This was his chance.
His chance to get Kallie away from her attack dog.
Ash took Kallie’s hand and helped her off the couch. Eris was no longer paying attention, and Jeremy was head-deep in a conversation with a very feisty woman. Ash set his drink down before plucking Kallie’s margarita she hadn’t touched from her fingers, then led her out of the now-crowded VIP area.
“Where are we going?” Kallie asked.
“Just somewhere to talk,” Ash said.
“What if I don’t want to talk?”
“Do you not want to talk?”
Ash looked back at Kallie, but she didn’t drop his hand. Kallie wouldn’t meet his gaze. She was still looking back at her friend. He didn’t want to make her do something she didn’t want to do, but he also had to talk to her. Kallie had to tell him what she wanted. He couldn’t read her mind. He needed her to talk to him. If he wasn’t what she wanted, then she needed to feel okay saying that. If she did want him, she needed to tell him that, so he could stick around.
Even if she wasn’t sure, he had to know.
“Why haven’t you called?” Ash asked.
“You want to talk here?” Kallie asked.
“If you tell me what you want, I can get it for you, Kallie. But since you won’t talk to me, I can’t give it to you. I’m rich, but I’m not a mind reader. Do you want to talk or do you want to go back to Eris? I won’t make you do something you don’t want to do, but the only way anything can get resolved is if we talk.”
Ash looked down into those wondrous green eyes and saw something blooming. The music was too loud and the lights were too low, but the way her eyes widened tugged at his heartstrings. He was frustrated. All he wanted her to do was talk. Speak her mind. Tell him what was going on without her attack dog gnawing at his heels.
“Talk to me, Kallie,” Ash said. “What’s going on?”
“Why did you come find me?” Kallie asked.
Ash slipped his hands into his pockets as Kallie leaned against the wall.
“Because there was a misunderstanding between us. Because I want a second chance at what we had.”
“But what we had was based on a lie,” she said.
“No, it wasn’t. Sure, I’m not a bartender. Though I can make drinks. I just don’t work as one. And I have money. That’s it. That’s all that happened. Nothing about me is any different, Kallie.”
“Yes it is,” she said.
“Why haven’t you called?”
“Because I don’t want to think about what happened!”
Ash sighed and took a step toward Kallie’s body.
“It’s all I can think about,” he said. “And I’m not ready to let the experience go. I’m not ready to let you go, Kallie.”
“You lied to me, Ash.”
“I think it’s more than that. I think that, because of my money, you equate me to your ex. And that’s not the case. I’m nothing like him. I’m nowhere near him. Because I could never do to you what he did. Ever.”
“I don’t know that,” she said as tears rose in her eyes.
“I know you don’t. And I know your life is complicated right now. But our relationship doesn’t have to be. We can still enjoy each other’s company and see where things lead to. That’s it. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Ash could see her wavering. See her shaking her head as a tear wafted down her cheek. So he decided to move in for the kill. He reached his hand up and wiped her tear away, then slid his hand down her back. Feeling the way she still leaned into him. Feeling the way her back was perfectly curved to the bulk of his arm. He pulled gently at her waist, feeling the way she stepped into him. Ash watched her forehead lean into his chest as she sought comfort in the warmth of his arm.
Then he dipped his lips to her ear and whispered.
“I’ve missed the way you feel beside me, Pretty Kallie.”
Like a hummingbird to a feeder, Kallie rose her face up. Kissed his chest. The smooth fabric of his suit. Her arms unfurled from her chest and she wrapped them around him, pulling him tightly against her. He held her. Kissed the top of her head. Closed his eyes and drew in her scent. Memorized her warmth. Oh, how he’d missed this. Missed her next to him.