"I am going to kill that woman," Nicki says between gritted teeth.
"I have no doubt you could but retract the claws. At least she's a good mother."
Nicki stares at me, and I can't tell if she's still angry or feels sorry for me.
"I mean, she's a good mother to the twins. Whatever her feelings toward me, I know she loved my father in her own way. You know she was left raising two daughters that are growing up without a father." I take a deep breath and stand up. "I just wish we were more of a team. It feels I'm constantly fighting her and the world."
I'm about to finish making my point, the purpose of which was to totally deny the reality of my situation, when Nicki puts her hand over my mouth.
"Hear me out, Ashton. Those two girls are being raised by herandyou. You are much more than their big brother, youaretheir father figure, and they worship the ground you walk on. But you need to put that woman in her place."
I pull Nicki into my arms and squeeze her tight. "Thank you for being in my corner. You're the best friend anyone could have."
"FGS, my dear. Fairy. God. Sister."
"Well, then where's my prince, dear old fairy godsister?"
"Old, my ass," she says, hitting my arm. "But I'm glad you're bringing that up." I see her eyes sparkle with our change of subject. There's something there I'm not sure I like seeing.
"Don't you have customers to serve?"
She looks at her stall, which is as empty of customers as mine. The cold weather isn't helping traffic to the market. We have the usual customers, but the impulse buyers are choosing to stay warm in their offices.
"As you can see, no, I don't have any customers. Don't change the subject, Ash. I know you're crushing on Xander, and I have to say, I like it."
"You can stop planning our wedding right now," I say, pointing at her. "I'm not crushing on anyone. Xander and I had coffee, and that was it. I don't even know anything about him."
"You can remedy that with another date."
"Shall I point out the reasons why I can't date right now?" I raise my hand and point to my indicator finger. "Number one, dating requires not only time, which I don't have because I'm always working, but money, which I also don't have." Then I point to my middle finger. "Number two, have you seen Xander? He's so far out of my league, I'd need to take a plane to get there." I point to another finger. "Number three...well, I can't think of another reason, but I think the previous two were strong enough. So there, I rest my case."
Nicki starts laughing.
"What?"
"Nothing," she says, going back to her stall. "Ahh young, blind love. When did resisting ever work for anyone?"
I have no idea what she's talking about, but since she's decided to leave me alone, I take it and go back to arranging my stall and thinking about how I can make more sales.
I am definitely not thinking about Xander, his swoony green eyes, or the almost kiss that never happened. Because. It. Never. Happened.
I am also not thinking about the daily messages he sends me, asking how I am and saying he's looking forward to another coffee date. Because it's not happening.
As I park up by the farmhouse, hours later, Victoria comes out to the porch.
"I'll bring some logs in as soon as I unload The Duchess," I say.
"That would be good. If you could join me in the library, I'd appreciate it."
She goes back in, leaving me staring dumbfounded at the door as it closes behind her.
A small trickle of fear rises up my spine. Victoria isnevernice to me.
I put the empty boxes away in the barn in record time, and then stop by my cottage quickly, to grab a shower and change into clean clothes.
When I walk into the house, I hear giggles coming from the girls' bedrooms, so I go upstairs first. Maybe five minutes with them will give me the strength to take in whatever bomb Victoria is about to drop on me.
"Hello, troublemakers, what are you up to?" I say from the doorway to Annie's room.
