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He was trying to find the words when the chocolate cake and coffee was placed between them. Ashley picked up her fork and stabbed at the slice before he could reply.
“I get it. You don’t have to think of excuses, Grant. Give me a little credit. I know when a man is interested in me. The offer was pretty much a test to see if I was right. You’re just not that into me. It’s okay. I’ll live.”
She didn’t sound like she was okay with it. And she was shredding that cake into mess of crumbs and fudge frosting.
“It’s not that,” he began, feeling like a total asshole. Ashley was a nice woman, and she deserved someone better than him. A lot better. “You’re a wonderful, lovely lady. And we have a great time together. You’re funny and smart. Beautiful and successful. A man would have to be an idiot not to want to be with you.”
“Wow, are you trying to convince yourself or the guy at the next table?” Ashley replied, rolling her icy blue eyes. “Seriously, Grant. Relax. I’m not going to cry or get emotional. I’m not going to make a scene or anything.”
“I’m really sorry?—”
“Don’t,” Ashley said, waving her fork in the air. “I don’t want your pity. If you don’t feel something for me by now, you won’t ever. So, let’s forget it.”
“I am really sorry, Ashley. Any guy would be lucky to have a woman like you.”
“Except you. And I am a catch,” she said, pushing the cake around the plate. “You might regret this someday. You’ll see me with someone else, and you’ll think, I shouldn’t have let Ashley go.”
“I probably will,” he agreed. “You’re too good for me, Ash.”
“Yes, I am.”
There wasn’t much to say at that point. Grant paid the bill, and they went back to the car. He opened the door for her, but she ignored him.
I’ve managed to piss her off good.
“Is there someone else?” Ashley asked when they were back on the road. “The UPS man has been flirting with me every time he drops off packages at the salon. Just so you know, I won’t be sitting home crying over you.”
“No,” he replied immediately. “No one. I never thought you would be sitting home. Not at all.”
He couldn’t count Mia as “someone else”. Not when he hadn’t seen her in over three years. At this point he couldn’t be sure if his imagination had completely made her up.
The night had gone to hell in a handbasket. So quickly, too. One minute they’d been having a nice evening, and the next Ashley thought he was pond scum.
Maybe I am. I must have issues.
He pulled into Ashley’s driveway, and she was wrestling with her seatbelt the second he’d put the car in park.
“Ashley, listen. I’m so sorry. You took me by surprise with the vacation talk. We haven’t been dating that long.”
“It’s been long enough for me. I know how I feel.”
“And I’m sorry about that,” he explained gently. “You are a terrific person.”
“But,” Ashley said. “But you’re not the woman for me. I don’t love you, Ashley. Do I have that right? You don’t love me. You don’t want to marry me, do you?”
No, he didn’t. Love and marriage had never crossed his mind, plus this was the first he was hearing about it being on Ashley’s.
“You told me you didn’t want to get married again,” he pointed out, trying to bring the conversation back to some sanity. This had escalated far too quickly. “You said you wanted something casual. You wanted to take your time and just have fun.”
“That’s what women say,” Ashley scoffed. “But that’s not what we mean. We only say that so men like you won’t get scared and run. You should know by now that women are looking for marriage.”
That hadn’t been Grant’s experience. He’d been with women who were actively avoiding marriage and commitment.
“I didn’t realize that,” he finally replied, keeping his tone even and calm. “I took you at your word.”
“Then you’re an idiot,” Ashley said, throwing open the passenger door and practically jumping out of the car. “Go fuck yourself, Grant Anderson. You think you can do anything you want because you’re rich. You’ll regret this someday, and I can’t wait to see you hurt the way I am right now.”
With that, she slammed the door shut, shaking the vehicle, and sprinted up her porch steps. He stayed in the driveway until she was safely inside her home and then backed out, getting back on the road. What an ugly night it had turned out to be. He couldn’t remember it ever getting this nasty when a relationship of his had ended.
