My phone buzzed again before I’d even finished reading his last ssage.
Ashton: [If I ask properly this ti—can we go public?]
The screen lit up with the text, plain and cold.
But sohow I could feel him in it—tense, holding back, waiting for to say yes.
I just sat there, staring.
A minute ago I’d been ranting about the event organisers and reminding him to stay the hell away from Rowan Hale.
I was about to say goodnight.
Then this?
I reread his ssage.
My brain stalled.
My limbs felt heavy, like I’d just walked in from the snow.
The phone dinged again.
Ashton: [Would you be okay if I tag you in my next post? As my wife?]
Okay, so I definitely didn’t misinterpret his last ssage.
A long mont later, all I managed to co up with was: [Let think.]
Ashton: [Okay.]
I tossed the phone aside, slapped my cheeks lightly and sat up straighter.
Did I want to?
Yeah, I liked him.
I wasn’t embarrassed about it.
I didn’t mind people knowing we were together.
But going public online wasn’t the sa as telling Yvaine or my colleagues.
It ant putting it all out there—every photo, every comnt, every inch of my life, linked to his, tied to his na.
If Ashton were a nobody, I wouldn’t have hesitated.
But he wasn’t.
And I wasn’t, either.
The internet would have a field day.
I thought about that photo again, the one with him next to Rowan.
My chest clenched like it had earlier, tight and hot.
Okay, fine, if I had to be honest with myself, I was jealous.
In my head, Ashton was already mine.
Seeing him next to her made want to slam sothing into a wall.
I didn’t want to share. Not even a headline.
I got up, walked into the bathroom, saw my reflection in the mirror, imagined Ashton’s face next to mine.
Yes, that was the only place his face belonged to—next to mine.
To hell with it.
I stood there, staring at myself, palms braced against the bathroom sink.
My reflection didn’t flinch.
Neither did I.
If the price of silence was seeing his na beside another woman’s, any woman’s, then I wasn’t going to stay quiet.
I’d rather have my life torn apart by gossip blogs than have to live through that again.
Let them co.
Let them call a social climber. A gold digger. A trophy wife with nothing to her na but luck and good taste.
They could pick apart every bit of my background, drag up old LinkedIn posts, critique my shoes, my hair, my voice.
They could compare the gap in our bank accounts and speculate about how many zeros he had over .
I’d survive it.
I didn’t care anymore.
And I knew, without a shred of doubt, that I wouldn’t be in this alone.
He’d stand with .
I stord back into the bedroom and picked up my phone again: [Let’s go public.]
I stared, waited.
And waited so more.
No reply from Ashton.
I checked the ti.
It was way past midnight.
Maybe he was asleep.
I set down my phone, a little disappointed.
Then—
Ashton: [Open the door.]
I was confused: [???]
Then I heard a knock. Short, sharp, impatient.
My head snapped up.
Jumping down from the bed, I padded to the door, eased it open just a sliver.
‘What—what are you doing—’
He pushed in before I finished, one foot past the threshold, the rest of him following in a clean, forceful motion.
The door slamd behind him.
His hand caught my waist.
He turned , pinned to the door, and kissed hard.
There was no pause, no restraint.
His mouth was hungry, his grip unrelenting.
He crushed against the wood, one arm locked tight around my lower back, the other braced beside my head.
He tasted like mint and heat.
I gasped into his mouth and clawed at his shirt.
I sagged. My knees buckled.
He caught before I could slide, hauled up by the waist with one arm, the other curling under my thigh.
He carried across the room, dropped onto the bed with a thud, and followed without hesitation.
For a mont, he hovered.
I stared up at him, lips parted, chest rising fast.
He stared back.
Then he dipped again, kissing my jaw, my neck, the soft skin above my shoulder.
His mouth burned a trail down to my collarbone.
He pulled back just far enough for to see his pupils had dilated.
He pressed a thumb to the side of my neck.
The touch made realise how fast my pulse had beco.
He dragged his thumb lower, skimming the edge of my top, eyes locked on mine the entire ti.
Then he leaned down and bit my collarbone. Hard.
I flinched. ‘That hurt...’
He pulled back just enough to exhale, forehead pressed against my throat.
His chest heaved against mine.
‘Do you an it?’
‘What?’
My brain still hadn’t caught up.
Everything felt overheated.
My skin prickled.
My chest rose and fell way too fast.
‘That ssage,’ he said. ‘To go public.’
‘Yeah, I an it.’
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why did you agree to go public?’
‘Isn’t that what you wanted?’
‘Yes. I know my own reason, but not yours.’
‘What’s your reason? To distance yourself from Rowan?’
‘I asked you first.’
‘Fine.’ I thought about it. ‘I like you. I don’t want to see your na linked with another woman’s. That’s my reason.’
His head snapped up, his gaze pinning in place.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘Say that again.’
I repeated it.
‘You like .’ His hand on my waist tightened. His voice ca low.
‘Yeah.’ I turned my head away, slightly embarrassed.
Why did I feel like a teenager all of a sudden?
‘You like ,’ he repeated.
I felt his heart banging against my ribs.
He wasn’t even touching there—I could just feel it, like a drum through the floor.
He pushed himself up just enough to look at properly.
His face was flushed, hair a ss.
He kissed the corner of my mouth, softer this ti.
I stared up at him. ‘What about you?’
‘I love you.’
Reviews
All reviews (0)