Ashton Scott

“You had a reaction to it?”

“Yeah. I was drunk, though, when I put it on. It tingled, but in hindsight that was probably a burn I was feeling without realising.”

She stares at me in shock. “You were drunk?”

“I know, I know. So unlike me.”

She grins and grabs my arm. “Girl, we need to talk. Something has clearly happened here that I am unaware of and I wanna know what it is.”

A couple of minutes later, after pushing her way through the busy market, she finds us a table to sit and chat at. I dump my bag on the table. “I had lunch with Ashton yesterday and drank almost a full bottle of wine. After lunch, he took me home and kissed me. It was hot and that’s a whole other story, which I’ll get into in a moment. In my drunken state, I decided a facial would be a good idea after he left.” I point to the rash on my face. “And now I have this.”

“Putting Ashton aside for a moment, is your face sore? It looks it.”

“Yes, it’s really tender. I wasn’t game to even attempt foundation to try and cover some of the nastiness.”

She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. “What the hell possessed you to do a mask while you were drunk? Most people would just pass out or some shit.”

“I couldn’t pass out because my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about Ashton. The man kissed me!”

Sienna laughs. “You make it sound like he fucked you.”

“He practically did! You have no idea.”

Her eyes widen and she turns to look behind her for a moment. “We need coffee for this! I’ll be back.”

She’s out of her seat before I can blink. When she returns, her eyes hold excitement as she exclaims, “Now, tell me everything.”

“He’s different to what I thought. I mean, he’s not a complete asshole from what I can work out. And he has this awesome best friend. You can’t have a great best friend if you’re a dick, right?” At her nod, I continue, “So they took me home and walked me in. When Jack left us alone, Ashton kissed me after telling me he wants more than just a casual hook up. And let me tell you, that kiss was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

She holds her hand up. “Wait, I’m a little confused here. Jack is his best friend? And he was at lunch, too? How did this lunch eventuate?”

I fill her in on what happened yesterday, adding, “His friend is that actor, Jack Kingsley. You know him, right?”

“Oh, wow.” She nods. “Yeah, I’ve seen some of his movies. You know me, though, I’m not really up on movies or actors so the name is familiar, but I might not recognise him if he were to walk past us right now.”

“I didn’t recognise him at first, but that could be because I was drunk.”

“So this kiss? On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate it?”

“A twenty.”

“It must have been good. You’re a hard woman to please.”

“You have no idea. It wasn’t just the kiss… it was the way he touched me and spoke to me, too. Goodness, the man is lethal.”

She laughs. “This is gonna be fun.”

“What?”

“Watching you deal with a man like Ashton Scott. You’re no pushover, so for him to have you all worked up like this tells me a lot. When are you seeing him again?”

“We have no plans.”

“Right, well I want updates. I need to know the minute he calls you.”

I run my fingers through my hair and take a deep breath. “I’m totally out of my depth here, Sienna. I’ve never dated a man like Ashton. Hell, I’ve never met a man like him. Until yesterday, I didn’t want anything to do with him, but now he’s all I can think about.”

“What do you mean by 'a man like Ashton'? You dated Boston for three years.”