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Kinsley laughed, then poured Remy a glass of red wine. “So, are we going to talk about Asher nearly kissing you outside today?”
Remy accepted the glass and took a sip. “There’s nothing to say,” she replied after swallowing.
Kinsley moved around the bar and came to sit on the stool next to Remy. “That’s actually what worries me the most. You’ve slept with Asher, and we’ve barely talked about that, and you’ve both got some serious chemistry going on. Neither of you are acting like this is just friends. You’re acting like flirty teenagers. And all this is on top of everything else you’ve had going on that you’ve barely talked about.”
Remy exhaled a long breath and felt the tightness in her tummy. “I know it’s a lot,” she eventually said, looking at Kinsley. Peyton was new to their friendship, and special in her own right, but Kinsley…Kinsley was like Remy’s sister. They’d been through all of life together. “But I’m okay.”
“Are you?” Kinsley asked, taking her hand. “Asher and you…it’s not a casual thing. It’s never been a casual thing. I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I remember when he left. I remember the pain you went through. I’m just really worried that neither of you have your heads clear about all this.”
“Well, it’s a little murky,” Remy admitted, not surprised Kinsley was calling out the hard stuff. “But being with him feels good when I think I should be feeling really bad. That’s got to be something, don’t you think?”
“Of course,” Kinsley said. “But is your heart at risk here?”
“I can’t give him my heart again,” Remy said firmly. “At this point, I don’t think I can give any man my heart. It’s just not there to give. But I can have fun, and laugh, and now that I’m not so angry at him anymore, Asher is making me feel all those things.”
“He always was good at that.” Kinsley gave a soft smile.
Remy considered her next thoughts and then went on. “The sexiness, that was like a blip in time, a moment of weakness, but it’s been two weeks and I haven’t jumped him again.” Though that challenge was becoming harder and harder.
Kinsley laughed.
Remy laughed too. “Right now, all this feels good. If it ever doesn’t feel good, this thing between Asher and me stops.”
“So, you’re not getting back together?”
Remy didn’t even have to consider it. She adamantly shook her head. “Us getting back together is not on the table. He’s helping me through this shit, and we’re finding our way back to friends again. Honestly, thank you for worrying about me. I love you for it.” She took Kinsley into a warm hug. “But Asher isn’t offering a relationship, and I don’t want one. We had a hot night that was spurred from a curse breaker that had way too much booze in it. That’s all.”
“Okay.” Kinsley eventually leaned away and gave a firm nod. “We had the talk. I know you’re good. And I love you back.” She hugged her tight once more, then jumped off the stool. “And now I need to get back to work. Call me later?”
“You know it,” Remy said to a retreating Kinsley, who headed i
nto the back to probably work on the schedule and the books. A job that Remy helped with when she worked there. Which, in truth, would help her succeed in her own business now. She learned everything she knew about business from Kinsley, who actually graduated college with a business degree.
When a group of men entered the bar, talking about where the pretty bartender was, Remy polished off her wine and slid off the stool. Kinsley had obviously found herself some admirers. The dark-haired one was totally Kinsley’s type. Remy headed for the door, feeling all loved up and much better than after her chat with Damon’s “friend.”
Chapter 9
Back at the station, the promise of caffeine led Asher into the break room. He grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a coffee. Remy was on his mind. The continuing heat between them ruled his thoughts, as did the fact that she had avoided being alone with him these past couple weeks. He was sure as shit that they were both going to explode if something didn’t happen between them soon. He’d done his best to keep things strictly in the friend zone until today, but he remembered her taste, could still hear her sweet moans, and he wanted her again. Badly.
“How’s our girl doing?” Boone asked, entering the break room, grabbing himself a coffee.
Apparently, Remy wasn’t only on Asher’s mind. “She’s hanging in there,” Asher reported. “The shop is good for her, you know.”
Boone nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and leaning back against the countertop. “You’re good for her too.”
Asher snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far.” He was part of the reason she found herself in this mess. He couldn’t ever forget that. His guilt ensured he never messed up again and hurt her. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” was all he said. He turned to head back to his desk to finish looking through Fanning’s file, confirming for himself that there was no longer a threat to Remy out there.
“You’re the best one to do that,” Boone called out.
Asher glanced back, hearing the approval in Boone’s voice. Boone thought of Remy as a little sister. Asher had obviously won back Boone’s trust where it came to Remy. “Considering what I did to her, and the way her life fell apart, you’re being far too easy on me.”
Boone gave a slow building smile. “The shiner I left you with in Washington would disagree that I took it easy on you.”
Asher snorted a laugh.
“You’re doing the right thing here,” Boone finally said. “That stands for something. I expected Remy to be far worse off than she is, and she’s doing good, not only because of her shop. Just making sure you know that.”
Not having an answer to Boone’s loaded statement, Asher simply nodded, then turned away and headed back down the hallway. Part of him agreed with Boone, but the other part of him knew two weeks of being good for her was nowhere near long enough to fix the pain he’d brought into her life.
