“That good?” he asked with a quiet breath of amusement.
“I technically don’t have a fiancé anymore,” I mumbled.
“Technically?”
As if the words from earlier had never abandoned their perch on the tip of my tongue, I bolted upright as they spewed without thought. “Listen, it was all a sham anyway, and I forgot that. Which led to a whole dramatic situation, and I…I just couldn’t do it anymore?”
“A sham?”
I scrambled for an explanation that avoided the whole truth. “I mean-I meant… I just meant that we both knew what we were looking for when he asked me to marry him. Like I told you before…it was unconventional.”
He hummed noncommittally. “And?”
“And what?”
“And what happened to cause your little outburst?”
“We had an argument. And when it ended, I…” I cringed. “I didn’t explicitly tell him that I was done with our engagement—just that I was done.”
Another hum that started to grate on my nerves because I knew it contained so much more than the words he selectively spoke. “There’s a thing called a phone that you could easily remedy your technicality.”
“No. I don’t want to talk to him. I can’t.”
“Aspen…”
“Don’t use that pitying tone with me.”
“I’m not. I would never pity you. You scare me too much,” he defended with a chuckle. “But I’m your friend, and I hate that you’re hurting.”
“I’m okay,” I objected, ignoring the abundant tissues littering the floor.
“Yeah,” he said sarcastically and paused. “I’m assuming this argument is the main culprit for your trip to New Orleans?”
I played with a stray string on the comforter. “It was kind of a long chain of events that had been building for a while now. I can’t pass all the blame onto him.”
“Uh, yes, you can because I’m your friend. So, it’s always his fault. Right, girlfriend?”
I recoiled from his flamboyant voice. “Don’t ever use that voice again. It scares me.”
“That’s fair,” he agreed lightly.
We both fell silent, and my lips curved. Talking to Ash eased some of the tension weighing me down, so my smile came easily and didn’t hurt so much.
“I’m gonna be okay,” I said softly.
“You’re going to be okay,” he affirmed. “When are you coming back?”
I moaned, falling back against the headboard. “I guess I have to come back at some point.”
“Yes, please. We need you.Andwe have a meeting you’ve canceled more than once.”
“Yeah…” I exhaled. “I guess I’ll be back next week, back in tip-top shape to tackle business.”
“That’s my girl.”
I smiled harder. “Hey, Ash?”
“Yeah?”
