Page 26 of On One Condition

“This place will shine, Ford. We’ll get through this bullshit with the city council and this place will fucking shine. Whether it’s used as a winter retreat for the ski enthusiasts or an outdoor haven for those who like the outdoors in summer, customers will get the luxury they expect from us.”

“Which is exactly why we bought it.”

“Mm-hmm,” I murmur as I head back to my office.

“Everything else good? You seem a little distracted.”

“I’m fine. Just . . . busy. I’m heading out the door to meet up with one of the outdoor adventure companies in town. I want to see if they’ll work with us and put together some exclusive packages for the resort.”

“You know we have people for that, right?” He chuckles. “Last I checked, being hands-on with the details wasn’t exactly your forte.”

“And last I checked, I was in my office in Manhattan.”

“When in Rome, right?”

A smart-ass comeback is on my lips when heavy footsteps have me looking up and doing a double take. Asher is storming down the hallway toward me. “Ford? I have to go.”

“Problem?” he asks.

“That remains to be seen.” I end the call without an explanation because I’m too busy watching her.

Every furious, gorgeous inch of her.

Her eyes lock on mine as she crosses the room and comes to a stop in front of my desk.

“Well, this is a surprise,” I say, fighting back a smile that she scowls at. I may have wondered the other night why or how I was still attracted to her after all these years, but right now, I don’t care what the answer is.

All I know is I am.

All I can comprehend is that we’re different people now than we were back then.

And seeing her here, full of fire, only serves to make me want her more.

Her jaw is clenched as she smacks her hand down on the desk between us in a dramatic fashion. “I don’t want your pity.”

“Pity?” I ask as she moves her hand to reveal the hundred-dollar bill I left her with my number on it.

“Yes. I don’t need a ridiculous tip from you because you feel sorry for me.”

My smile is slow and deliberate. “And here I thought you were pissed because I left my phone number on it. Whew.” I mock wipe my brow. “So that means you did want my phone number then? Good. At least I read that right.”

Her glare is adorable. The flush to her cheeks. The defiance in her stance. “You’re not cute.”

“People tend to tell me I’m more sexy or brooding over cute so yes, I agree with you on that one. Definitely not cute.” I cross my arms over my chest, look down at the bill on the desk, and then back up at her with a lift of my brows.

She mirrors my posture, arms crossed over her chest, and just glares at me. She doesn’t know what else to say, does she? She waltzed in here, made her point, and now doesn’t know what to do.

What’s going on in that head of yours, Ash?

“I think we should probably talk about things. Us. What happened,” I finally say. “That way we can move on. Forward. Start anew.”

“I moved on years ago.” She juts her chin out but fuck if her eyes don’t say differently. Good to know. “I don’t want to talk about anything.”

“We need to.” I take a step toward her and her back stiffens. Hmm. Her indecisiveness and lack of confidence I saw in her the other night is gone. Interesting.

“No, we don’t.”

She always was stubborn.