Chapter 1
Kallie
His eye contact was like a kick to Kallie’s chest. What the hell was he doing there? Kallie wanted to take a weekend and get out of the city, and the one thing she didn’t want to follow her had suddenly shown up in the grocery store. The more he grimaced, the more she trembled. She ducked behind a bookrack and hoped she was hallucinating him. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying to gain a hold on her racing mind.
Even in his anger, he looked beautiful.
Kallie heard footsteps behind her and she quickly grabbed the nearest magazine. Dog weddings. Wonderful. What an enthralling topic. She opened it up and began to scan the pages, hoping the footsteps would walk by. Pass her and keep walking down the aisle so she could get away. She recognized the footfalls. The heavy foot followed by a light touch. Ash’s swagger as he loomed down the aisle, making a beeline for her while she tried to hide.
She felt his shadow cast over her, but she kept her eyes glued to the magazine.
“What are you doing here?” Ash asked.
The disdain in his voice killed a part of Kallie.
“Scoping out the new trends in doggy bridal attire. I hear it’s the latest thing,” she said.
“Not a gold digger, huh?” he asked.
“I don’t know. There are some pretty cheap designs in this magazine.”
“Cut the shit, Kallie. What the fuck are you doing in the Hamptons? Didn’t get enough with me and James? You here to sink your teeth into another unsuspecting rich man?”
“Pretty sure no one’s unsuspecting, thanks to James’s interview.”
“You aren’t welcome here,” he said.
“Didn’t know you were the mayor of the place.”
“You really expect me to believe you aren’t a gold digger when you’re here after what happened? The playground of the rich and famous after being called out for your antics?”
Every word that fell from his lips stung like a lightning bolt straight to her heart. But she wasn’t going to give him any more benefit of the doubt. If he didn’t believe her, then there would never be any convincing of him otherwise. And as much as it pained Kallie to admit it, maybe she was better off. If there was one downside Ash did have to his personality, it was his anger. His inability to control his emotions. Keeping himself cooped up from relationships made him unable to control the things he felt when they did come to life, and Kallie wasn't in the teaching business.
Not when it came to emotions.
“I’m a guest of Eris’s friend, Jeremy,” Kallie said as she rolled her eyes.
She finally looked up at Ash and watched him cock an eyebrow.
“Eris’s friend.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said.
“Doesn’t shock me, since she’s your partner in gold-digging crime. Speaking of Jeremy, I owe him a phone call. He’s not much of a television watcher.”
Kallie debated on slapping him in the middle of the aisle. But she restrained herself. The last thing she needed was to be painted with assault as well as gold-digging.
“He already knows.”
“What?” Ash asked.
“Eris has already filled him in on what’s going on with me. And he’s still screwing her. And inviting me places. Whoops.”
Kallie shrugged as she put the doggy magazine up and grabbed her book. She pushed off the bookrack and watched Ash’s eyes light up with fire. He wasn’t going to pin her down in the middle of a damn grocery store. That much was for certain.
“In fact, if you want to talk with him, he’s around here somewhere. Picking up toilet paper, I think,” Kallie said.
“The two of you are disgusting. Once Jeremy gets Eris out of his system, he’ll come to his senses. I know Jeremy.”
“I’m sure you do,” Kallie said.
She walked away without another response toward him. Her hands were trembling, but she wouldn't allow him to see that. She wouldn't allow him to see any of the things he did to her. He wasn’t worth the energy any longer. Ash would think whatever he wanted to think, no matter what she said. So she figured her time was better spent educating Ash on what was going on around her in an attempt to show him that the interview did
n’t bother her. Didn’t deter her. Didn’t somehow ruin her life and leave the embers burning in ruins around her.
But it was hard.
Because Kallie wanted to change his perception of her.
She got to the end of the aisle and peeked over her shoulder. She saw Ash headed for the door, empty-handed. She let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and it sent her heart racing at a thousand beats a second. The smallest part of her thought that seeing Ash again after all of this would somehow make her feel better. That one look exchanged between them would change his mind. That, if anything, he could bury his anger and listen to her and find the rationale behind her explanation.
But seeing him only served to make her feel sick to her stomach.
The wound was so fresh, and Ash had poked it with a hot prod. It was clear to her that he wasn’t going to believe her anytime soon, and it chiseled away at her dreams a little more. Her dreams gave her hope. Imagining a life with Ash gave her hope that maybe they could get through this. Maybe they could weather this storm like they had on the island and come away from it stronger than ever.