Time For Pleasure by Angie Daniels Page B

to take his picture, Kaelyn had no idea she was going to walk in on the tail end of a conversation she would have preferred not to hear. But the second she discovered Ashton’s true identity, her entire body tensed and she forgot to breathe.
    Abruptly, she sprang from the chair and stormed down the hall to the kitchen, clenching the coffee cup so tightly tension traveled up her arms. She was furious and had every right to be mad at him and Mackenzie for not telling her the truth. Kaelyn called her only seconds after slamming the door in Ashton’s face.
    Mackenzie wasted no time explaining. “You liked him so much, I didn’t have the heart to tell you the truth.”
    “But you’re supposed to be my friend!” she had cried into the receiver.
    “You’re right. I am, which is why I’m staying out of it.” With that Kaelyn heard a click and the phone went dead. Of course it only angered her more because she was certain the two were conspiring against her.
    Ashton Ray Kilmer was the owner of Platinum Pre-Owned Automotive. He knew all along who she was, yet he had kept his identity a secret. He had played her and she hated feeling like a fool. She shook her head as confusion swirled inside. She was still having a hard time believing the sweet man who had the ability to make her entire body come to life with a single kiss was a snake! Why would he do something like that? That was the part that was so unclear. She thought Ashton cared about her. She wanted so much to believe there was a logical explanation.
      Well, maybe there was if she had given Ashton a chance to explain.
    The moment he spotted Kaelyn standing behind him, Ashton ended his call and immediately tried to explain. Only she didn’t give him a chance. Instead she flung his clothes at him and wasted no time putting him out of her cottage. Since then she’d refused all of his calls and attempts to contact her. She had even skipped karaoke night and she never missed Fridays at Spanky’s.
    And to think I thought I was falling in love.
    Story of her life , she thought as tears welled up in her eyes.
    Always jumping into relationships, wearing her heart on her sleeve and look where it had gotten her.
    Damn him!
    Last night, she’d tried to look on the bright side. Ashton had helped her out of her sexual drought. In fact, Ashton was responsible for giving her the best sex of her life.
    Damn him to hell!
    Now her body was going to crave what only he could offer. As far as she was concerned, Ashton was no better than Tip. Both had used her, taking what they needed and lied to her.
    The enormity of his betrayal suddenly hit home. With a violent gesture, Kaelyn flung the plastic mug across her kitchen, and it hit the wall, bounced off the counter, then fell onto the floor. She then slumped into a chair at the kitchen table and cried, sobs racked her body. “ Why ?” she whispered. “ Why does this keep happening to me ?”
    First her father betrayed her, making false promises and then over the years one man after another whispering false words of love and affection. And each and every time she vowed never to be that vulnerable again, to harden her heart to the next man, only she never could. I’m just not wired that way , she decided with a shaky breath.
    Kaelyn sat there sobbing and getting it out of her system. Sometimes all it took was a good cry before she chalked it up as a learning experience and moved on. After a few moments, she rose, picked up the mug and warmed up another sweet roll. Fifteen minutes later, she was licking icing from her fingers and feeling somewhat better.
    Back in her office, Kaelyn forced herself to get to work. She had things to do and the last thing she was going to do was allow Ashton Ray Kilmer to continue to distract her from her work.
    For the next hour she busied herself loading samples onto her website. Over the years she had created a great reputation, and Chamber House Design s was starting to blow up. As she scrolled