Hold on to My Heart (Maine Sullivans)

“Nash Hardwin?” Josh spluttered. “What could he possibly want with you?”

Josh’s wholehearted disbelief that a superstar like Nash could have any interest whatsoever in Ashley finally snapped her back to life. She narrowed her eyes at her ex. “I’ll get the money to you later tonight.”

Josh followed her out of her office, and after swallowing everything she’d wanted to say to him for so long, she found herself possessed by a devil on her shoulder. A devil who was encouraging her to show Josh that she could do way better than him. More than once over the years, he’d suggested that she’d been pining for him since high school, simply because she had never been with anybody else. It had never occurred to him that she’d been busy raising their son. Or that being with him had taught her to have far higher standards in the future, so she was holding out for the best of men. Ashley had never pined for Josh, and now she finally had the chance to prove it to him.

She pushed through the door into the café to find Nash standing in a beam of light that seemed to be coming through the window solely to illuminate him. Though everyone eating in the café was clearly in awe, the regulars knew better than to invade his privacy.

As soon as he set eyes on her, heat leaped into his eyes. The same intense flames of desire—and connection—that had been between them the last time they’d kissed in the back hallway of the Austrian hotel.

The devil pushed her, shoved her, taunted her. Whispered in her ear. Do it. Kiss him.

Her feet propelled her forward. Straight into Nash’s arms. Strong arms that opened for her, then held her tight. She lifted her hands to cup his jaw, feeling the bristles there, breathing in his utterly delicious scent.

And then she pressed her lips to his.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Though the devil had made her do it, as soon as their lips met, Ashley forgot about anything except how much she wanted Nash. And how much she’d missed him.

She could faintly hear people talking behind them, throats clearing, forks scraping across plates, the bell over the door ringing, but she was so lost in Nash’s kisses that she never wanted to let go. It wasn’t until a plate dropped and shattered that she came back to the real world.

Still holding him close, she drew back to look into his eyes. “Hi, Nash.”

His lips curved into a smile. That beautifully sensual smile felt as though it was just for her.

“Hello, Ash.” He bent his head to kiss her again, and she let herself have one more lingering taste of him before finally letting him go.

“What the hell?” Josh exclaimed. “How do you guys know each other?”

Josh looked stunned by what he’d just witnessed, and Ashley wasn’t going to lie and say that she wasn’t pleased. She was sick and tired of letting him think that she couldn’t do any better than him.

“Ashley and I are close friends,” Nash said before she could reply, which only served to make Josh’s eyes widen.

“That’s crazy. I mean, she’s never even mentioned you.” Josh was starstruck enough, however, that even his continued confusion over how Ashley could have Nash Hardwin as a close friend—close enough to passionately kiss—couldn’t overcome his need for an autograph. “Dude, would you sign something for me?”

Nash looked from Josh to Ashley, obviously guessing that Josh wasn’t any random fan.

“Nash, this is Kevin’s father, Josh.”

Josh held out his hand, and though Nash paused a beat, he shook it.

“No problem,” Nash said. “What would you like me to sign?”

On the surface, Nash was perfectly polite, but Ashley could hear the vibration of distaste under his voice. Likely because she’d told Nash that Josh was a constant disappointment to their son.

“Hey, Ash,” Josh said, “you got something I could have Nash sign?”

She barely kept from rolling her eyes. More free stuff, that was her ex’s game.

She went into the store and came back with a T-shirt that said Irish Do It Better.

Josh hated the way her family celebrated their Irish heritage. But she also guessed that he would try to show at least some modicum of good behavior in front of a celebrity.

Nash took the T-shirt and quickly scrawled his name in permanent black marker. He handed it to Josh. “Here you go.”

Once Josh had his signature, he turned to Ashley. “Remember our agreement. I’d hate to have to bail on Kevin.”

“I’m this close to going after him and tackling him,” Nash muttered as they watched her ex walk away. “I’m guessing that if I knew the details about what he’s pulling this time, I wouldn’t bother holding myself back.”

She blew out a breath. “It’s the same nonsense as always.”

But she didn’t want to talk about her ex. That would be a waste of breath. Especially when she still couldn’t believe Nash was here.