advice, don’t wait for her to decide or to be in the right place. If you want her, let her know it. If you want her to stay here, then pull out the big guns and persuade her to stay. If she’s anything like her sisters, this area is in her blood just as much as Boston is, but it might take a little push to help her realize that.”
Josh nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now how about a beer?” he suggested, anxious to change the subject. “We can swap lies and gossip about everyone we know except the D’Angelo women.”
Mike laughed. “Total avoidance. It’s a great tactic. I used it a lot. In the end, it didn’t matter. You can get those women out of your head, but it’s impossible to get them out of your blood.”
Josh was beginning to get that. Oddly, it didn’t terrify him half as much as it should have.
It took a great deal of courage for Ashley to call Jo in Boston the minute Josh left. There were things she needed to know. If her life as she knew it was over, she needed to start making an adjustment right now. She’d have to scale down her lifestyle, find a whole new career, maybe even move to some other city.
“Slow down,” she scolded herself as she dialed her sister’s number. “This isn’t the time for making rash decisions. Get the facts first.”
Jo picked up on the fourth ring, her tone hesitant.
“Hey, it’s me,” Ashley said.
“Thank God. I almost didn’t pick up.”
“Why?”
“The media,” Jo said succinctly. “They’re trying to track you down. This latest beating—you have heard about it, right?”
“I’ve heard.”
“Well, as you can imagine, it’s stirred them up all over again. They want your reaction to it.”
“I’m so sorry. You need to get caller ID.”
“No, I don’t. This will pass. How are you? How did you find out, anyway? I was hoping it hadn’t made the news down there.”
“There was an item in the Richmond paper,” Ashley admitted. “So how bad is it? Are the papers screaming for my head?”
“Of course not,” Jo said.
Unfortunately, her baby sister was a terrible liar. Ashley heard the faint hesitation in her voice.
“Come on, Jo. What are they saying? Tell the truth. If you don’t, I’ll just have to call the office and ask them what’s going on. Something tells me they won’t sugarcoat anything. I’ll be lucky to have a job. They loved having me on board when I was saving the innocent and bringing in great PR for the firm, but now? I can’t imagine they’re happy about this.”
“Okay, it’s bad,” Jo admitted. “But that’s today. The beating just took place yesterday. Everyone’s bound to be in an uproar. Things will quiet down in a few days. One paper already put some perspective on the story by asking how the prosecution and cops screwed up the first trial so badly. They’ve stopped focusing on you completely.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m off the hook, even with that paper. It just means that the prosecutor and police are dangling on the hook with me,” Ashley said cynically. She bit back a sigh. “Maybe I should go back and face the music.”
“Absolutely not,” Jo said. “You stay right where you are. We’re all agreed about that.”
“Everyone in the family knows?”
“Mom and Dad do, of course. They’ve been getting the same calls I have.”
“Dammit,” Ashley muttered. “I’ll call them and tell them not to answer the phone.”
“No need. I think Dad’s actually enjoying giving the media an earful about irresponsible reporting. You know how he is when anyone picks on one of his baby girls.”
The reminder almost brought a smile to Ashley’s lips. Max D’Angelo was a stereotypical overly protective Italian father. Nobody hurt one of his daughters.Heck, it was a wonder any of them had ever had a date, given the way he loomed over every male to cross the threshold. As teenagers, they had all been driven crazy by it.
Now Ashley could only be grateful for her father’s innate
Josh nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now how about a beer?” he suggested, anxious to change the subject. “We can swap lies and gossip about everyone we know except the D’Angelo women.”
Mike laughed. “Total avoidance. It’s a great tactic. I used it a lot. In the end, it didn’t matter. You can get those women out of your head, but it’s impossible to get them out of your blood.”
Josh was beginning to get that. Oddly, it didn’t terrify him half as much as it should have.
It took a great deal of courage for Ashley to call Jo in Boston the minute Josh left. There were things she needed to know. If her life as she knew it was over, she needed to start making an adjustment right now. She’d have to scale down her lifestyle, find a whole new career, maybe even move to some other city.
“Slow down,” she scolded herself as she dialed her sister’s number. “This isn’t the time for making rash decisions. Get the facts first.”
Jo picked up on the fourth ring, her tone hesitant.
“Hey, it’s me,” Ashley said.
“Thank God. I almost didn’t pick up.”
“Why?”
“The media,” Jo said succinctly. “They’re trying to track you down. This latest beating—you have heard about it, right?”
“I’ve heard.”
“Well, as you can imagine, it’s stirred them up all over again. They want your reaction to it.”
“I’m so sorry. You need to get caller ID.”
“No, I don’t. This will pass. How are you? How did you find out, anyway? I was hoping it hadn’t made the news down there.”
“There was an item in the Richmond paper,” Ashley admitted. “So how bad is it? Are the papers screaming for my head?”
“Of course not,” Jo said.
Unfortunately, her baby sister was a terrible liar. Ashley heard the faint hesitation in her voice.
“Come on, Jo. What are they saying? Tell the truth. If you don’t, I’ll just have to call the office and ask them what’s going on. Something tells me they won’t sugarcoat anything. I’ll be lucky to have a job. They loved having me on board when I was saving the innocent and bringing in great PR for the firm, but now? I can’t imagine they’re happy about this.”
“Okay, it’s bad,” Jo admitted. “But that’s today. The beating just took place yesterday. Everyone’s bound to be in an uproar. Things will quiet down in a few days. One paper already put some perspective on the story by asking how the prosecution and cops screwed up the first trial so badly. They’ve stopped focusing on you completely.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m off the hook, even with that paper. It just means that the prosecutor and police are dangling on the hook with me,” Ashley said cynically. She bit back a sigh. “Maybe I should go back and face the music.”
“Absolutely not,” Jo said. “You stay right where you are. We’re all agreed about that.”
“Everyone in the family knows?”
“Mom and Dad do, of course. They’ve been getting the same calls I have.”
“Dammit,” Ashley muttered. “I’ll call them and tell them not to answer the phone.”
“No need. I think Dad’s actually enjoying giving the media an earful about irresponsible reporting. You know how he is when anyone picks on one of his baby girls.”
The reminder almost brought a smile to Ashley’s lips. Max D’Angelo was a stereotypical overly protective Italian father. Nobody hurt one of his daughters.Heck, it was a wonder any of them had ever had a date, given the way he loomed over every male to cross the threshold. As teenagers, they had all been driven crazy by it.
Now Ashley could only be grateful for her father’s innate
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