Teasing you, p.10
Teasing You, page 10
Shifting against the pillows, she rested her head on his shoulder. “First, thank you for not making it sound like a bullshit career.”
“Um…”
“I’m a little sensitive about it because sometimes people look at me like I must have done this because I wasn’t a good student or not smart enough to do anything else. I’ve always been more artistic than studious, and something about hair and makeup just appealed to me. I didn’t really give it any serious thought until my senior year of high school.”
“Not everyone knows at an early age what they want to be. There’s no crime in that.”
“I know, but…Billie was working in finance and is kind of brilliant with numbers, Levi was making a name for himself in advertising, Chloe has always wanted to be a teacher, and I was floundering a little. I was almost embarrassed to tell my mom what I wanted to go to school for because all of my siblings were doing big things.”
“And what did she say when you told her?”
“She smiled at me and said she couldn’t wait to come to the salon I was going to open one day.” She paused and thought about how the two of them hadn’t really talked in a while, and it made her sad.
“Hey,” Reid said quietly. “You okay?”
The sigh was out before she could stop it, followed by the whole sordid tale of her adulterous mother and the father who walked away to give them a better life. Reid simply held her and listened, and Ashlynn realized how much she needed to talk about this with someone who wasn’t one of her siblings.
“Have you talked to her since this all came out?” he asked when she was done.
“We were all together for the holidays, but I’ve sort of removed myself from any family dinners. We used to have them at least once a month—especially after Levi moved back—but I just can’t seem to get past this.”
“What about your father? Have you talked to him?”
She shook her head. “No more than I usually do, and most of those conversations are fairly superficial…nothing overly deep or personal.” She sighed again. “I don’t know him, not really. And even though I know why he left, it still…it still hurts that he let her bully him into leaving instead of fighting to be with his kids.”
“I’m sure it’s not…”
“Chloe and I were what pushed everything over the edge. Our births ultimately destroyed their marriage. And knowing how they already had issues—you know, we weren’t a planned pregnancy—so basically…”
Ugh…she hated to admit this to him, but…
“Basically, I’ve struggled my whole life with feeling like no one wanted me, and after learning all of this about my parents, it just confirmed it.”
“Damn, Ash. I’m sorry…”
Tears stung her eyes, and she hated how they had gone down this depressing rabbit hole. “I’m working on it,” she said after a minute, wiping away any tears that threatened to fall.
He pulled her a little closer and she felt him kiss the top of her head. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“That night—the first night we hung out? This was what I almost shared and…that’s why I made you leave. I didn’t want to talk about it and this is kind of my shitty pattern of behavior. I push people away…”
“Before they can leave you,” he finished for her, and it shocked her that he understood her so well already.
Looking up at him, she was a little in awe. “Thank you.”
“For…?”
Reaching up, she cupped his stubbled jaw. “For just being you,” she whispered. “You’re pretty awesome.”
His smile was tender as he mimicked her pose. “I feel the same way about you.” For several moments neither spoke, but finally Reid moved and placed their breakfast tray on the floor before gently pulling Ashlynn into his arms and kissing her—slowly at first; there was no need for them to rush. They had all day.
Together they slid further under the blankets, and when he rolled her beneath him and looked down at her, she could see a myriad of emotions there. She wanted to ask what he was thinking—what exactly he was feeling—but she realized she didn’t need to. It was in his kiss, in his touch, and in the way he slowly made love to her.
It was too soon to be feeling this connected, to feel so deeply for someone. But she couldn’t have stopped it even if she wanted to. They might not have the greatest history together, but she had a feeling they could have an incredible future.
Just as long as she didn’t revert to her self-destructive ways and ruin things.
And as he kissed his way down her body and had her crying out his name, all negative thoughts vanished. The only thing she could even remotely think of was more…more of this.
More of Reid.
And that’s exactly what she got until they both had to go to work the following morning.
Ashlynn knew the moment she walked into Books & Beans that her sister was going to have a million questions for her. She saw it on her face.
Fortunately, the breakfast crowd was out in full swing and they were too busy to have a chance to talk about anything but coffee flavors and today’s bakery menu.
And she was more than a little thankful for the distractions because she was still feeling all tingly and dreamy from her little break from reality with Reid. There were going to be some details she would share with Billie, but most of it was private and she wanted to keep it to herself.
“Look at that face,” Billie said to Jade when the last customer had been served. “That is the look of a very satisfied woman.”
Jade nodded. “I have to agree.” Then she paused. “Do I look like that after a date night with Levi?”
“Ugh, gross, Jade,” Ashlynn said with a small shudder. “Do not make us think about our brother satisfying you. That’s just wrong.”
“Why did I think I wanted sisters?” Jade mumbled before walking back to the kitchen.
