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How did he know my work schedule?Another question for later. I realised I was starting to rack them up. Ever since Ash had kissed me in my bedroom and manipulated me into agreeing to let him take care of me, I hadn’t really been thinking properly at all. Manipulating devil!Oh, but what a way to manipulatemy inner devil purred! Oh, hell yeah! I couldn’t be angry at him for that. Not at all.
“Fine,” I agreed, “But you will need to tell me a bit more about what is actually going on here if it is going to affect my life like this. And I’ll want the truth,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him so he was aware that I knew there was way more going on here than a case of mistaken identity.
I hadn’t wanted to know before when I thought I could simply send him off without another thought, keeping myself out of trouble. However, as soon as he kissed me again, I quickly realised that I was already in way too deep for that. Now that my life had obviously become entwined with his, I needed to know exactly what I was getting myself into.
I knew involving myself with this man was going to change my life dramatically. It already had. I had definitely grown as a person since I had first laid eyes on him, and I wanted that to continue. I wanted to be the sort of woman who could stand at the side of a man like Ash. Whoever and whatever that was.
“We’re here!” Ash said as we pulled up to a set of huge gates surrounded by a high wall.
Romi said something in Russian into the intercom before the gates opened, and we drove through. Oh my gosh!
I leaned forward, straining for a better view. There was a long driveway lined with trees, and at the bottom, I could see a massive country manor. There were too many windows to count and a large porch with steps leading up to a big white door between two white columns. It was gorgeous. Absolutely breath taking!
The front door opened, and I saw the woman from the Glitz event, Ash’s sister, standing there. Ash helped me out, and a second later, she ran over and grabbed him in a tight hug.
He wheezed, “Bloody hell, Sonia, I already have broken ribs. Can you please not break any more?”
“Sorry,” she said, looking a bit contrite before her expression turned to annoyance.
“At least you only got some broken ribs and a beating; you could have been killed!” she said, punching him in the arm.
“Hey!” he shouted.
“Next time, don’t go meeting folk alone!” she cried.
“Even if it is because you don’t want a chaperone when you go courting!” she laughed mischievously and looked pointedly at me.
“Quiet, Sonia!” Ash said. She looked between us and smirked.
“Ah, I take it Gracie doesn’t know you put yourself in danger so you could go see her and ask her out without an audience then? Oh, and I guess you haven’t apologised yet, either? Huh?” she asked, innocently batting her eyes.
I turned to him and smirked as I saw how uncomfortable he looked. So, Mr Sexy Voice, with his cool act and dominant persona, could get a bit uncomfortable sometimes, too, huh? That made me feel a lot better about my own continual embarrassment.
“I hadn’t gotten around to telling her yet,” he stated.
My insides did a little jig, or maybe that was my inner devil or both. Either way, I was really pleased to hear him confirm he was coming to find me to ask me out.
“No time like the present!” she said, smirking wickedly at him. He shot her a look that I was sure could kill.
“Fine,” he said, turning to me.
“Gracie, after last weekend, I felt I owed you an apology for my behaviour. I had stuff on my mind, and I acted like a jerk…”
“You can say that again!” she butted in, obviously enjoying herself.
He shot her another annoyed look. I had to agree with her and was pleased he was finally apologising.
“Anyway, I’m sorry,” he said to me, smiling sheepishly.
His expression was so cute I wanted to melt.
“That’s okay,” I said, smiling shyly.
He grinned with obvious relief. Sonia nodded in approval before turning to me.
“He has also been obsessed with you since your cream-covered kiss, which we all heard a lot about, by the way, and tracked you down to work in the Old Bell Tavern so he could ask you out.”
“Oh, I’m flattered,” I said, and I meant it. I looked up at him under my eyelashes, blushing madly at the thought of them all discussing our kiss.
