a part of that. But I also didn’t want you to move on without me. I just…I want to see where this might go. And I wanted to be free so that the potential would be there. Do you understand?”
“No pressure.”
“No pressure.”
“Okay.” I kissed his neck lightly. “I’m good with that.”
He wrapped his arms around me and sighed, blowing hard against my hair. We sat like that for a few minutes, then he pulled back and studied my face.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?”
I hesitated, not sure where to start, just like him. There was no easy jumping off spot, really. I mean, seriously, I couldn’t start with, so, my ex thinks you destroyed his business and killed his friends, so he’s out to get you…
Or could I?
I didn’t know what to say, and before I could decide, we heard someone pounding on the master bedroom door.
“Ash? I need to talk to you.”
He pressed his head against my shoulder and groaned.
“I should go see what he wants.”
He kissed me, lightly at first, then harder. When he finally pulled away, it was clear that it was with great reluctance. He tugged on his jeans as David knocked on his bedroom door again, unaware that Ash wasn’t in there. Then his shirt. He kissed me one more time, grabbing my hands as he pulled away, nearly tugging me out of the bed and dragging me along with him. And then he leaned down to kiss Ford’s head before he slipped out the door.
I’d dodged the bullet again. But I was pretty sure I wouldn’t do it again.
But he was mine now. He’d made that pretty clear.
I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
Chapter 19
Ash
David’s eyebrows rose as I stepped out of Mina’s room, but he didn’t say anything. He knew better than that.
“I got an email yesterday that you should take a look at.”
We went downstairs, and he showed me the email with just a few words on it. He’d traced it back to a coffee shop in Los Angeles. From there…there was no telling who was behind it.
“I called Emily, and she said she’d look into it, but she doubted there was much she could do about it.”
“We’ve gotten these kinds of emails before,” I said.
“Yeah, but with your little witch hunt to find whoever it was who shot Kirkland, I thought this might prove to be connected.”
“But you didn’t believe my theory.”
“Yeah, well…” David leaned back in his chair, trying to avoid my eyes.
“What?”
“It just…it creeped me out.”
I didn’t want to think about death threats and attempted murder and whatever else was going on around me today. I wanted to think about Mina and the baby, about a future free of guilt and grief and regret.
I’d had a lot of time to think on the flight home. Alexi…she was someone I thought I could trust. But now I realized that I never really knew her at all. She was a liar and a cheat and someone who was more concerned with how she felt than with how the people around her felt. That wasn’t the woman I thought I’d fallen in love and was definitely not the woman I wanted to be with.
Three years wasted. But if Mina was the one—my one—then maybe it wasn’t all for nothing.
“Let’s have a barbecue,” I said.
“What?”
“Let’s have a barbecue. We haven’t had one since last year.”
“When?”
“Today.”
David laughed. “Good luck getting anyone to come. Donovan and Kirkland are both on assignment and Joss has the baby.”
“I bet they’d be happy to come. Send the word.”
I walked away to the sound of David’s stuttered buts, ignoring each and every one of them. I felt like a party, and I was the boss, right?
***
Turned out, it wasn’t as hard to convince a bunch of stir-crazy people to come to a party. Donovan and Kirkland were a little late, and they showed up with their targets in tow, but they came. And Joss was more than happy to get out of the house, though she wasn’t able to do her usual margarita mix for obvious reasons. She and Mina sat together on the
“No pressure.”
“No pressure.”
“Okay.” I kissed his neck lightly. “I’m good with that.”
He wrapped his arms around me and sighed, blowing hard against my hair. We sat like that for a few minutes, then he pulled back and studied my face.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?”
I hesitated, not sure where to start, just like him. There was no easy jumping off spot, really. I mean, seriously, I couldn’t start with, so, my ex thinks you destroyed his business and killed his friends, so he’s out to get you…
Or could I?
I didn’t know what to say, and before I could decide, we heard someone pounding on the master bedroom door.
“Ash? I need to talk to you.”
He pressed his head against my shoulder and groaned.
“I should go see what he wants.”
He kissed me, lightly at first, then harder. When he finally pulled away, it was clear that it was with great reluctance. He tugged on his jeans as David knocked on his bedroom door again, unaware that Ash wasn’t in there. Then his shirt. He kissed me one more time, grabbing my hands as he pulled away, nearly tugging me out of the bed and dragging me along with him. And then he leaned down to kiss Ford’s head before he slipped out the door.
I’d dodged the bullet again. But I was pretty sure I wouldn’t do it again.
But he was mine now. He’d made that pretty clear.
I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
Chapter 19
Ash
David’s eyebrows rose as I stepped out of Mina’s room, but he didn’t say anything. He knew better than that.
“I got an email yesterday that you should take a look at.”
We went downstairs, and he showed me the email with just a few words on it. He’d traced it back to a coffee shop in Los Angeles. From there…there was no telling who was behind it.
“I called Emily, and she said she’d look into it, but she doubted there was much she could do about it.”
“We’ve gotten these kinds of emails before,” I said.
“Yeah, but with your little witch hunt to find whoever it was who shot Kirkland, I thought this might prove to be connected.”
“But you didn’t believe my theory.”
“Yeah, well…” David leaned back in his chair, trying to avoid my eyes.
“What?”
“It just…it creeped me out.”
I didn’t want to think about death threats and attempted murder and whatever else was going on around me today. I wanted to think about Mina and the baby, about a future free of guilt and grief and regret.
I’d had a lot of time to think on the flight home. Alexi…she was someone I thought I could trust. But now I realized that I never really knew her at all. She was a liar and a cheat and someone who was more concerned with how she felt than with how the people around her felt. That wasn’t the woman I thought I’d fallen in love and was definitely not the woman I wanted to be with.
Three years wasted. But if Mina was the one—my one—then maybe it wasn’t all for nothing.
“Let’s have a barbecue,” I said.
“What?”
“Let’s have a barbecue. We haven’t had one since last year.”
“When?”
“Today.”
David laughed. “Good luck getting anyone to come. Donovan and Kirkland are both on assignment and Joss has the baby.”
“I bet they’d be happy to come. Send the word.”
I walked away to the sound of David’s stuttered buts, ignoring each and every one of them. I felt like a party, and I was the boss, right?
***
Turned out, it wasn’t as hard to convince a bunch of stir-crazy people to come to a party. Donovan and Kirkland were a little late, and they showed up with their targets in tow, but they came. And Joss was more than happy to get out of the house, though she wasn’t able to do her usual margarita mix for obvious reasons. She and Mina sat together on the
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