“Don’t go traumatizing Jade,” her sister scoffed at her. “And for the record, yes. Yes, she does look like that after a date night and I try not to think too much about it.” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “So? Was it awesome? What did you guys do? And I don’t mean sexually. I mean…everything else.”
Ashlynn couldn’t help but laugh softly. Billie handed her a cup of coffee and she readily took it as she launched into all the details about the ski resort.
“Oh my goodness! I have always wanted to do that! Dammit!”
“It was very cool.”
“Did you get any details about how they’re going to renovate and what it’s going to look like?”
“Sadly, no. They’re in the beginning of the demolition phase and the section of the property we were allowed to see was one of the guest wings. I couldn’t believe Reid actually got us in there. I casually mentioned it like…once, and he went and made it happen.”
“That’s a good sign. He listens.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. “Do you know his schedule for the rest of the week? Is he working any nights?”
“Um…tomorrow night, I think. How come?”
“You didn’t hear it from me, but…I think Chloe’s feeling a little left out.”
“What? Why? I just stayed with her last week. And we text almost every day.” Then she realized they really hadn’t actually talked—like on the phone with real conversation—much since the sleepover and that totally wasn’t like them. Texting was fine, but they hadn’t talked. “You know what? Never mind. I messed up and I’ll call her and make plans for tomorrow night with her.”
“Good.” They were quiet for a moment before Billie’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Did you hear about the fire at Lavish Locks?”
“We saw the trucks on their way there and Reid called his dispatcher for information, but they didn’t know anything yet. Why? Was it bad?”
“Bad?” her sister asked in disbelief. “Ash, it pretty much burned to the ground.”
“What?!”
Nodding, her sister went on. “Oh, yeah. It’s all everyone’s talking about. Luckily they were closed and no one got hurt, but…it had to be scary. I know Becky’s not your favorite person, but you’ve got to feel bad for her. She lost everything.”
“I guess…”
“Ashlynn Jane, you cannot be that heartless!”
“Why can’t I? You know, I lost everything too when Becky fired me, and ever since, she’s been harassing the crap out of me!” She shook her head. “So no, I don’t feel bad for her. She’s a mean person and I’m just glad nobody got hurt.”
Frowning, Billie murmured, “I guess that’s something.”
“Look, what do you want me to say, Billie? I’m not going to lie and pretend to feel something that I don’t. And what would be the point? You know darn well if I went and offered her any kind of sympathy, she’d throw it back in my face. The way I see it, it’s better to be honest.”
Fortunately, the conversation was dropped because they had customers come in and the rest of her shift went quickly. On the drive home, she made a slight detour to go past Lavish Locks just out of morbid curiosity. There was yellow tape around the perimeter of the property and, sure enough, there wasn’t much left. The building itself was brick, so most of the exterior walls were still standing, but the entire interior and back wall of the store were gone.
Maybe she felt a twinge of sadness; after all, this was where she started her hair career. It wasn’t a great job, but it wasn’t the worst either. Well, at least not until a few months ago. Before that, she certainly handled all of Becky’s negative quirks and difficult clients with as much grace as she could. Once the whole booth episode with Sandy happened, however, that had been the last straw for her. It was amazing it had taken as long as it did for Becky to fire her.
“Good riddance,” she muttered as she drove away.
Once she was home, she took a quick shower because it was crazy how much she smelled like coffee. With her hair up in a towel and wearing nothing but her robe, she sat on the sofa with her phone and texted her sister.
Ash: Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?
Chloe: Yes!
Ash: Do you want to come here and we’ll get some Chinese food?
Ash: Or go out somewhere?
Chloe: Ooh…Chinese food!
Chloe: I’ll bring the wine
Ash: Again? On a school night? Lol!
Chloe: You need to stop that.
Chloe: You make me sound like an uptight librarian or something
Ash: Well…
Chloe: Shut up!
Ash: Okay, okay, sorry! No need to break out the foul language
Chloe: You’re doing it again!
Chloe: And if I wasn’t still at school, I’d call and yell at you
But Ashlynn knew that was an empty threat. Chloe never yelled at anyone—ever. It just wasn’t who she was. She was quiet and empathetic, and she cared about everyone and everything. Her twin was everything she wasn’t and sometimes she wished that maybe…well…it would be nice if she could be as free with her feelings as Chloe was.
It hadn’t happened in her twenty-four years of life and she had a feeling it never would. Still…a girl could dream.
Ash: I’ll see you tomorrow at 5 and you can yell at me then, okay?
Chloe: Deal!
Chloe: Love you!
Ashlynn chuckled and shook her head as she tapped out her response.
Ash: Love you too!
Feeling better that they were going to get to spend some time together, she let herself relax. The sofa was comfortable, and she was a little tired from the lack of sleep over the last few days, so she decided that maybe a nap wouldn’t be the worst idea. She and Reid had plans to have dinner together tonight, and she was hoping they’d spend the night here at her place. It would be nice if they could eat early and go to bed early.
