He’d chuckled at that, a soft sound of affection. ‘It was certainly not a disappointment.’
And soon after he’d shown her all over again just how much of adisappointmentshe wasn’t. It had been very pleasurable indeed, and it had made Ashley start to yearn in a way she knew she shouldn’t. As mind-blowing and life-changing as their time together had felt to her, she was savvy enough—she hoped—to remember that it didn’t mean anything. And, no matter that last night Nico had wrapped his arms around her, tucked her close to him and insisted she stay over, in the bright light of morning everything felt different. Felt uncertain and also embarrassing. She’d told him they’d both been vulnerable last night, but she felt it far more this morning.
Still, Ashley knew there was nothing to do but face the elephant in the room—or, really, Nico in the next one. She had nothing to wear but her evening dress but, as she slipped out of bed, she saw that he’d thoughtfully laid a thick terry-cloth robe at the foot of the bed for her. She shoved her arms into the sleeves, belting it tightly and combing her fingers through the tangles of her hair. Then, throwing back her shoulders, she headed into the living area.
Nico was already showered and freshly shaven, his dark hair damp, and dressed in a crisp shirt and trousers, his suit jacket slung over the chair by the window he sat in, reading the news on his tablet. He glanced up as Ashley emerged from the bedroom, his expression worryingly inscrutable.
‘Good morning.’
His tone was as inscrutable as his face. Ashley wished he’d give her some clue as to what he was thinking, but then she realised that the lack of feeling was probably evidence enough that last night had been exactly what she thought it had been—one night, out of time and now over.
‘Good morning.’ She had to clear her throat.
‘There’s coffee if you’d like some.’ He gestured to the gleaming, galley kitchen that ran along one side of the soaring space.
‘Thank you.’ Ashley gingerly went to pour herself a mug as Nico went back to scanning the news on his tablet. It felt as if all the beautiful things they’d shared last night—their heartfelt confessions as well as the most intimate parts of their bodies—belonged to someone else. This morning, Nico seemed like a polite stranger, solicitous but distant. It was hard to know how to handle the situation, and then Ashley decided she might as well just be honest.
‘As you know, this is new to me,’ she remarked, strolling over to the window as she took a sip of the hot, strong coffee. Nico glanced up from his tablet, eyebrows raised, his expression turning wary. ‘The morning after,’ she explained. ‘The protocols for how to act. How cool I should play it.’ She gave a little shrug, her bathrobe sliding off one shoulder before she quickly pulled it back up. ‘So, how am I supposed to be?’
‘How do youwantto be?’ Nico countered. ‘From what you told me last night, you’ve spent far too long performing to someone else’s demands and being deeply unhappy as a result.’ His tone was matter of fact without being warm, and Ashley wasn’t sure how to take his words. Were they a criticism, an encouragement or merely an observation?
‘I suppose that’s true,’ she replied uncertainly. She’d been trying to be pragmatic, but she felt as if she’d fallen into the old trap of seeking only to please, and Nico had realised it before she had. ‘But I don’t know what I want,’ she added, although that wasn’t quite true. She wanted last night to have meant something. What or how much, she couldn’t say, but, she suspected, more than Nico viewed it.
‘Well, I know something you want,’ he replied, rising from his chair to take his mug to the kitchen for a refill. ‘You want your employees to remain in work,’ he continued, his back to her as he poured more coffee. ‘And I want to limit the damage to my reputation and my own business interests.’ He turned round, bracing one hip against the worktop. ‘So maybe we start there.’
Ashley clocked the coolness in his eyes and realised they weren’t even going to talk about last night, which told her everything she needed to know—but wished she didn’t.
‘I imagine our exit from the event last night didn’t help matters,’ she remarked.
Nico gave a small grimace of acknowledgement. ‘Indeed, it did not.’
‘So what do you suggest we do now?’
‘My head of PR wants us to be seen together today,’ he told her, his mug raised to his lips, his gaze above it seeming deliberately bland. ‘He thought you could introduce me to some of your inventors, maybe even see the robotic toothbrush in action.’ His mouth curved in a small smile that felt slightly mocking. ‘Have a few photo ops along the way.’
‘You don’t sound all that enthused,’ she remarked slowly. Did he dread spending the day with her?
Nico lifted one powerful shoulder in a careless shrug. ‘Needs must.’
Ouch.Ashley couldn’t keep from flinching at his words—and his tone. ‘As appealing a proposition as that sounds,’ she said, forcing her tone to remain light, ‘I’ll have to pass.’
Nico frowned as he lowered his mug. Clearly, he had not been expecting rejection. ‘What?’ he demanded. ‘Why?’
Now Ashley was the one to shrug. ‘I’m not interested in photo ops,’ she told him matter-of-factly. ‘And spending an entire day with you when you clearly don’t want to is a pleasure I’ll happily forgo.’
His frown deepened, his forehead furrowing as his eyebrows rose. ‘Even for the sake of Infinite Innovations?’
Ashley briefly closed her eyes. She’d always believed she’d do anything for Infinite Innovations…but this? Torturing herself by spending the day with a man who clearly had put her back in the box she’d been in before last night? ‘Are you even interested in saving my company?’ she asked as she opened her eyes. ‘Or is this just about saving yours?’
‘They’re one and the same,’ Nico replied evenly, and Ashley couldn’t keep from flinching. Of course they were. She didn’t have a company any more.
‘Thanks for the reminder,’ she said through set teeth. She put her coffee mug down, drawing in a steadying breath. She really did not want to lose it when Nico was acting so aggravatingly calm, but she definitely felt too many difficult emotions bubbling under the surface, ready to boil over. ‘I think…’ She sucked in another breath. ‘I think I’ll get going.’
‘We haven’t made arrangements for today,’ Nico protested, sounding impatient.
‘I already told you I wasn’t interested.’
‘Ashley.’ He took a step towards her. ‘If this is about last night…’
