Ashton Scott

When I don’t say anything, he steps forward. “Lorelei, are you okay?”

I stare into his beautiful green eyes. “What are you doing here, Boston?”

He can’t be here.

I can’t do this now.

Before he can answer me, a commanding voice speaks over us. “That’s what I’d like to know, too.” Ashton stands next to Boston, every inch of his body demanding an answer to his question. We’ve not talked about Boston yet, but knowing Ashton and his dedication to knowing everything about the people in his life, I wouldn’t hesitate to believe he knows exactly who Boston is to me.

Suddenly, I’m not sure if it’s the wine causing my light-headedness or the two men standing in front of me who both cause my heart to flutter and who both confuse the hell out of me because of my feelings for them.

30

Ashton

I’m staring at Boston fucking Haynes and trying to figure out why the hell it’s taken him a week to turn up on Lorelei’s doorstep. I know everything there is to know about this man, including the details of his relationship with Lorelei, but I’m wondering what kind of man leaves it seven days to visit the woman he still loves when he returns to the city where she lives.

Because he does still love her; that much is clear. It’s obvious in the way he’s looking at her and also in the way he’s glaring at me.

“Who the fuck are you?” he demands.

I take a step closer to him to fill him in on just who the fuck I am, but Lorelei stops me when she quickly inserts herself between us. I take great fucking pride in the fact it’s my chest her hand lands on, not his. And also in the fact it’s my eyes she searches for first, before turning to face him.

“I thought you were in the States,” she says. Her words sound more like a question than a statement, and her voice wobbles with confusion.

Boston eyes her hand on my chest. He scowls as he meets my gaze, but that scowl disappears when he looks at her a moment later. “Amber was in a car accident so I’ve come home to help her out for a while.”

Amber is his sister, and the car accident he mentions has left her unable to run her business or her life. I know this, too, because Jessica is a fucking rock star at her job. Amber owns a chain of stores that sells guitars. She also runs a school that offers guitar lessons, and a recording studio. She’s the best in the business in Sydney and it’s a smart move to call her brother home, because the music world is also his world. Boston will be able to smooth over any problems caused by her absence.

“Is she okay?” Lorelei asks. Her tone rises with concern and she grips my shirt. I know from Jessica that she was close to Amber. Sliding my arm around her waist, I pull her against me in an effort to comfort her.

Boston’s jaw clenches when she easily moves into my embrace, and I work hard not to show my sense of victory. I’m an asshole—I want to claim Lorelei as mine in front of him so he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that she isn’t his anymore. But I keep a tight leash on the asshole in me and simply hold her. I remain silent while she finds out what she needs to know from him.

“Besides a broken leg and arm, and some cuts and bruises, she’s fine. But she needs help with her business, and at home, so she asked me to come help her.” He pauses for a brief moment before adding, “I’d been planning to come back anyway. To see you.” I don’t miss the way he says those last two words, and my body tenses while I fight the growl of disapproval working its way through me.

Lorelei’s body tenses, too, as she says softly, “Boston….” Her voice drifts off and she doesn’t finish that sentence, but even a fool could work out that she’s not convinced seeing him is what she wants.

Boston draws a long breath and exhales sharply while he runs his fingers through his hair. I get the impression this definitely isn’t going the way he planned. “Can we talk, Lorelei? Just the two of us.”

Over my dead fucking body.

I step forward, keeping Lorelei in my hold but moving in such a way that she ends up further away from Boston than I do. “The time for you and Lorelei to talk has long passed. And besides, she’s busy tonight; I’m about to take her out to dinner.”

The scowl returns to his face at the same time as his shoulders square. “I still don’t know who the fuck you are.”

“Ashton Scott. And the only relevant thing you need to know about me is that Lorelei is mine now. So—”

Lorelei cuts me off when she wiggles out of my embrace. “What Ashton is trying to say is that we’re dating now,” she says, with a hint of annoyance as she glares at me for a beat. “And in answer to your previous question, I don’t think we have much to talk about, Boston. I’m going to check in with Amber, but you should go now.”

Boston’s gaze shifts between Lorelei and me. He seems unsure of his next move, which only proves to me that he is not the man for Lorelei. If he were, he’d know exactly what to do in this situation. And that sure as hell wouldn’t be to fuck around trying to figure out what to say or do.

Finally, he says, “I’m not giving up here, Lorelei. I want you back.” He moves close to her and whispers something in her ear that I can’t hear.

The combination of his hands on her body while he speaks, and his mouth so close to her face causes a level of possessiveness I’ve never known to surge through my veins. Unable to stop myself, I bark, “Take your hands off her, Haynes.”

He is slow to react, which infuriates me. When he finishes speaking into her ear, he pulls his face away, but as he does this, his lips brush across her cheek. His eyes meet mine, and in them I see the challenge he’s laying down. He may infuriate me, but in no way do I view him as an equal here. Lorelei is mine; Boston Haynes has no chance of winning her back.

“Please don’t do that,” Lorelei says to him as I reach for her. I have no idea what she’s referring to, but what I do know is that she easily moves into my hold again.