My lips curl ever so slightly. “Devon usually gets his way. The nickname is going to catch on. It’d be easier to embrace it.”
“We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Just the way you like,” I shoot back.
“Maybe.” I can hear her smile. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Will do. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
I shove the phone back in my pocket and knock lightly on the bedroom door. Paige emerges, her eyes bright with tears. Damn. Another emotional woman. At least it isn’t my job to reassure this one. “Are you guys okay if I leave for a while?”
She nods, visibly curious, but I don’t explain, just nod as I go. Twenty minutes later, I return laden with bags and boxes from the nearest chocolatier. I let myself in and drop them in the kitchen, all but one bag, then edge into Ashlin’s bedroom. She’s sandwiched between Paige and Jessica, who don’t look like they’re going anywhere soon. I’m torn between relief that they’re here for her and frustration that I don’t have her all to myself. The relief wins out. I’m grateful Ashlin has people in her life who would drop everything to support her at a time like this.
I hand the remaining paper bag to Ashlin and then sink to the floor and lean against the wall, legs sprawled in front of me. Perhaps the girls are here to stay, but so am I.
“What’s this?” she asks, not opening it.
Nerves occupy every chamber of my heart. She’s experienced a massive disappointment and all I can do is offer chocolate and company. I feel so fucking useless, all over again.
“Have a look.”
She does, and to my horror, tears begin anew. “Oh, Seth, you didn’t have to. That’s so sweet.” She sniffs. “Thank you.” She withdraws a bonbon from the bag and pops it into her mouth.
Paige leans over and peers inside. “The good stuff. Nice work.” Then she selects one and bites into it.
Jessica doesn’t join them. She just strokes a hand up and down Ashlin’s back and murmurs something in her ear. Hopefully it’s not about me.
We stay in our positions for what feels like hours. Eventually, Paige and Jessica leave, although Jessica warns me not to upset her. I discover frozen casserole and cook it for dinner. Ashlin drags herself out of bed for long enough to eat, and then goes back to her hiding place. I join her, even when she protests. I’m going to be here with her all night. All day tomorrow. However long it takes until she no longer needs me. I let her push me away once before, and I won’t let it happen again. Not this time.
14
Ashlin
When I wake, I’m cocooned in a strong embrace, and for the first time since the divorce, I’m not alone. I squeeze my eyes more tightly shut because opening them would mean acknowledging that I’m in Seth’s arms, and as soon as I do that, I need to reestablish the internal strength I’ve fought so hard for. Today, I feel well enough to get back on my feet, but I like being held and feeling as though I’m connected to him. Important to him. Cherished and adored. So many times I woke like this in the past, and I’d turn to face him, cup his jaw between my palms, and kiss him as though we had all the time in the world. We never realized how limited our years together would be.
Although lately, I’m beginning to wonder. We’ve both changed since we separated. I’ve grown confidence, and based on how he behaved yesterday, he’s stopped running from his emotions. My heart beats in an irregular pattern. Perhaps there’s hope for us yet. Maybe—just maybe—this is our second chance.
But do I want it to be?
Truth be told, no man has ever appealed to me the way Seth does. After the first time I met him, no one else could measure up. He was sexier and more masculine than any of the boys I’d previously dated. Since the divorce, nothing has changed. I’ve been out a few times, but nobody has made my body zing with awareness the way he does, and after experiencing how intense that physical chemistry can be, I refuse to settle for anything less.
My eyelashes flutter open, and I roll over and study his face in the dim morning light. Sleep softens the line of his jaw, which is scruffy with reddish blond stubble. I ache to run my palm along it and feel the rasp against my skin. Breath eases between his slightly parted lips. With a flash of heat, I recall what that mouth is capable of. The pleasure it’s brought me in the past. My gaze travels up, cataloging the faint scar on his brow bone where a knee once split the skin open during a fight. Even the memory makes my stomach churn but it’s nothing compared to the panic I felt when I saw it happen. He acted as if it was no big deal, and perhaps to him it wasn’t, but no woman likes to see her man bleed.
I catch a hint of blue in the corner of my awareness, and my eyes cut to his. He’s awake, and watching me with an intensity that sends a shiver down my spine. Unconsciously, I press closer, my hand on his chest. He’s so gorgeous, and there’s potent desire in his eyes. But also more than that. A riot of emotion I can’t begin to interpret. He never could mask his feelings first thing in the morning. Or perhaps he didn’t want to. Whatever the case, it’s clear that our position is stirring all kinds of buried memories for him, too.
“Ash…” he murmurs, his voice raspy with sleep. So sexy. And the way he’s looking at me…
I can’t help it. I kiss him.
My lips brush his. Softly at first. A kiss of gratitude and remembrance. But then he growls deep in his throat, and I’m done for. Every part of me wants him. I need him to help me forget everything that happened yesterday and get lost in sensation. I wriggle closer, desperate for the graze of his skin against mine, but the blankets get in the way and he’s still clothed. Our tongues touch, and he groans. His entire body shudders, and I thrill in the revelation that he wants me as badly as I want him.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “Ash.”
He claims my mouth, sliding on top of me and pinning my body beneath him. Covering me on all angles with his delicious weight. His taste is so familiar, and his scent calls forth past pleasure. But then he tears his lips from mine and buries his face in the crook of my neck, breathing heavily. I writhe, silently asking for more.
“We can’t.” He slips off me, and scoots over until a foot of space separates us. “Not now.” The yearning in his expression says differently, and I reach for him, but he wards me off. “No, Ash. You’re vulnerable, and I don’t want to take advantage.”
