“At some point in time, you have to acknowledge the fact that he’s going to think what he wants. But that still doesn’t give him a reason to verbally assault you in a fucking grocery store.”
“Yep,” Kallie said.
“He’s an asshole, and you need to—”
“Damn it, Eris. I hear you.”
“Can I play devil’s advocate for a second?” Jeremy asked.
“No, you can’t,” Eris said.
“Well, I’m going to. That James guy? He made a hell of an argument.”
“That’s false,” Eris said.
“Doesn’t mean it’s not a hell of an argument. I believe you. I believe Kallie. James Rathbone has a reputation in the community for being a slimy snake when he wants to be. But Ash doesn’t delve into this community a lot, so he isn’t aware of James’s reputation. And if you take all that shit at face value from the interview? It looks a hell of a lot like—”
“Can you shut up now?” Eris asked. “That would really be helpful.”
Kallie rode silently in the back seat of the car. All of this made her sick to her stomach. The fights she was eliciting between Eris and Jeremy. Knowing Ash was going to be in the Hamptons for the weekend. His anger. James’s disgusting interview. All of it swirled and meshed within the confines of her body. Kallie watched the expensive houses roll by as they made their way through the small town she was apparently not welcomed in. The beach grew closer and she could smell the salted air infiltrating the air-conditioning of Jeremy’s car. And the second they pulled into his beach house, she slammed herself out of the car.
Raced up to the front door.
Jiggled the locked door until someone approached her from behind.
“Here,” Jeremy said. “Up the stairs, down the hall in front of you, the door all the way at the end.”
Then he opened the door and Kallie took off running.
She took the stairs two by two until she set foot onto the decadent carpeted flooring. She raced down the hallway, her hand reaching out for the doorknob. She barreled into the room that boasted of a king-size bed, satin sheets, french doors that opened out onto a private balcony that overlooked the ocean, and an en suite bathroom. Kallie threw open the french doors and took in the crashing of the waves. The salty air that seemed to relax her. The cool breeze that filled her darkened room for the weekend. She kicked off her flip-flops and closed her bedroom door, succumbing to the only thing she wanted this weekend.
Then Kallie fell onto the bed, wiggled herself underneath the covers, and sighed.
The bed held her in its grasp, cradling her tired body. The rhythmic undulation of the waves coaxed her down from her anxious precipice. Already, the encounter with Ash was falling to the back of her mind. Already, she felt sleep hanging heavily over her body. She slipped out of her dress and scooted it off the edge of the bed, feeling the satin sheets caress her skin. It was the most comfortable thing she had ever lay against.
Well, the second most comfortable.
Kallie pulled the comforter up to her chin and closed her eyes. Her body felt exhausted, but her mind was swirling. Images of her wedding crashed through her mind. Her dress. Her ring. The chapel. Her parents. How beautiful Eris looked in her bridesmaid dress. How gorgeous she felt in her wedding dress.
Eris’s face when she ran up the stairs to tell Hallie that James had been caught cheating.
It wasn’t her job to prove anything to Ash. But she still wanted to. She wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t this gold-digging whore that the media was painting her to be. She wanted to shove it in his face and then yell at him. Beat against his chest and slam him against a wall. She wanted to be able to stick it to him and watch the horror roll across his face before she walked out on him.
She was tired of being walked out on. Of being tossed aside by circumstances beyond her control. But the mere thought of it made her feel even more tired than she already was.
And her body finally succumbed to sleep.
Chapter 2
Ash
So much for the fucking weekend getaway. Ash stormed out of the grocery story, his mind racing with anger. What the fuck was that woman doing on his turf? Why the hell was she even in the Hamptons? That gold-digging little bitch. She really expected to convince him with those big puppy dog eyes that she was somehow innocent when her escape from all this was the Hamptons?
Deep down, Ash knew he was being ridiculous. Being this angry was the hold she still had on him But whatever excuse he could find to give into his anger, he was going to take it. The way Kallie had burned him was fixed firmly in the forefront of his mind. His idea of spending a weekend in the Hamptons to get away from things obviously wasn’t going to work. Not with her around. Of course she would be there to spoil everything. To taint it with her disgusting ways and find herself another piece of man-meat to prey on.
Ash debated on going back to the city. On getting out of the cage he’d flung himself into for the weekend. Better yet, he could catch a plane. Fly one of his father’s to parts unknown where he could begin to undo the damage Kallie had etched into his heart. Seeing her in that store and feeling the way his heart still called out for her made him sick. Made him angrier than anything in the world ever had. How could he possibly still feel that way after what she’d done to him? How could his body and his soul and his heart still want her after everything that had come to light?
Ash drove at lightning speed through the town until he came to his family’s huge beachside mansion. He was glad he’d called ahead to alert the caretaker to make it ready for him. That meant the grocery store would wait until later. Ash had originally stopped in to get some booze and some snacks, since his father wasn’t much of a snacker and his second stepmother was fucking rail thin and Botoxed beyond all reason.