Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

I frowned, setting my cup down and tucking my legs up underneath me. “Well, I’m going to the Lake House with my parents and the house guards, and you’re going home...”

He shook his head. “Not happening, Baby Girl.”

“What’s not? I’m freaking confused! Ashton, will you just spit out what you’re trying to say already?” I grumbled, starting to get annoyed because I didn’t like being confused.

He laughed wickedly at my outburst. “I love it when you’re feisty,” he teased, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and waited for him to explain what on earth he was getting at. “Okay, so I’ll put it simply. I want to spend the school break with you. If you want to spend the time with me, then we just need to figure out what we’re doing,” he explained, shrugging.

I gasped as it clicked into place. Mr Overprotective strikes again! He doesn’t even trust his job to anyone for two weeks. “You’ve got two weeks off, Ashton. Stop worrying about me, I’ll be fine!” I snapped, frowning.

He laughed and shook his head at me. “Anna, I’m not talking about my job. I’m talking about wanting to spend Christmas with you,” he said simply. I recoiled at the honest revelations, too shocked to speak. His smile fell from his face. “You don’t want to spend Christmas with me?” he asked, looking hurt and embarrassed.

“I… I, Ashton, of course I do, but…” I shook my head because that couldn’t happen. They wouldn’t let me go with him, not now that my dad was President-elect. Dean and Peter would have time off so we couldn’t stay here, and I couldn’t very well invite him to spend Christmas with my parents because they would certainly read something into that.

His hand brushed across my cheek as I stared at him, lost for words. “Anna, just forget everything else for a minute, okay? If you could, would you want to spend your winter break with me?” he asked, looking at me a little pleadingly.

Damn, I would love that. “Yes,” I managed to get out; I was still shocked that he even wanted to do that in the first place. This was his first scheduled break away from me; he could hang out with his friends, laugh and joke around. Yet, he was telling me that he’d rather spend time with me. My heart was aching in my chest because of how much that meant to me.

A dazzling grin stretched across his face. “Okay, great. Well, I want to spend my two weeks off with you too. So now we just need to figure out what to do.” He took my hand, playing with my fingers gently. “So would you prefer to go to LA or stay with your parents?”

I frowned. “Um… I don’t really think either one is possible, is it?”

He sighed. “I know it’ll be hard to convince your father to let me take you to LA again, but maybe he’ll go for it. Or I could come home with you,” he shrugged as if the thought of spending Christmas with the next President of the United States was something he did every day. I closed my eyes and thought about it; I honestly didn’t care where I spent Christmas. If I could spend it with Ashton I’d go anywhere. “There’s a third option,” he added, sounding a little excited.

I opened my eyes. “What’s the third option? Because LA doesn’t seem likely, and going home sounds like it would be uncomfortable with my parents watching our every move and smiling at us all the time,” I admitted.

He pursed his lips before speaking. “Well, how about we go away?”

“Like a vacation?” I asked, a little confused.

“Yeah, like a vacation. Somewhere where people don’t know you. Maybe I’d be able to convince your father to let me take somewhere where there’s no risk to you and no one knows who you are.”

Excitement suddenly bubbled up inside me, but I tried hard to contain it. A vacation didn’t sound like something my father would consent to. “I like option three,” I admitted quietly.

“Hmm, what a coincidence, I like option three too,” he grinned, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “Hot or cold then? What’s your preference?” he asked, smirking at me excitedly. “Beach or snow?”

“I don’t care. What do you want?” In all honestly I would follow him anywhere he wanted, it didn’t really matter.

“Well, I like the idea of snow for Christmas and maybe you’d get cold and would cuddle up to me,” he mused, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes at his train of thought. “Right, Pretty Boy, because otherwise that wouldn’t happen,” I stated sarcastically. We hugged all the time; it didn’t need to be cold for that.

“I also like the idea of the beach, because you’d be wearing a bikini a lot,” he continued, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I raised one eyebrow teasingly. “I guess… unless I went topless.”

His back stiffened as he nodded eagerly. “Beach then, definitely.”

I laughed and slapped his arm playfully. “Pervert!”

“Only around you,” he replied, winking at me. He stood up quickly, fumbling in his pocket and producing a cell phone. “So that’s what we’ll try for first then? I’ll ask to take you away somewhere hot,” he said, looking at me hopefully.

I frowned, wanting to check he wasn’t doing this for the wrong reasons. “Are you sure you don’t just want to go hang out with your friends on your own and get drunk every night? I’ll be fine with the temporary guards if that’s what you’re worried about,” I protested.