, and you don’t really hate him. I can tell you he looked absolutely miserable with Lydia last night. From what I saw, he barely spoke to her. I think he’s going to break up with her as soon as all the guests leave.”

  “Oh, you are such an optimist.” Arianna sat up. “Even if that was true, he’s still way out of my league. Who am I trying to kid? Lisa, in case you hadn’t noticed, these guys are super wealthy and Cinderella is a fairy tale. There is no prince charming in real life. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Oh, you know, Ari, sometimes I think you’re too stubborn for your own damn good. You’re beautiful and classy. I’m sure Zach doesn’t care about anything but you. He’d be stupid if he did, and he’s not a stupid man. Why don’t you just give this a chance?”

  Arianna got up and moved toward the bathroom. “Bad memories.”

  “Of what?” Lisa demanded.

  “Rejection. Pain. You know. Wonderful things like that.”

  “So you got hurt before. Who hasn’t, but you’ve got to take a chance on love again sometime,” Lisa said, waiting for a response.

  “Maybe, but the stakes are too high here,” Arianna said, coming out of the bathroom and curling up in bed again.

  “Oh, quit it! Now, you
listen to me. This is ridiculous. Forget about all this nonsense and take your own advice. You need to relax and enjoy yourself. Zach’s gorgeous. He’s wealthy, and he’s in love with you. What more could you want?”

  Nothing really, she thought, but then she’d been there before. She wished she didn’t feel this way. What did they say? A coward dies a thousand deaths. That was her. Too afraid to love again.

  LYDIA COZIED up next to Zach at breakfast. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, nodding slowly.

  “You were a little inebriated last night and fell asleep really fast.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “When you get back from golf today, maybe we could make up for lost time, if you know what I mean,” she whispered as she nuzzled his neck.

  “Yeah, maybe later,” he said, even though he knew there would be no later. “I have some calls to make before golf.” He got up from the table. “I’ll see you at lunch.” He gave her a half-hearted kiss on the cheek and left.

  There were no calls to be made. He wanted to find Arianna. Seeing Lisa sitting with Tony by the pool, he stopped and asked, “Have you seen Arianna this morning?”

  Lisa nodded.

  “So... how is she?”

  “Hung over and kind of confused.”

  “Confused? About what?”

  “Umh... you, I think.”

  Zach ran his hand through his hair and sighed. There was a lot more he wanted to ask, but he had no time. Several close friends had spent the night and weren’t leaving until the afternoon. He had endured a pitiful evening trying to feign interest in Lydia. Though he wasn’t good at pretending, he didn’t want a huge blow-up with Lydia to be the last thing his guests remembered about this weekend gathering.

  Now, he had eighteen holes of golf to get through plus a luncheon at the club before he could escort Lydia to the airport and break the news to her that their relationship was over. He faced several miserable hours before he could hold Arianna in his arms again, and the wait was killing him.

  At lunch Lydia implored Zach to let her spend another day, but he dashed that idea in a hurry. And so early in the afternoon, she and all the remaining guests returned to the house to pack and catch their flights home.

  “I still don’t see why I have to leave today,” Lydia grumbled.

  “I told you. I have some important business I need to take care of, so I won’t be here,” Zach snapped.

  “What is wrong with you? You are acting so strange,” Lydia said.

  “Lydia, please. Go pack your things. We’ll talk on the way to the airport. Please. I don’t want to discuss anything now.”

  He watched her stomp off thinking he hated living by his own code of ethics. He could have asked Juan or Carlos to take her to the airport and be the ones to tell her the relationship was over. That would have been a quick and easy way to end things. But that was not the honorable thing to do. His moral code said he needed to have the decency to break up with her in person.

  While she was packing, he made a quick search for Arianna. He found her out by the pool, talking to Lisa. His pulse quickened, and everything inside of him came alive. He realized this is how it should be when you were in love. Realized he hadn’t felt this way in a long time, if ever.

  “Oh, hey,” Arianna said, surprised to see him. “I didn’t think you and your guests would be home this afternoon. I’ll just get my things and get out of your way.”

  He grabbed her by the arm as she tried to skirt past him. “You’re not in my way. We’re not staying. I’m not staying, but I’ll be back soon.”

  Arianna looked away, not responding.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” His excitement turned to concern.

  Summoning all of her courage, she looked at him, and said in a nonchalant manner, “You know I was thinking. I was pretty drunk last night. I vaguely remember us kind of, well, you know. I’m afraid that when I drink too much, I sometimes do something I regret the next morning. I’m sorry, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, I wouldn’t read too much into last night if I were you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of this sun. I’m feeling a little sick again.”

  She looked at him a moment, praying he would release her arm before her resolve to break this off dissipated. Reluctantly, he let go, and she rushed into the house. Once inside her room, she collapsed against the door, not quite believing what she had said. She was shaken and close to tears, but she told herself this was for the best. She could not get involved with him.

