Hold on to My Heart (Maine Sullivans)

“Who cares what my brother thinks?”

Nash ran a hand over his face, his body language alone telling her plenty about how much he cared about what Brandon thought.

“Do you regret what happened between us last night?” she asked him, point-blank.

“No.” But then he reconsidered. “I knew you deserved better. Better than me. Because I’m exactly what your brother says I am. I’ve been a dirt bag way too many times over the years. I don’t settle down. I don’t do more than a night.”

“Who asked you to settle down? Who asked you for more than a night?” She was beginning to feel as livid with Nash as she was with Brandon. “I certainly haven’t!”

“I know you haven’t, but the way you were raised, and the way you live your life—”

“You mean as a spinster single mom? Little Miss Goody Two-shoes, who never does anything outside of the boundaries?” She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I knew that was how you saw me at first, but I didn’t care. Not after I thought we’d become friends.”

“We are friends. And that’s why I am feeling guilty. Because I wouldn’t give up last night with you for anything.”

She blinked, trying to process what he was saying, that he felt guilty but also that he was glad they’d had their time together.

“Ashley, last night with you… It was more than I ever expected. So much more. Because you’re beautiful and sweet and good. Hell, you defended me to your brother in a way I don’t think anyone else ever has. The very last thing I would ever want is to hurt you in any way.”

“You haven’t hurt me. At least, not until you started looking and acting all regretful.”

“I swear to you, I don’t have any regrets about being with you last night. Maybe I should, but I can’t. Not when it felt so damned right. But that doesn’t mean your brother is wrong. You deserve a hell of a lot better than me.”

“Funny,” she said, sarcasm dripping from the word, “how everybody seems to think they know what I deserve better than I do. Although you’re right about one thing—I deserve better than this. Better than waking up to my brother banging down the door because he thinks I can’t handle myself in a foreign city. Better than you beating yourself up, thinking you somehow led me on.” She wrapped the robe tighter around herself. “You haven’t led me anywhere, Nash. Of course I know the score. What you and I had was one night only. I loved being with you. Every single second of it. I loved finally feeling like it’s okay to be a sensual woman. You helped show me that. And that’s a gift, Nash. A gift you gave me.”

“Ashley—”

She held up her hands, her chest aching. “You should go now. Back to your life on the road, playing shows and recording albums and doing interviews and being a superstar. And I’ll go back to mine, being a small-town single mom.” She gave him a little smile, hoping she could keep her lips from wobbling. “Although I already know my life is going to be more than that from now on. More full, more contoured, more colorful than I’ve let myself live up until now.”

He tried again. “Ashley—”

“Please, just leave me with the memories of our perfect twenty-four hours together. I’m going to take a shower now. By the time I’m done, I’d like you to be gone. And when I see you tonight at your show at the hotel, let’s agree to pretend we were never more than friends. It will be easier that way.”

Nash didn’t speak for several long moments. Finally, he said, “I hate that things are ending this way.”

Willing back tears, she took a deep, shaky breath. “Good-bye, Nash.” Then she headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

* * *

Nash quickly dressed in clean clothes from his bags that had been moved into Ashley’s apartment, also donning a black baseball cap and dark sunglasses. Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do, but he wouldn’t disrespect her request for him to go.

He wasn’t going to bother with a disguise today. Frankly, he didn’t care if people in Vienna recognized him now. The reason it had been fun to wear a disguise yesterday was because he’d done it with Ashley.

In any case, as soon as he finished his performance tonight at the hotel launch, he was booked to fly to Budapest, the first of the shows scheduled throughout Europe for the next six weeks.

Walking briskly to try to let off some steam—thankfully, the fans who clearly recognized him seemed to get the message that he wasn’t in the mood to sign autographs—he headed for the river. Yesterday, for the first time, he’d gotten to be a normal guy spending time with a pretty girl, having fun exploring a new city.