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Only her parents, who were out of town for the next couple of days, remained silent. Furious with her brothers, she deliberately ignored their texts. As she’d said to Brandon in Vienna, they had no business weighing in on her personal life.
Her sisters, on the other hand, were precisely the people she needed to talk to right now. She initiated a group text among the three of them.
Ashley: You’ve both probably already heard by now that Nash is in town. And that I kissed him at the café. You can’t imagine the ridiculous texts our brothers have sent me already!
Cassie: We did hear that Nash was here, but we figured you’d reach out when you were ready to tell us. And of course we can imagine all the texts they’re sending you! They should know by now that we hate it when they act like that.
Lola: Seriously, Ash, don’t worry about them for another second. Cassie and I will make sure they stay out of your business from now on.
Ashley: Thank you. Every time I look at their messages, steam comes out of my ears.
Lola: Speaking of steam… How are things going with Nash? I thought you said there was no chance of seeing him again.
Ashley: I swear I had no idea he was coming! And when I saw him unexpectedly standing there in the café, momentary insanity took over, and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing him!
Lola: Wow, that sounds seriously hot.
Ashley: It was. But then Kevin almost caught us together, and the other parents in town are already gossiping about us, so tomorrow morning I’m going to tell Nash that we have to stop seeing each other for good.
Lola: Explain again why you have to call things off with Nash. Sounds like you both find each other irresistible…
Ashley: People in town are already bringing up Nash’s time in jail. I have Kevin’s well-being to think about.
Lola: You also have your own well-being to think about! For eleven years, you’ve given everything you are to Kevin. I know you’d do it all again in a heartbeat, but he’s growing up. Your heart, your needs are important too!
Ashley had always appreciated Lola’s passion and intensity. But right now it was too much for her to deal with when she already felt so topsy-turvy after seeing Nash. As though her sister could read her mind, Lola texted again before Ashley could reply.
Lola: Sorry, Ash, I don’t mean to make things harder for you. Even though I can’t lie and say I’m not still hoping it could all end up magically working out for the two of you.
Cassie: We love you, and we’re here for you, no matter what happens. And don’t worry for even one second about the boys. We’ll take care of their nonsense.
More exhausted than ever, Ashley turned off the ringer on her phone and plugged it into the charging station in the kitchen, far away from her bedroom. She was tempted to bury it in a hole under the house at this point. Partly to avoid more messages from her family, but mostly because it was nearly impossible not to give in to the urge to text or call Nash and beg him to come over.
Ashley got into bed, only to toss and turn for another several hours. She counted sheep, one to a hundred, over and over and over, until she belatedly realized that she hadn’t given Josh the money for his camping trip with Kevin.
Shoving off the covers, she went to the kitchen and opened her laptop to send the money to his bank account. When that was done, she didn’t bother trying to go to sleep. Instead, she took care of the work that she hadn’t gotten to yesterday afternoon at the café when she’d been too busy having sex with Nash.
But since she lived in the real world and not the fantasy world she’d dipped into twice with him, she corralled her focus and ticked her way through the emails in her inbox until Kevin’s alarm clock went off.
Thus began another day in Ashley’s life that should otherwise have been the same as always. School for Kevin. Work at the café. Soccer practice. Homework. Dinner. Bedtime.
But there was one big difference today: She’d need to find the strength to tell Nash that they could never be together again as anything more than friends.
And this time, they needed to stick to it.
No matter what.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nash wasn’t used to staring at his phone, waiting to hear back from a woman. And he sure as hell wasn’t used to having to stop himself from texting or calling someone again. He had always been the pursued, not the pursuer. Until Ashley.
He was amazed by how easily she broke apart his self-control, especially when they were in bed together. He couldn’t wait to have her. And then when they were together, he couldn’t get enough.
