Ashton Scott

I do as he says, and a second later, he appears on my screen. My tummy does a whole lot more than flutter at the sight. My man is hot. Between his bare chest and his sexy, messy bed hair, I wish he wasn’t a continent away.

His gaze moves over me. The heat in his eyes is undeniable even through the phone. “Fuck I miss you,” he growls, meeting my gaze again.

I’m fairly sure where this is going after those four words, but Ashton surprises me when he says, “I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did when I found out you’d gone to see Boston. And I sure as hell shouldn’t have told you I’d take care of him.”

I don’t for one second let go of his eyes. “I saw Boston today. I told him I’m in love with you and that I don’t want to see him again.” My voice grows more serious when I add, “And I made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that my future is with you.”

He takes all of that in, but he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he says, “I don’t want to fight with you over Willow Street, but—”

I cut him off. “I was silly about that, Ashton. Of course Willow Street won’t remain the same forever. If it’s not you who develops it, it’ll just be someone else. So while I hate to see it change, I’m not going to argue with you anymore about it. And besides, I think my insecurities came into that far more than they should have.”

He frowns. “What insecurities?”

I feel stupid admitting all this to him, but I know that if we’ve got any hope of building a strong relationship, I have to share these parts of myself with him. The parts I’m not confident about. “I believe in allowing my emotions into my business decisions, but at the same time, I have a lot of self-doubt around that, because I don’t see many other successful business people do this. When we argued over your plans for Willow Street, you told me to take my emotions out of it, and that hit all my insecurities at once. I reacted to that more than anything.”

He shifts off his bed and stands, giving me a view of even more skin. “It’s my nature to take charge, so that’s not going to change anytime soon. But I will work on assuming control whenever I sense you have a problem. And as for the way you choose to do business, I’ll make an effort not to be an asshole about my thoughts on that.”

I try not to, but I laugh. At his enquiring look, I say, “I love you for saying all that, especially the bit about you trying not to be an asshole. I mean, I don’t see that happening easily for you, but it’ll be fun watching you try.”

The thing I truly love in everything he said is that he didn’t make promises he knows he can’t keep. He acknowledged he can be an ass, but he knows himself well enough, and respects me enough, not to promise me the world and then only give me half of it.

“If you were here right now, I’d—” he starts, but someone knocking on my door drags my attention from him.

Moving off my bed, I say, “Gimme a sec. There’s someone at my door.”

“At this time of night?”

“Yeah, weird. It’s probably Sienna. She’s seeing this guy at the moment who’s playing it a little too cool for her. She’s all over the place about it, because she really likes him and isn’t used to a guy who disappears for days at a time.”

I reach the front door and open it. Jessica stands on the other side.

“I’m going to hang up on you now,” I say to Ashton as I usher his assistant inside. We’ve not met yet, but I’ve seen her online, and those photos do not do her justice. Jessica is a stunningly beautiful woman.

“Who is it?”

I’m not sure if I should tell him. I get the sense that this visit may just be between Jessica and me. I’ll wait and see what comes of it before deciding. “A friend. I’ll call you when I wake up. I hope Jack is doing better today.”

We end the call, and I say to Jessica, “Hello. Come in.”

I follow her into my lounge room, wishing I walked with as much confidence as she does. She’s a tiny woman, not much more than five foot by the looks of it, but even from this small amount of time with her, I can tell she commands a room when she enters. It’s in the way she stands straight, head up, and the way her eyes don’t give you the option of looking away. Not to mention her impeccable style. Everything about Jessica from her Louboutin shoes to her little black dress to her perfectly manicured nails to her flawless skin to her diamond jewellery screams confidence.

She sweeps her gaze over my couch and says, “I love it. That red is gorgeous.” Then, turning to me, she gets down to business. “Sorry to come over late. Actually, no, I’m not sorry, because what I have to give you is something you’re going to want.”

What she says grabs my complete attention. “Do you want a drink or are we just exchanging info here?” I’ve always gotten the vibe that Jessica is all about getting to the point and getting things done without small talk, and I’m definitely getting that same vibe tonight.

“Hmm,” she murmurs. “What do you have?”

Her answer surprises me, but I’m hoping she does want a drink, because I want the opportunity to spend some time with the woman who Ashton trusts and respects so much. “Pretty much nothing except tea and coffee. I can tell you, though, that the coffee is divine. It’s this amazing blend to die for. Although, you may not want coffee at this time of night.”

A smile fills her face. “Oh, honey, I will drink coffee at any time of the day or night. You had me at ‘to die for.’”

I can’t put my finger on what exactly causes it, but suddenly I feel completely at ease with her. There was a softening or something when she made the decision to stay for a drink.

I return her smile and head into the kitchen to make coffee. Jessica follows me, taking in everything I own. Usually, I don’t like it when someone does that, but with her, it feels okay. It doesn’t feel like she’s judging, but rather just taking an interest in what I choose to fill my home with.

“Oh I adore this cookbook,” she says, picking up my favourite Thai recipe book. “My copy looks as used as yours.” She smiles as she flicks through it, and glances up at me. “I probably have just as many food splatters in mine.”

I’m not sure why, but I didn’t picture her as someone who spends time cooking at home. I sense a lot of hidden layers to Jessica.