AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Exactly. So…tell me what you like on your pizza and I’ll call it in for us.”
“I’m good with anything but anchovies.”
“Same,” he said, nodding. “Okay, give me around thirty minutes and I’ll be down, okay?”
“You don’t have to wait up here, Reid. You can come downstairs.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m going to grab a quick shower first. It doesn’t matter that it’s twenty degrees out; moving furniture is sweaty work.”
“Gotcha. Then I’ll see you in a bit.” With a little wave, she walked away, leaving Reid to jump into action.
He opted to take it as a good sign that she readily agreed to have dinner with him again, and he hoped it would solidify that they were friends. It was important to him that they get to know each other and for her to feel comfortable with him before he considered asking her out on a real date.
Even though that’s what he really wanted.
Still, he didn’t think anything massive had happened in the last week that completely turned her life around. If she was still struggling with her job search or with working things out with opening her own salon, then he’d be a willing shoulder to cry on. Maybe it was ridiculous that he felt this strongly about her, but…he did.
He called in their order and gave Ashlynn’s apartment number for it to be delivered to and then jumped in the shower. He didn’t linger; he simply got clean and got out so he could get dressed. The pizza was going to be delivered in thirty minutes and he was knocking on Ashlynn’s door in twenty-five.
“Hey!” she said cheerily when she opened the door to him. “Come on in.”
“Thanks!” Her place was cleaner than it was the last time he was here, and he noticed she had lit a scented candle and had music playing softly. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear that she was trying to make this a bit of a romantic dinner.
And I am fully on board with that…
“The pizza should be here any minute,” he told her as he walked over to the sofa and sat down.
And spotted two wine glasses.
Definitely a romantic dinner…
“How was your week?” he asked. “Any news on the new salon?”
“Billie and I submitted our loan application and now we’re just waiting,” she told him. “It’s a little nerve-racking, but everyone keeps telling me to just relax and it will all be fine.”
“But you can’t relax,” he said with a small laugh.
“Nope. Not even a little. Of course it doesn’t help that someone at the bank told my old boss that I’m going to open my own salon and so I had to deal with that.”
He frowned. “Wait, why? And who shared that information? They should be fired for sharing confidential info like that.”
“Reid, nothing is confidential in a small town. And besides, I can’t prove it, but somehow Becky found out. She came into Books & Beans and made all kinds of snide comments telling me I’d be sorry for stealing her clients, but…I guess I’d be the same way. Hell, I would love to retaliate for all the grief she’s caused me! Maybe it would be better if I didn’t open my own salon. I really don’t want to be at war with anyone. No matter how rude they are.”
“You had to know there’d be some pushback,” he reasoned. “Sweetbriar’s a small town and she’s been the only salon for twenty years or so. In the real world, competition is everywhere and it’s going to be nice for people to have a choice. Don’t let her get you down.”
“I know you’re right, and my family says the same thing. It’s just…” She paused and then shook her head and sighed loudly. “It just sucks.”
For some reason, Reid got the impression that she wanted to say more and thought better of it. But as much as he wanted to maybe nudge her a little to share whatever it was that she was thinking, he knew he needed to be patient. The doorbell rang and the moment was lost anyway.
Over pizza, he noticed she kept the conversation fairly neutral—favorite movies and what he was currently streaming on TV—and it made him wonder if it was just him that Ashlynn was keeping at a distance or if this was her thing.
Reid prided himself on being fairly intuitive when it came to people, and while Ashlynn presented a very confident image to anyone she met, he was beginning to see that it was maybe all an act.
And this was only after two dinners together.
“Tell me about your family,” he asked when they were almost done eating.
“My family?”
