her number?”
“Are you insane?”
Ash set his teeth. “I need to talk to her.”
“I think you’ve said enough.” Lane’s nose wrinkled, as though he couldn’t stand the sight of Ash’s face. “She truly liked you. Too bad you fucked it up. Now she wants nothing to do with you.”
“I miss her. I really miss her.”
“Yeah. I’ll bet you do. I’m not giving you her number.”
“How about her name?”
Surely he would condescend to that tiny crumb.
But no. His expression made that more than clear.
“I will find her. I will find her and apologize. If I have to haunt this island every weekend.”
“Do what you gotta do. But you’re not getting her contact info from me, dude. And if you do find her?” Hope flickered in his chest at the thought. “And you hurt her again? I guarantee, Holt will kill you.”
Ash’s smile was watery. “What if Holt’s not around?”
“Then I’ll kill you.” With that, Lane—a guy who’d been his loyal friend for ten years—sprang from the deck chair, snatched up his towel and stormed away, leaving Ash feeling shredded. And defeated. And alone.
Chapter Ten
“There.” Emily sighed as she glanced around the ballroom. It was beautiful, elegantly decorated. Everything was in place. From the silent auction items along the far wall to the exquisite table settings, to the band finishing their final sound check on the stage. Pride swelled in her chest. It meant so much that she had the resources and abilities to pull off a charity event like this. And it comforted her to know that, even if her own fairy tale would never come true, she could help someone else have theirs. “I think it’s perfect.”
“Of course it’s perfect,” Kaitlin grinned, hugging her shoulder. “You’re a slave driver.”
Emily wrinkled her nose. “Am I?”
Jamie snorted. “Are you kidding? When it comes to events like this, you become practically militant.”
Emily nibbled her lip. “I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re good at this, Em. Really good.”
“Yeah.” Jamie crossed her arms and surveyed the room, watching the rest of the volunteers make final adjustments to the balloon arches. “We are going to make so much money for the Teen Waystation, it’s not even funny.”
“I hope so.” This was one of Emily’s favorite causes. No one should be homeless, but when teens, kids just starting out in life, found themselves alone in the world, something had to be done. Someone had to step in. Some of their stories were heartbreaking.
It had been such a relief over the past two weeks, having this event to occupy her time. Her mind. She’d been too busy to think about Ash. Well, until nighttime. When she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling blinking back the tears.
Which was foolish. He’d made his position clear.
Theirs had been a one night stand. He had no interest in anything else.
She’d been so sure the feeling she had when she was with him was real. That they were real. But then, she kept reminding herself, it wasn’t as though she was experienced in things like this.
It was her own fault.
After one near-disastrous interaction with a man in college, she’d erected very thick, firm and impenetrable walls. She hadn’t dated. She hadn’t trusted. Hadn’t even paddled in the pond. Had she truly imagined she could just dive in and swim like a fish?
It was simply ironic that the first time she let down her guard it was to a man who wanted only one thing.
Or maybe it wasn’t ironic.
Maybe she just had really poor taste in men.
Which only validated her vow to give up on men.
Or relationships.
Or, at the very least, impulsive decisions.
Like leaping into bed with a man she barely knew and expecting him to respect her in the morning.
Her stomach churned and she tried to calm it with a palm. It didn’t help. Her stomach had been churning a lot lately.
“Ooh, look.” Jamie waylaid a waiter carrying a tray of champagne to the welcome
“Are you insane?”
Ash set his teeth. “I need to talk to her.”
“I think you’ve said enough.” Lane’s nose wrinkled, as though he couldn’t stand the sight of Ash’s face. “She truly liked you. Too bad you fucked it up. Now she wants nothing to do with you.”
“I miss her. I really miss her.”
“Yeah. I’ll bet you do. I’m not giving you her number.”
“How about her name?”
Surely he would condescend to that tiny crumb.
But no. His expression made that more than clear.
“I will find her. I will find her and apologize. If I have to haunt this island every weekend.”
“Do what you gotta do. But you’re not getting her contact info from me, dude. And if you do find her?” Hope flickered in his chest at the thought. “And you hurt her again? I guarantee, Holt will kill you.”
Ash’s smile was watery. “What if Holt’s not around?”
“Then I’ll kill you.” With that, Lane—a guy who’d been his loyal friend for ten years—sprang from the deck chair, snatched up his towel and stormed away, leaving Ash feeling shredded. And defeated. And alone.
Chapter Ten
“There.” Emily sighed as she glanced around the ballroom. It was beautiful, elegantly decorated. Everything was in place. From the silent auction items along the far wall to the exquisite table settings, to the band finishing their final sound check on the stage. Pride swelled in her chest. It meant so much that she had the resources and abilities to pull off a charity event like this. And it comforted her to know that, even if her own fairy tale would never come true, she could help someone else have theirs. “I think it’s perfect.”
“Of course it’s perfect,” Kaitlin grinned, hugging her shoulder. “You’re a slave driver.”
Emily wrinkled her nose. “Am I?”
Jamie snorted. “Are you kidding? When it comes to events like this, you become practically militant.”
Emily nibbled her lip. “I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re good at this, Em. Really good.”
“Yeah.” Jamie crossed her arms and surveyed the room, watching the rest of the volunteers make final adjustments to the balloon arches. “We are going to make so much money for the Teen Waystation, it’s not even funny.”
“I hope so.” This was one of Emily’s favorite causes. No one should be homeless, but when teens, kids just starting out in life, found themselves alone in the world, something had to be done. Someone had to step in. Some of their stories were heartbreaking.
It had been such a relief over the past two weeks, having this event to occupy her time. Her mind. She’d been too busy to think about Ash. Well, until nighttime. When she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling blinking back the tears.
Which was foolish. He’d made his position clear.
Theirs had been a one night stand. He had no interest in anything else.
She’d been so sure the feeling she had when she was with him was real. That they were real. But then, she kept reminding herself, it wasn’t as though she was experienced in things like this.
It was her own fault.
After one near-disastrous interaction with a man in college, she’d erected very thick, firm and impenetrable walls. She hadn’t dated. She hadn’t trusted. Hadn’t even paddled in the pond. Had she truly imagined she could just dive in and swim like a fish?
It was simply ironic that the first time she let down her guard it was to a man who wanted only one thing.
Or maybe it wasn’t ironic.
Maybe she just had really poor taste in men.
Which only validated her vow to give up on men.
Or relationships.
Or, at the very least, impulsive decisions.
Like leaping into bed with a man she barely knew and expecting him to respect her in the morning.
Her stomach churned and she tried to calm it with a palm. It didn’t help. Her stomach had been churning a lot lately.
“Ooh, look.” Jamie waylaid a waiter carrying a tray of champagne to the welcome
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