“Nap,” she said around a yawn. “Then you definitely need to nap so you can be awake when you crawl into bed with that yummy man.”
Closing her eyes, she knew she was grinning. Thoughts of all the things they’d done to each other had her clenching her thighs and wishing Reid was here with her right now.
She imagined him knocking on her door in his fire gear.
Go on…
He’d push his way into the apartment and look around. His jacket would be open and he’d be shirtless underneath.
I like where this is going…
She’d ask him what he was doing there, and he’d tell her he was there for an inspection—a naughty inspection.
Yeah, it is…
He’d pick her up and heft her onto his shoulder as he carried her to the bedroom, dropping her on the bed. Her robe would fly open as he took his heavy coat off.
And you want to lick his chest, don’t you?
Up on her knees, she’d run her hands over his chest before leaning in and kissing and licking her way across his pecs and then teasing his nipples. He’d anchor his large hand in her hair and hold her to him while he told her what a good girl she was.
Oh, God…I really want to hear him say that…
The throaty moan was out and all she could think about was how on earth she was going to ask him to wear his uniform home one night. She was about to get back to the fantasy when her phone rang, causing her to nearly fall off the couch.
“Dammit!” Grabbing the phone, she saw Billie’s name and groaned. “Hey, Bill! What’s up?”
“We got it!”
“Got what?”
“Ash, we got it! The business loan! We’re opening a salon!”
She was on her feet, suddenly wide awake. “What? You’re serious?”
“I am! I just got the call! Didn’t they call you?”
“No,” she murmured. “That’s weird, don’t you think?”
“Um…actually, I do. But maybe…”
Her phone beeped with an incoming call and she pulled it away from her ear and grinned.
“They’re calling now! Hang on!” She quickly clicked over to the other call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Ashlynn! It’s Betty Tillack from the bank.”
“Hey, Mrs. Tillack!” she said, trying to rein in her excitement. “I’m hoping you’re calling with good news!”
“I am! Your loan was approved!”
“Oh my goodness! Yay! Thank you so much!” She took a moment to catch her breath. “So…what happens now? What do we need to do?”
“You and your sister need to come in and sign some papers, and then you’ll have your money.”
She was so happy that she was trembling. “Okay, let me talk to Billie and I’m guessing we’ll be in sometime tomorrow. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine. And Ashlynn?”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations. I’m looking forward to being one of your first clients at the new salon.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Thank you.”
She hung up and immediately clicked back over to Billie. “We’re opening a salon!”
Across town, Reid was doing some basic maintenance on the engine truck. Most of the squad had been scattered all over town and it had only been him and Dane Campbell holding down the fort. So when their captain walked in at four, Reid was anxious to get up to speed on what was going on. He caught up with Bob in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“You look beat, Captain. Everything okay?”
Bob let out a weary sigh. “I take it you heard about the fire over at Lavish Locks.”
He nodded. “I did. We saw the trucks leaving on our way out of town. So what's the story? What happened?”
“It's hard to say right now. It seems like an electrical fire but there was an inspection on the building not that long ago. If the electrical was in bad enough shape that it would cause a fire, somebody would have caught that sooner.”
“True, but…sometimes things like this happen. Something gets missed and it’s just human error.” He paused. “Was anybody in the building when the fire started?”
“No. No one was there, thankfully. They had no customers and Becky said they were closed.”
“Well that's a good thing because with a fire like that, someone was bound to get hurt.”
“Yup.” He grew silent for a moment before he looked up with a stern look. “Becky’s crying foul on the whole thing.”
“Why?”
“She claims a former employee had it in for her and that we should get the fire inspector involved.”
“Wait…seriously? But you just said it was an electrical thing.”
“It can be both, Reid.” He paused again. “You’re dating Ashlynn Donovan, aren’t you?”
Uh-oh…he was starting to see where this was going.
“I am.”
“Well, she’s the one Becky’s pointing the finger at.”
“No. Absolutely not. Ashlynn was with me when we saw the trucks heading out, Captain. And she was having lunch with me in the hour before it.” He shook his head adamantly. “I’m telling you, she’s wrong. There’s no way Ashlynn’s involved.”
“I hope not,” Bob said solemnly. “The fire could have been started long before we got there. You and I both know that. Anyone with knowledge on that sort of thing wouldn’t have a hard time rigging a slow burn.”
“Captain, come on. Be serious! I can tell you with great certainty that Ashlynn isn’t capable of this!” His mind was spinning. “You know her! You know her family!”
“And I know that she’s been publicly fighting with Becky since she got fired. It’s a damn strong motive.”
He wanted to stand and flip the table and yell until Bob took it all back. But that certainly wouldn’t help anything and would probably make things worse for Ashlynn. So he took a minute to calm down before saying anything.
