“I think I’ve got my laundry under control,” she said. “But thanks for the offer.”
“Then I could bring you dinner later on? The pizza and the dessert?”
“It’ll be fine. I’ve got plenty of food I had delivered when I got back,” she said. “I’ll give you a call, okay?”
Kallie gripped her purse as she headed for the door, but Ash took a hold on her arms. He slowly brought her around in front of him before crooking his fingers underneath her chin. Just that smallest touch made her weak in the knees. Made her legs crumble and made it harder to stand. She drew in a deep breath as Ash pressed against her skin, raising her gaze up to meet his. She lost herself in his hazel eyes again. In the beauty of his mahogany hair that hung just a little too long on his forehead. In the smattering of freckles that didn't seem as dark now that they weren't in the harsh sun of the island of St. Barts.
“Sasha means nothing to me, Pretty Kallie. Nothing at all.”
She’d never get used to that nickname. She loved it and hated it at the same time. How it made her feel special in the arms of a man whose reputation dodged around in her mind as often as Serena Williams returned a damn tennis ball.
“I don’t want you to go,” Ash said as he pressed his forehead to hers. “Not like this.”
“You’re overreacting,” Kallie said as she gazed up into his eyes. “I’m fine. I really do have things to go do.”
“Then call me,” he said. “For real this time. Call me tonight. Or in the morning. Let me know how your work goes. Call me when you get home.”
Kallie nodded, then pulled away from his grasp and opened his door.
Her wobbly legs carried her down to the front of the building. She hailed a cab and quickly got in, her eyes peeking back up to the top of the building. The penthouse windows were tinted, and she knew he would never be able to see anything, but something in her gut told her Ash was looking down on her. Watching her get into the cab and drive away.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
She rattled off her address, then settled back into the seat for the cab ride home. She had no idea why she was reacting this way. Seeing one of Ash's old flames shouldn't affect her like it was. Right? But the more she thought about it, the more it really wasn't about the fact that she was an ex. It was what she represented. The reality of the life Ash lived before she met him on the island. The game he ran on her before things changed.
If things hadn't changed, would he have even remembered her? And if he didn't usually remember his conquests, then why did he remember Sasha?
Sasha was a physical representation of the line of women that had come before her. The line of women that dropped to Ash’s feet to do anything f
or that man. Anything for his attention and his time and his money. Simultaneously, she could see why Ash hid who he was, as well as why she was so hesitant to jump into something with him. He had a past. A past that had to do with hopping from woman to woman. What in his past proved to her that he wouldn't hop around to other women while she was with him?
Was it his money that made him play women like that? Or was that simply his personality?
Did it really matter? Was one somehow better than the other?
Kallie had no way of knowing if Ash was ready to give up that life. A life of hooking up on an exotic island and never having to attach himself to someone. Was he willing to give that up and start something with her? Or did he somehow think if he could strike something up with her and still be able to keep that life going in the background? That was something she wouldn't tolerate. She would not tolerate being cheated on again. And it seemed like the more she peeled his layers back, the more she found proof that he might be more like James then she wanted to admit.
But even if everything played out in her favor, and even if Ash was ready to abandon that hookup-island life, and even if he was telling the truth when he said nothing about his wealth— Was she ready for him?
Was she ready for something serious?
That was the real question she couldn't answer. But it seemed to be the only question that mattered.
Chapter 12
Kallie
Kallie sat at her desk, going over her appointment list for the week. She had kept things light because she figured she would be settling into the home she and James were preparing. Still in that honeymoon stage of bliss. Still the light of each other’s eyes. She sent off a few emails to some clients she knew wanted her services that week, letting them know she was free. Open to help them in any way she could. She tried not to think about the past couple of weeks. About the fact that she had given up one relationship and was halfway out of another one.
She figured the time would fly if she was getting her heart broken, so she might as well work while she had the time.
A videoconference call devolved into her client asking her questions about her wedding. Wondering how it went. Asking her about her honeymoon. And it was the first time she truly thought back on what happened. Recounting it to her client forced her to see it from an outside point of view. It gave her the ability to remove all of the emotions she was experiencing in that moment and see it for what it was. A brief moment in time where her judgment had lapsed. Her client balked when she talked about James trying to apologize for what he had done. How he had betrayed her on their sacred day. Kallie closed her eyes and told her client briefly that she had taken the honeymoon anyway. To have some time to herself. And her client cheered her on, telling her it was what she deserved after what her ex-fiancé put her through.
If only she knew what had really taken place on that island.
That was true karma.
Kallie stayed up most of the night batting things back and forth. She kept volleying between wanting Ash and not wanting him. About wanting to call James and not wanting to call him. The history she had with a man she loved crept into the forefront of her mind during the early hours of the morning. And then, they were washed away with the tidal wave that was Ash. In some ways, she thought Ash and the island were her own dose of karma. She hated the way she had been judged by James and his family, and then she judged James for his singular action on their wedding day. Dumped him without allowing him to give an explanation. Left him without giving them the chance to recover.