Secure Love (Wet & Wild 3)

“Why not?” Ash asked. “We could leave together. Go back to the island. We’ll take your business with us if it means that much to you. I’m sure there are plenty of people all around this globe who could use your sympathy and expertise in matters of organization.”

“I can’t run away with you, Ash. Are you insane? Running away got me into this position with you in the first place. Running away got my name plastered all over the tabloids. Running away got me two broken hearts instead of only one. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Have you thought about the fact that how we ended up isn’t because of us, but because of our surroundings? There press anywhere else in the world like there is in New York City, Kallie.”

“I need you to get out,” she said.

“Just listen to—”

“I’ve listened to enough!”

Ash was shocked at how loud Kallie screamed that phrase.

“I’ve listened to you and Eris and Jeremy enough!”

“Okay,” Ash said. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

“No, no you’re not. You’re not sorry unless it’s convenient for you to be. We don’t know each other, Ash. I don’t know who you are. We haven’t known each other long and so far? We’ve failed to sustain any sort of a relationship for longer than week. And now you want me to give up the life I’ve built in New York City to run away on your dime? After calling me a fucking gold digger all weekend!?”

Ash pushed himself off the wall before Kallie picked up a pencil and threw it at him.

“Kallie, wait a second.”

Ash kept getting hit with things. Pens. Paper clips. Balled-up pieces of paper. Anything Kallie could get her hands on at her desk. Ash stood there, taking her assault as tears streamed down her cheeks.

He watched the result of the roller-coaster ride she’d been on finally come to a head.

And it broke his soul into pieces.

“You are the most infuriating, confusing, most ridiculous man I’ve ever met!” Kallie exclaimed. “I’ve got a real life here! A real job here! I’ve got bills to pay and an apartment to pay rent on and a beat-up car to drive around while I pray the engine doesn’t fall out! I can’t just push pause on my life and go gallivanting around the world with you. You might have enough money to live outside of reality, but I don’t!”

She stopped throwing things at him, her chest panting for air. He watched her lean against the wall and it took everything inside of him not to approach her. He didn’t want to make her angrier than she already was, but he wanted to hold her. Feel her. Pull her into his chest. He knew she wanted to be held. He knew Kallie better than she thought he knew

her. But he forced himself to stay put as Kallie gathered herself.

“I can’t pause my entire life just to go play with you for a little while, Ash,” she said.

“I understand,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”

“Fuck me, you and Eris would be the best of friends.”

“And with the fire I’ve seen in her life, I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said.

“I really need you to get out, so I can work,” she said.

“What makes you think you aren’t looking at a client right now?”

His mind was turned on full bore. A plan was in the works in his mind. One he hoped would pay off in his favor. If he couldn't get Kallie away from the city so they could focus on what they had on the island, then he would bring the island to her. He would re-create what they had in St. Barts and pull her from this fishbowl she felt the two of them had slipped into. They needed time to focus on each other again. To get out from underneath the prying, watchful eye of everyone and rekindle what they once had. He knew it was real. He knew it was true.

He just had to get Kallie to see that again.

To feel that again.

“What?” Kallie asked with a whisper. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Take me on as a client,” Ash said. “My life is a mess. In shambles. In complete disarray. You rattled off just a couple of things a little while ago. It’s obvious to you that my life needs reorganization.”

“I don’t help people stop drinking, Ash.”