She felt comfortable with Ash in a place like that.
And she supposed there were some perks to being with “the richest man” in the city as his friend so delicately put it last night.
“Eris,” Kallie said with a whisper.
“What?” Ash asked.
“I have to check on Eris,” she said.
“Then go. Give her a call. I’ll be right here.”
Kallie excused herself to the bathroom, digging her phone out of her purse and turning it on. Damn it. She hadn’t turned her phone back on. Eris had probably blown her up trying to figure out where she was. But instead of getting bombarded with text messages and missed calls and voice mails, there was nothing.
Was Eris okay?
“Hello?”
“Are you still asleep?” Kallie asked.
She heard shuffling around in bed before some hushed tones reverberated through the phone. Kallie’s eyebrows shot up to her forehead and a grin crossed her cheeks.
That explained a lot.
“Yes. I’m still asleep,” Eris said. “What gives?”
“I was calling to check on you. I’m surprised you didn’t do the same with me.”
“Well, you sound good. I’m alive. Now let me sleep,” Eris said.
“You went home with Jeremy, didn’t you?” she asked.
A silence fell over the phone and she could’ve sworn she heard Eris giggling.
“I’ll talk with you later, okay? Promise.”
“You better tell me everything,” Kallie said.
“Gotta go. Bye!”
Well, at least Kallie knew her best friend was okay.
Chapter 10
Ash
Ash enjoyed the bite to eat sitting across from Kallie. Their soft conversation and way things easily flowed between the two of them already had him thinking of taking her back to his apartment. She looked beautiful in the outfit she had picked out. The hair clip caught the sun and glistened against her copper locks. Her green eyes popped with the multicolored dress she picked out. It gave him a beautiful look at her toned calves while draping around her body in ways that called to his fingertips. He envisioned taking her back to his apartment and making love to her for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.
Hell, why did they ever have to stop?
“It’s beautiful up here,” Kallie said. “Do you come here often?”
“Usually by myself. This is my favorite table.”
“I figured, since the guy at the front seemed to know you.”
“Well he doesn’t know me from here,” Ash said. “He made a trip to the island one time while I was out there and got himself into a financial bind.”
“Really? What happened?”
“He was there with his two daughters and lost his wallet. Probably got washed away with the ocean. I was coming out of the waves and he was talking to his daughters about how they might have to head back home sooner than usual. I sort of eavesdropped.”
“Are you telling me you paid for his vacation?” she asked.
“I gave him some money to get through his last few days there. He’s a good guy. A single dad who does his best. He saved up for years for that trip he took his girls on, and I didn’t like seeing his daughters cry.”
Ash shrugged it off, but he could see something in Kallie’s eyes. Something that softened more toward him. He didn’t like boasting about that kind of stuff. Walking around and talking about how he always helped people with his money. But he tried where he could while still keeping a low profile. He could still see the tears in those girls’ eyes.
And the sound of their crying?
It still broke his heart.
“How’s the food?” Ash asked.
“Really good. Could we take another walk in the park after?” Kallie asked.
“Of course we can. We can do whatever you want today. And if you’re hungry after this walk, I’ll take you out for dinner.”
“Oh, there’s this awesome pizza place in Brooklyn.”
“There are many awesome pizza places in Brooklyn,” he said.
“Maybe we could go share a slice or something?”
“Oh, you’re getting your own slice. No one touches my Brooklyn pizza.”
“Well fine then. We can get pizza and cinnamon rolls. How does that sound?”