Her hunched shoulders ease back, and a smile spreads across her lips.
“Oh, so Marilyn roped you into this as well?”
“Something like that. I’m wondering if you had as much of a choice as I did?”
My anxiety chips away as she laughs, leaning back in her chair.
“Look, I’ll be honest with you. She bribed me with this dress. I’m not allowed…” She nervously tucks her hair behind her ear like it’s annoying her. “I just moved to Nashville, and I don’t know anyone, and well, she promised me a dress and a fancy dinner.”
“So you’re not here to plan a future with me or anything?” I ask as I reach for some bread as well.
Ash laughs again, and I’m caught by the way she smiles. It feels like she’s finally opening up after fifteen minutes of awkwardness.
“God, no. I can’t.” She frowns like she wasn’t supposed to say that, and her gaze drops back to the thin slip of cardboard in her hands that’s supposed to be the menu. “I don’t know what half this stuff is.”
I pause, but a smile creases my lip. “Yeah, me too. It’s all way too fancy for me to get my head around.”
She shoots me a playful look. “Then, shall we order whatever sounds the least weird and try to have a good time? I’d say about an hour is long enough to keep Marilyn satisfied.”
“You got it.” I chuckle.
I think we can finally have a nice meal, and I can stop worrying. If she doesn’t want anything from me, then I don’t have to worry about her trying to take things further. I can see it as having dinner with a friend, rather than putting my guard up and looking for ways she could be plotting to get to me. And maybe take my mind off Luke.
She could be lying. But she doesn’t have stars in her eyes, and she’s not angling her body, or smiling like omegas do when I feel like I’m being hunted. So, I’ll do what Kane suggested and try to have fun.
We’re beginning to settle in and talking about our jobs when a familiar voice curls out from behind me.
“Mind if we join you?” Kane purrs.
I stiffen as Ash glances up at them, and Kane steps into view with his arm around his date.
The second I see Ollie’s face, the piece of tasteless bread I’m eating falls from my hand, clattering on the plate as my jaw drops. The air flies out of the room, and I’m pinned to my seat, tracking her as Kane leads her to the seat next to Ash.
“You didn’t say he was going to be here,” she whispers to Kane, though Ash and I can hear her clearly.
Kane chuckles as she glances around the restaurant like she’s looking for an escape.
He pulls out the chair for her, sweeping her long blonde hair over her shoulder to lay a kiss on her neck.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs, and she softens as he smiles.
It’s only when she sits down that her gaze snaps to mine. I jump back as her lips curve, exactly the way Luke’s do when he teases me.
“Timber, this is Ollie,” Kane says with a proud smile as he slides into the seat next to me, his gaze never leaving hers.
He takes her hand and rests it on the table as he threads his fingers through hers. “I’ve wanted you to meet her for so long, but we’ve never found the time.”
She narrows her eyes at him, and I shift away as he leans forward, offering his hand to Ash.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” Kane says, turning on his usual charm. I would laugh at how Ash eyes his hand, unimpressed, if it weren’t for the way Ollie glances at me again before she focuses on Ash.
I’m surprised by the way she scans Ash from head to toe, and her gaze turns dark.
My throat tightens as I watch her; her bare shoulders are pulled back, and she pours herself a glass of water.
I’d never been good at reading people, but she’s staring daggers at Ash, who clocks it as well.
“This was kind of a last-minute deal.” Ash shrugs as she shakes Kane’s hand and says a stiff hello to Ollie.
