“I’m pulling for you and Von,” she continued. “If Barkingham Palace can’t make use of that beautiful house in the Bywater, I’m glad that you are. Your mission is a good one.” She pressed her finger to the center of his chest. “You’rea good one.”
Thad captured her hand and brought it to his mouth,placing a kiss in the center of her palm. This moment was the most at peace he’d felt since leaving Colorado.
He didn’t want to scare her off by sharing anything too deep, but deep was the only way to describe how profoundly he was falling for her.
He was falling so, so,sofucking deep.
30
Ashanti sat as close as she could to the armrest of the black pleather couch, holding her body so still that she was unsure she would be able to stand once they were finally called in for this final podcast of their media junket. For all the lazy, relaxed hours she’d spent snuggled up with Thad last night, reality had set in this morning, bringing along a self-consciousness she could not shake.
“Stop freaking out,” Thad said.
Ashanti jumped, stiffening her shoulders and holding her head erect. “I’m not freaking out,” she rebutted.
“You are,” he said. “You’re edgy as hell. You’ve been this way since we left the hotel.”
“I’m not—” she started, but then realized it made no sense to lie when he clearly could see what she thought she had been hiding so well. “Okay, maybe I’m freaking out a little.”
“Don’t. Remember, we’re taking this slow. Keep this up and you’re going to have me developing performance anxiety.”
“What?” Her head jerked back for another reason entirely.
“You should belessstressed after last night. All this anxiety coming from you has me questioning by abilities.”
Just like that, some of the tension released from her shoulders. Ashanti threw the wadded-up napkin she’d used while eating her bagel at him.
“Shut up,” she said. “For the record, your performance exceeded expectations. And I expected a lot from you.”
His grin was devilish. “My ego thanks you.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, and here’s a plus.” He leaned over and, in a lowered voice, said, “This podcast won’t be video streamed, so at least no one will notice you eye-fucking me this time.”
“Stop it.” Ashanti pushed him away.
The door across from them opened and the podcast producer came in to greet them.
Dominique hadn’t explained much about this podcast, so both Ashanti and Thad were surprised to learn that it was geared toward the military, the podcasters were a husband and wife duo who tailored their show to those recently out of military life. It wouldn’t be video streamed, but it was another special live broadcast.
The fact that they’d been told they could leave the dogs at the hotel should have been a clue that this podcast would be different.
If Dom were here right now, Ashanti would kiss her for giving Thad this opportunity. She had been feeling guilty because so much of what they’d done in New York had benefitted her business and her standing in that online contest. This balanced things out, at least a little.
She left most of the discussion to Thad, adding a comment here and there, but only when asked. This was his chance to shine a light on the subjects closest to his heart—his military family and The PX—and she wasn’t about to get in his way. His enthusiasm was infectious as he gave a rundown of everything his bar would include. By the time they weredone, Ashanti was ready to drop in and have a drink at The PX herself.
“I have never seen you more animated,” Ashanti said as they left the studio. “I think you’ve finally fulfilled Von’s request to have fun.”
“Last night covered that,” he said. “But I’ll agree that I had a good time during that podcast.”
“So are you finally willing to admit that Dom is worth whatever she charges?”
“I’ll admit it,” he conceded. He pulled out his phone and swiped across the screen. “How much do you think she charges to run an Instagram account? I felt the notifications going off in my pocket the entire time we were on the air.”
“I don’t know Dom’s prices yet, but I can already tell you it’s too much to pay just for someone to run your social media. It sounds like you need to brush up on your hashtag knowledge.”
“What about your sister? Maybe she could run Barkingham Palace and The PX.”
