“What?” Kallie asked with a whisper.
She was so close to him. So close she could taste the wine on his lips. He hovered over her. Cradled her cheek against his palm. His warmth cascaded through her veins. Her heart beat hard against her chest. On the airplane ride over a week ago, she had longed to hear those words. Longed to hear how he still wanted her.
And now that they hung in the air between them, all of the obstacles standing in their way poured into the forefront of her memory.
“There isn’t a perfect place in my life without you, Kallie.”
“Ash, I—”
Kallie felt his lips come down against hers, but it was all wrong. Her body leaped toward him, but her mind roared at her to stop. Her hand came up to his chest and pressed against it, his hand quickly wrapping around hers.
But she pushed him away, desperate to put distance between his magnetic body and hers.
“Kallie, I want you. I need you in my life,” Ash said. “I care about you. I want you here with me. The house? The boat? The comfort of Bali? It’s all yours. Every single bit of it.”
Kallie closed her eyes as a breathless snicker fell from her lips. All of it was perfect, and yet it wasn’t her life.
None of it was her life.
“I can’t,” Kallie said.
“Yes you can,” Ash said. “I know you want it. I know you want to stay. I’ve seen your face light up more than it ever has since you’ve been here. Stay with me, Kallie. Let me take care of you.”
“I can’t stay,” she said. “I have a life, Ash. A life back in New York City.”
“And you can let it go. If it’s Eris, we’ll fly her out. As much as she wants to come out. Hell, we’ll make one of the rooms in the house explicitly hers.”
“It’s not just Eris,” she said.
“Is it your parents? They can come too. Anytime they want. I’ll buy them a place here if that’s what you want.”
“Ash, stop.”
“No. No, Kallie. I won’t stop. I’ll never stop. Not when it comes to you. I’ve got more than enough money for the both of us to live out our days together however we want. You can spend your life in paradise with me and never have to lift a finger unless you want to lift it.”
“This wasn’t the deal,” she said as tears rose to her eyes. “This wasn’t what Bali was about. This was about getting you settled.”
“I’ll never be settled without you, Pretty Kallie.”
She turned her eyes away from him and stood up. Trying to put more distance between the “yes” she wanted to scream and the reality she knew awaited her for the rest o
f her life.
“This isn’t my life,” she said. “I’m a career woman. I enjoy what I do. And yes, it isn’t glamorous. And yes, I’m not a millionaire. And no, I don’t live in a wonderful house that looks out over the ocean and sits between two pristine rock facades on one of the world’s most exotic coastlines. But it’s a life I’m proud of. A life I built when everyone else told me I couldn't.”
“We can sell your business, Kallie. I’m sure someone will want to take it over and take it to even greater heights. You should be proud of what you’ve built.”
“How can you even say that to me?” Kallie asked.
She felt her sadness giving way to anger.
“How can you be so nonchalant about my things?” she asked. “I worked hard to build that business. I worked hard to build my customer base. I went without food and electricity and a damn cell phone for months while I walked the streets of the city to get my name out there. I make a livable wage in one of the most expensive cities in the United States. And I’m supposed to throw that all away to be a beach bum with you?”
For once, Kallie saw Ash completely speechless.
“You seem to keep forgetting about our past,” she said. “What you’re suggesting is right up the alleyway with being a gold digger. In fact, it’s almost the complete definition of it. And that’s what you’ve always feared. Latching yourself onto a woman who only wants to sail through life, with no job, on your dime. So why the hell would you suggest I sell off my damn business and live off you, Ash!?”
“Because you don’t want my money, Kallie. The fact that you’re fighting for your business tells me that. A gold digger—”