"Yeah, of course. I'll have Luna back tomorrow, and she asked me earlier if her little friends could come over the day she gets back. They're our neighbors. Everyone's on Christmas break, so she's trying to have friends over any time she can. Plus, I think Judd and Sam and all of them… Cameron and everybody might come by. But I mean, so yeah, as long as you don't mind a house full of people, that's fine."
Chapter 10
Ash
Audrey was sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck, and he hated the thought of her leaving. She had made him another amazing meal, and she had confided in him and told him about her fears. Quite honestly, he still wanted her. He wanted to hold her and protect her, and the fact that she was so honest and vulnerable made him even more attracted to her.
They were parked on her street, and he knew she'd be getting out soon. He wanted to give her space, but he also wanted to let her know that he was still attracted to her after everything she had said.
"I'll text one of you guys and hook up with you tomorrow," he said. "I'm not hungry at the moment, but I have a feeling at 10:30 tomorrow, I'm gonna really wish I was coming by for brunch."
"Just come by," she said. "I’m not open to the public. I'm just going in to cook for the crew from California. Lu won't be back till the afternoon."
Ash thought about Judd and Sam and how they were both single guys and how they would be spending the day with her. He thought about all the other single guys in the world, and how he wanted none of them to spend any days with Audrey.
"Audrey."
"Yeah?"
Ash tried to pause and gather his thoughts so he could say the right things. "I'm going to come by tomorrow."
"Okay," she said, smiling and nodding.
Their eyes were locked over the center console. It was dark in his truck, and music was playing. Ash's heart was pounding. Just looking at her face caused his chest to tighten. And then his eyes fell onto her lips, and he struggled to regulate his breathing. He started thinking about his breathing, and he took a deep breath, looking upward and putting his hands over his face.
"What?' she said.
"Nothing. I can't even breathe right."
"Are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"I'm fine," he said with a little laugh. "I am going to have to warn you that I'm not feeling very deterred by anything you were saying earlier."
"What does that mean?" she said.
He stared at her, and he found it difficult to get a good breath of air into his lungs. "It means that I still want to… Audrey, you should open the door and go inside because if you stay in here longer, I'm going to kiss you. And just in case you were wondering how I felt, I don't think it's fair to either of us that you just give up so quickly. I know you like me."
"I do," she said with no hesitation.
This made him smile. "I like you too. So, there. I hope you stay in the car. But if you go, I'll totally understand, and I still want to hang out with you guys tomorrow. We can just be friends or go as slow as you want. It's no pressure, but I just want you to know that I'm not feeling deterred by things you said. I still find that I want to be next to you. I'm going to kiss you right now if you stay."
She thought for a few seconds, and then a little smile crept onto her face. "I have to say… that feels so good to hear… I mean, regardless of what happens, it's nice to have you tell me that you… I'm happy you said… I know what I said earlier might have made it sound like I didn't like you, but that's not true. "
She cut her eyes at him and wearing a serious expression. Their eyes locked, and he felt like he wanted to devour her—to just eat her alive. He wanted to stuff her into his pocket and never let her leave.
"Can you come here for a second?" he asked.
She adjusted in her seat and leaned toward him. She came closer to him, but there was still plenty of space between them.
"Can you come closer?"
She leaned toward him, staring at his face, looking him over. He knew she was attracted to him, he could see it in her eyes. She moved close enough that he easily reached up and touched the side of her face. He could have moved in and kissed her, but he just stared. He blinked, regarding the place where his hand met the skin of her cheek. His hand was burning hot. There was heat and electricity in his fingertips. He knew what they had was volatile, and he wanted to lock this moment into his memory. He was trying to memorize the curves of her face when she spoke.
"I saw you up on stage," she said, blinking, flirting with him. Her eyes roamed over his neck and down to his chest.
"And?" he asked.
"And you're so good. Being able to play and sing is such a gift."
