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The sigh was out before she could stop it, followed by the whole sordid tale of her adulterous mother and the father who walked away to give them a better life. Reid simply held her and listened, and Ashlynn realized how much she needed to talk about this with someone who wasn’t one of her siblings.
“Have you talked to her since this all came out?” he asked when she was done.
“We were all together for the holidays, but I’ve sort of removed myself from any family dinners. We used to have them at least once a month—especially after Levi moved back—but I just can’t seem to get past this.”
“What about your father? Have you talked to him?”
She shook her head. “No more than I usually do, and most of those conversations are fairly superficial…nothing overly deep or personal.” She sighed again. “I don’t know him, not really. And even though I know why he left, it still…it still hurts that he let her bully him into leaving instead of fighting to be with his kids.”
“I’m sure it’s not…”
“Chloe and I were what pushed everything over the edge. Our births ultimately destroyed their marriage. And knowing how they already had issues—you know, we weren’t a planned pregnancy—so basically…”
Ugh…she hated to admit this to him, but…
“Basically, I’ve struggled my whole life with feeling like no one wanted me, and after learning all of this about my parents, it just confirmed it.”
“Damn, Ash. I’m sorry…”
Tears stung her eyes, and she hated how they had gone down this depressing rabbit hole. “I’m working on it,” she said after a minute, wiping away any tears that threatened to fall.
He pulled her a little closer and she felt him kiss the top of her head. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“That night—the first night we hung out? This was what I almost shared and…that’s why I made you leave. I didn’t want to talk about it and this is kind of my shitty pattern of behavior. I push people away…”
“Before they can leave you,” he finished for her, and it shocked her that he understood her so well already.
Looking up at him, she was a little in awe. “Thank you.”
“For…?”
Reaching up, she cupped his stubbled jaw. “For just being you,” she whispered. “You’re pretty awesome.”
His smile was tender as he mimicked her pose. “I feel the same way about you.” For several moments neither spoke, but finally Reid moved and placed their breakfast tray on the floor before gently pulling Ashlynn into his arms and kissing her—slowly at first; there was no need for them to rush. They had all day.
Together they slid further under the blankets, and when he rolled her beneath him and looked down at her, she could see a myriad of emotions there. She wanted to ask what he was thinking—what exactly he was feeling—but she realized she didn’t need to. It was in his kiss, in his touch, and in the way he slowly made love to her.
It was too soon to be feeling this connected, to feel so deeply for someone. But she couldn’t have stopped it even if she wanted to. They might not have the greatest history together, but she had a feeling they could have an incredible future.
Just as long as she didn’t revert to her self-destructive ways and ruin things.
And as he kissed his way down her body and had her crying out his name, all negative thoughts vanished. The only thing she could even remotely think of was more…more of this.
More of Reid.
And that’s exactly what she got until they both had to go to work the following morning.
Ashlynn knew the moment she walked into Books & Beans that her sister was going to have a million questions for her. She saw it on her face.
Fortunately, the breakfast crowd was out in full swing and they were too busy to have a chance to talk about anything but coffee flavors and today’s bakery menu.
And she was more than a little thankful for the distractions because she was still feeling all tingly and dreamy from her little break from reality with Reid. There were going to be some details she would share with Billie, but most of it was private and she wanted to keep it to herself.
“Look at that face,” Billie said to Jade when the last customer had been served. “That is the look of a very satisfied woman.”
Jade nodded. “I have to agree.” Then she paused. “Do I look like that after a date night with Levi?”
“Ugh, gross, Jade,” Ashlynn said with a small shudder. “Do not make us think about our brother satisfying you. That’s just wrong.”
