“Oh.” I sat back in my seat and thought about it. In theory, I didn’t have an issue with it. The holiday season was tough for me because the ER tended to go crazy. I’d spent precisely one Christmas Day at home since Ash and I had lived together, and I couldn’t see that changing anytime soon. Bill and Esme had a huge extended family—aunts and uncles, a fuckton of cousins—and a holiday home in Seattle. There was no contest, really. “Well, I guess it’s up to Liam. I won’t stop him if he wantstogo.”
“Esme said they’d all stay home if we wanted to spend Christmas withhimtoo.”
Ash didn’t look at me. I put my fork down and laid my hand over his. “He’ll probably have a better time in Seattle, babe. You’re booked up until Christmas Eve, and God knows what shifts I’ll pull out of the hat. Lethimgo.”
“It’s not up to me. It’s yourdecision.”
“It’sLiam’sdecision.”
“Yeah, but he’d stay if you askedhimto.”
“Why would I do that? He’ll have an amazing time inSeattle.”
“And it’s easier for you to work yourself into the ground,right?”
“What?”
Ash shoved his uneaten food away. “Nothing.”
I stared at him, trying to interpret the uncharacteristic fire in his eyes. Irritation flared in me too, but I didn’t have the energy to act on it. I’d left the hospital with dinner and bed on my mind, not a bickering session about who the hell knew what. “Are you readytogo?”
“Iguess.”
Ash threw some money on the table and pushed his chair back. He was still pissed, but my tired brain couldn’t figure out why. He’d never cared much for Christmas, even since Cosmo had been born, so why was he angsting aboutitnow?
We walked home under a cloud, and I headed straight for the shower. The hot spray was magic on my aching bones, but Ash’s silence rankled too much for me to linger long. Therapy had taught him to be better at expressing his emotions, but he still got tongue tied when he was mad at me. The steam cleared my mind, and the perspective I’d been missing over dinner returned. I couldn’t live with Ash being upset, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to make himhappy.
Just five moreminutes…
But by the time I’d gotten out of the shower, Ash was asleep, sprawled out on the bed on his back, dressed in sweatpants, his chest bare. He was so beautiful that my mind was instantly devoid of anything but the desire to touch him. I tossed my damp towel aside and crawled onto the bed, careful to move slowly so he’d hear me coming, even in sleep. He was less jumpy than he used to be, but sneaking up on him in bed was still a surefire way to freakhimout.
I lay down beside him, propped up on my side, and traced the dark ink on his arm. Ted, his mentor in the tattoo world, had fixed up the wizard so the slit Ash had cut into his throat was barely noticeable to the unfamiliar eye, but I saw that damn scar in my dreams. The wound hadn’t been anywhere near deep enough to kill Ash but had nearly taken him from me allthesame.
“Stop staringatme.”
I glanced up and met Ash’s inscrutable, hoodedgaze. “Why?”
“Because you don’tmeanit.”
“Don’tmeanwhat?”
Ash blinked and his eyescleared. “What?”
I laid my hand on his chest, absorbing the slight acceleration in his heartbeat. Despite my good intentions, I’d clearly startled him. “Never mind. Sorry Iwokeyou.”
Ash sat up on his elbows. “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to fallasleep.”
“No?” That perked me up. These days work and childcare packed our schedules so full that our sex life was sometimes limited to early morning quickies and midnight fumbles. But it wasn’t that late right now and we were bothawake,so—
Attuned to me as ever, Ash smirked. “No so fast, fucker. I’ve got something to tell youfirst.”
“You’re not going to Seattle for Christmas too,areyou?”
Ash’s sleepy grin faded slightly. “Of course not. This isn’t about that. I just wanted to tell you that Nicola set up a show for me in Portland in a couple of weeks. I don’t have the exact dates yet, but it’s a rush job, so I need to spend a couple of days at the warehouse to get the pieces readytoship.”
“To ship? You’re notgoing?”
“To Portland?Fuckno.”
