“And the night after that, lass?”
“Is when I break out the conditioner.”
“If I didn’t know better, lass, I’d think that ye didn’t want ta go out with me,” Shayne drawled.
“Because I don’t?” Ashlyn said, making his lips twitch.
“Then, I’m afraid that ye’ve left me no choice but to cash in that raincheck,” he said with a heartfelt sigh as though it pained him to do this.
“You mean the one that we’ve already established that I don’t owe you?”
“That would be the one.”
“Don’t you think that we’re all going to be a little busy for a while with this case?” Ashlyn asked even as she found herself wondering how he was going to react when he found out what she had planned.
“I’m willing ta make the time,” he said, shooting her a wink that had her biting back a smile.
“Look,” Ashlyn said, releasing a shuddering sigh as she let her shoulders drop, “it’s not you, it’s me. I just can’t do this knowing that I could do better.”
“I can see how that would be a problem, lass,” Shayne said, nodding solemnly.
“Then, I’m afraid that this is where we say our goodbyes. It will be difficult to move on, but I’m sure that with time and therapy, you’ll eventually get over me,” Ashlyn said with a sad shake of her head, and just for the hell of it, added a heartfelt sigh at the end as she moved to close the bedroom door only to have him push away from the wall and place his hand on the door to stop her.
“Before I mentally prepare myself for the pain ahead, lass, I’m afraid that there’s the matter of the goodnight kiss,” Shayne said, making everything in her go still as she thought about the last time he kissed her and-
She would never survive another kiss.
“You’re joking, right?” Ashlyn said, hoping beyond hope that he would take pity on her and let it go.
“I would never joke about a goodnight kiss, lass. I take those very seriously,” Shayne said with a sad shake of his head as he dropped his hand away from the door.
“How about an awkward handshake goodnight?” Ashlyn asked, sounding hopeful even to her own ears.
“If ye can live with yerself knowing that ye went back on a bet...” Shayne said, letting his words trail off as he held his hand out to her.
“That would be wrong,” Ashlyn mumbled after a moment, releasing a shuddering breath and a sad shake of her head that had his lips pulling up as he started to lean down and-
“But thankfully, I’m okay with that,” Ashlyn said, shrugging it off as she reached over and shook his hand, watching as his eyes narrowed on her before she pulled her hand back, and with that, she said, “Goodnight!” as she closed the door in his face.
CHAPTER 19
Twenty minutes later, Ashlyn released a heartfelt sigh as she crawled into Shayne’s bed. There was just something so satisfying about screwing over the man who’d been messing with her head that brought a smile to her face.
It was definitely going to be a memory that she treasured forever, Ashlyn thought as she turned the television on. After a quick search, she found a horror movie that looked promising and pressed play before tossing the remote on the other side of the bed and focused on getting the pillows just right.
Once she was settled, Ashlyn leaned over and turned off the lamp on the nightstand before she curled up on her side and closed her eyes as she found herself wondering what she was going to dream about tonight even as she couldn’t help but notice just how comfortable his bed was.
She-
“You’ll want to sift the powdered sugar twice to make sure that your frosting has the right consistency.”
Frowning, Ashlyn looked over her shoulder to find herself watching a cooking show instead of the horror movie that she’d put on for noise. Sighing, she reached over and grabbed theremote and turned the movie back on before tossing the remote back on the bed and closed her eyes only to go still when she heard the telltale click of a lamp being turned on.
Opening her eyes, she looked back at the lamp that she swore she turned off a minute ago only to find it back on. Grumbling, she reached over and turned it off and moved to roll back over only to hear it turn back on and-
“Make sure the butter is at room temperature.”
Sighing heavily, Ashlyn grabbed the remote, turned the channel and muttered, “Pathetic,” before she tossed the remote back on the bed and released a heartfelt sigh as she found herself thinking about the look on Shayne’s face when she shook his hand. As she closed her eyes, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he’d sunk to this level of pettiness over a goodnight kiss.
