Chapter 8
She’d been initially excited at the thought of Chase and Shaun meeting. Shaun was a good judge of character, and she wanted his opinion on Chase. But that was before Chase’s confession, when she thought she knew him. Now she just wanted to go home and have a good cry. Chase had lied to her. The one person she thought she could trust at work. Had Chase really invented a fake girlfriend and kept up the charade for over a year, just so she wouldn’t mistake his protection for interest? Poor, fragile Ashley had to be handled, kept at arms-length. He’d said it in the kind, caring way he always did. But she could read between the lines. He didn’t want her getting the wrong idea about the two of them.
She felt ridiculous, tainted even, like she could never deserve someone as good and honorable as Chase. He only wanted to be friends. How ironic to find this out just as her feelings about him were starting to change. It was hard to think rationally about the whole thing when it was all she could do to keep the lump in her throat from choking her.
She practically jogged up to Shaun. “Thank you for coming.”
Shaun gave her a strange look, like he could tell something was off, but he turned his attention to Chase coming up behind her. “Do you mind if I listen to what it sounds like when you try to start it?”
Ashley let the two of them attempt to get Chase’s car started and went to sit on the nearby retaining wall. She needed to get a handle on her emotions and think rationally. Chase had been sneaking worried glances at her every few seconds, and all she’d done was ignore him and frown. It must have taken a lot of courage to confess something like that.
She thought back to his panicked reaction when she’d first brought up his girlfriend to Flynn. And no wonder. How would it feel to have to keep lying about your personal life to everyone in your office?
It still hurt. She still felt like her trust had been violated, but maybe she was unnecessarily torturing someone who had always been a good friend and had only been trying to help.
“Ash, we need you.” Shaun put her in Chase’s officially dead car to steer, and the two guys pushed it onto Shaun’s flatbed trailer.
“Where are we taking this?” Shaun asked.
Chase pulled out his phone and found the address to the mechanic shop he’d picked.
“Are you going home, Ash, or…” Shaun looked between the two of them again.
Ashley gave Chase a small smile. “I’ll come along so Chase has a ride home. That way you can get back to work, Shaun.”
“Okay, then.”
Shaun and Chase jumped in Shaun’s truck, and Ashley followed behind, hoping this whole thing wasn’t too awkward for either of them.
***
“How do you know Ashley?”
Chase shifted in his seat. “We work in the same department, and we’ve become friends. I had no idea she was going to call you. I just asked her for a jump, but when that didn’t work, she kinda took charge.”
Shaun smiled. “Ashley is a take-charge kind of girl. So is her sister.” His fingers drummed on the steering wheel, and he glanced at Chase, scrutinizing. Chase had a feeling he was about to be asked something he wouldn’t want to answer.
“She looked a little upset with you when I drove up. Was everything okay?”
How much should he tell? The longer Chase waited to answer, the more awkward it became. “After she broke up with Reid, I started walking her out to her car after work. Still do. Today, I had to admit something to her that I’d lied about a long time ago. If that makes any sense.”
“Clear as mud. But that sounds like none of my business so I won’t ask you about it anymore.”
Chase let out a small sigh of relief. He checked the side mirror and saw Ashley following about a car length behind. She looked a lot happier now, her head bobbing up and down to whatever music she had playing in her car.
He pulled out his phone and texted Beth, letting her know he’d be a little late. No sense in worrying her until he knew what was wrong with the car.
“This the place?” Shaun asked, pointing to a shop up on the left.
“Yep. The reviews were good. I hope they don’t rip me off. Oh, and thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.”
Shaun pulled in and parked. He shut off his truck and turned to Chase. “Yeah, no problem. So, how long have you been in love with Ashley?”
Chase dropped his phone and barely caught it before it fell to the floor. “I thought you weren’t asking any more questions.”
“That long, huh?”
Ashley had mentioned Shaun was annoying. Now Chase knew what she meant. “You can’t say anything to her.”
