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“It was. This was from practice a couple of days ago.”
She knelt before him, her fingers dancing over his pecs, while doubts danced a tango in her stomach. “Looks like you’ve been taken care of.”
Trapping her hand against his chest, he lifted an eyebrow. “I didn’t ask either of them to come over. I think Tara was hoping to catch us in the act.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she was checking out the bedroom and the bathroom, as if I was hiding you away.”
His hand felt warm over hers, his heartbeat an unsteady thud under her fingertips. She pulled it away all the same. Being this close to him made it hard for her to think, and right now, she needed her common sense more than anything.
“And Georgia? Just on her way home from another party?”
“I think she’s lonely.”
“Have you and she ever …?”
He shook his head. “No. She’s definitely not my type.”
If she wasn’t, what the hell did that make Ashley?
“I made some food for you. Baked ziti.” Standing, she returned to the bag and lifted it onto the kitchen counter. “It’s easy to heat up. Just set the oven for 350 degrees for twenty minutes.” She removed it from the bag and set it down.
Wincing, Dex stood and closed the gap. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I should go.” She moved past him, but he snaked an arm around her waist and stopped her still. The temptation to relax into him, forget why she was irritated, was so strong.
“Ash, tell me. Is it about Tara? Or Georgia?”
“You have plenty of people looking out for you. The team, your ex-fiancée, your neighbor. You have more people who care about you than you think.” Turning to face him, she finished her thought. “You don’t need me here.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” His tone was fierce, his intensity palpable. “You’re the only person I need here.”
When she didn’t respond, when she couldn’t, he went on.
“Ask me anything you want about Tara.”
She peered up. “Tara?”
“I know you don’t care about Georgia, but it bothers you that Tara’s here. So ask me anything you want.”
Anything? Jealousy felt like an ugly mass in her chest, but it was obvious she had issues. After being replaced by someone so much more attractive … “You guys were engaged once, but people said it was a PR stunt because of what happened at that club. Your sex tape. So was it real?”
Is this real? Because Dex—or his PR people—was using her shelter in a similar fashion. To scrub his reputation clean and make him look like a saint. Ashley had understood the arrangement, but now that she was in this man’s bed, she no longer liked the terms.
Dex raked a hand through his hair. “The engagement was real, but the relationship was fake. It was a setup but I’d also heard that Tara wanted to marry a hockey player. And she wasn’t fussy. So for a while there I thought I had all the power. The leverage to string her along and make her do my bidding, which makes me sound like a jerk, I know. Then she started falling for Fitz and by then, I’d started to like her, but I think I liked being connected to something bigger than myself more. One of the guys who’d made it, part of this community. Being engaged to her was a success indicator, a sign I’d achieved some sort of status. But in the end it wasn’t what she wanted. And I’m not sure it was what I wanted. Not really.”
“And now?”
“Definitely not what I want. We weren’t compatible at all. But no one likes to be rejected, even if it’s for something you weren’t super into anyway. We’re just good friends now.”
She believed him, and the relief at knowing this was immense. “Friends with your ex? There’s a novelty.”
“Well, she wasn’t really my girlfriend or fiancée, not officially, so it’s not awkward. We never slept together. Now she cuts my hair and listens to my problems.”
“Sounds like a good friend. And she’s so … well, gorgeous.”
He smiled. “She is gorgeous. And so are you.”