  “Everything all right?” Tony asked, seeing Arianna rush away.

  Zach stood there a bit dumbfounded. “I’m pretty sure I just got the brush off.”

  Lisa couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed and knew she had to speak up.

  “Zach, I think Arianna would kill me for saying this, but I have to tell you something. I don’t think she means what she said. She’s just scared of getting involved with you. She has this crazy notion you might just be using her because you already have a girlfriend. She also doesn’t believe she could have any future with you because of the big difference in your economic backgrounds.”

  Zach’s look changed from dumbfounded to incredulous.

  “Well, I think the only reason any of this scares her,” Lisa continued, “is because she’s fallen in love with you, and she doesn’t want to get hurt.”

  “She thinks I’d hurt her?” he asked.

  “I think she got burned badly in a past relationship, so she never lets anyone get close to her.” Lisa paused a moment, sure she’d said too much, but feeling compelled to finish.

  “Zach, I know Arianna really well, and I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but she plans to put up this wall and block you out despite the fact she loves you. She’s stubborn, so no matter what she feels inside, she isn’t going to risk getting hurt. She’s not going to let you in, and she figures all she has to do, is wait you out, and some day, she’ll be out of here and can put this all behind her.”

  Zach stood there shaking his head. He didn’t know whether he should be perturbed or relieved.

  Walking over to Lisa, he said, “Thank you. I know it took courage for you to share that.” He leaned down and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, and then he left.

  IT HAD started to rain as he drove Lydia to the airport. “I need to tell you something,” Zach said, “and I don’t know quite how to say this except to say it straight out. It’s over for us, Lydia. I won’t be calling you after today.”

  Lydia gasped. “What? I don’t understand. You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I would never joke about something like this.”

  “But I thought we were happy. Is it something I said?”

  “No,” Zach said, shaking his head.

  “So, that’s why you were acting so funny last night and today. Why? Is there someone else?” she asked, as tears welled up in her eyes.

  His silence told her there was. He didn’t need to say anything.

  “Someone I know? Oh, wait. Oh, my God!” she moaned. “It’s that servant girl, isn’t it? What’s her name? Arianna! Please, tell me it’s not true.”

  Zach didn’t respond, confirming her worst fears.

  “Oh, damn you!” she railed. “You really know how to humiliate me, don’t you? Wait until all my friends find out I’ve been dumped for one of your servants. How embarrassing!”

  “She’s not a servant. She’s a journalist,” Zach said evenly.

  “Same thing. Journalist who moonlights as a servant. You go slumming, and I pay the price. Damn you, anyway!”

  Zach was instantly furious. After that comment, he was feeling even more confident in his decision to break-up with her. He was also beginning to understand why Arianna thought she couldn’t fit in with the rich. But it wasn’t the money that was the problem. It was snobs like Lydia who sent the wrong message.

  As they drove on through the rain, Lydia’s rage turned to despair, ending with her begging him to
reconsider, offering to do anything for a second chance.

  He listened but had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say. It was over and there was no chance he’d be changing his mind. No chance he’d ever call her again. No chance they could even be friends.

  When they arrived at the passenger drop zone of the airport, Lydia threw her arms around him and begged him to change his mind. It was a pitiful sight, and Zach was embarrassed at how undignified she was acting. Unmoved, he pulled her arms off of him.

  “Please. Try to pull yourself together, Lydia. You’re a beautiful woman, and I’ve enjoyed our time together. I don’t want you to be hurt, but I’m sorry, it’s over. There’s nothing more I can say.”

  He got out of the car and checked her luggage with the skycap while she waited in the Escalade. Then, he opened the door and offered her his hand, which she ignored, instead getting out in a huff. Her mood had changed from sorrow to rage and now, indignation.

  “Don’t bother to see me off,” she snapped. “Just go on back home to your little servant girl. You’ve really hit a new low, and you’ll be the laughing stock of all your friends. I only regret I won’t be there to witness it.”

  He just glared at her. He highly doubted that. Arianna was smart, beautiful and classy, so he was sure he’d be the envy of all his friends. Seeing Lydia’s true colors so clearly now, he was glad to be rid of her.

  She turned and stomped into the airport while he wasted no time getting back into the car and racing home.

  Arianna, in her pajamas and settled in for the evening, heard two sharp raps on the bedroom door. She opened it and was startled to find Zach standing there.

  “Oh!” she said, stepping back into the room.

  Zach stood in the doorway, staring at her for a moment, not speaking. Finally, he entered the room and walked nonchalantly over to a dresser. He straightened a lampshade, and then, turned and said, “I broke up with Lydia. We’re no longer together.”

  “Oh!” Arianna repeated, as happiness warred with ambivalence. In a tone she hoped would convey total disinterest, she continued, “Well, I hope not because of me. As I said, I wouldn’t read anything into last night. It was just one of those things.”