by Iris Morland
She bristled. “My husband would disagree with that,” she snapped.
Silence fell. Realizing what she’d said, she blushed in embarrassment, and when she reached to touch her wedding ring, her heart fell when she remembered she’d taken it off.
“You’re married? You aren’t wearing a ring.” Ash frowned. “What are you doing at a singles’ meet-and-greet, then?”
“Sorry, I’m not married anymore.”
“Divorced?”
“Widowed.”
Ash’s face softened. “Sorry. How long ago...?”
She really, really didn’t want to talk about William. It was like another betrayal in a way, talking to this man about her dead husband. Swallowing hard, she whispered, “Two years ago. Car accident. Please don’t ask me anything else about him.”
“Violet, I’m sorry.”
He touched her hand, and she felt stupidly like crying. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a watery smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. Now, where were we? You were going to tell me all about how you balance your brother’s books.”
“I doubt you’d want an explanation about that. It’s pretty dull stuff.”
“Yet you seem to enjoy it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “How could you tell?”
“Your voice. The look on your face. I wish I were good at numbers. I can make jewelry and sell it, but making the money make any sense is a challenge.” When he looked like he wanted to ask more questions, she said, “No, no more serious stuff.”
His voice got low, throaty, but then he said, “Tell me your favorite color.”
She blinked. “Really? You didn’t assume it’s purple?”
“I’m not that predictable, and neither are you.”
“You’re right. It’s green. Now, what’s your favorite color? Gray like ash?”
They talked into the night, even when the woman from earlier came by to say something to Ash. Looking more closely at her, Violet realized that she must be one of his siblings. They both had the same eyes and hair color, and when the woman smiled, Violet saw Ash in that smile. It was almost eerie.
“We’re all heading out,” the woman said. “You coming?”
“No, I’m staying here for now.”
The woman glanced at Violet, glanced back at Ash, then shrugged. Addressing Violet now, she said, “Make sure he behaves himself.”
Ash rolled his eyes at her departure. “My older sister Thea. She’s a pain in the ass.”
“I just have one older sister. You’re lucky to come from such a large family.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he said wryly.
As the bar quieted somewhat, Ash moved closer to her, like a glacier slowly sliding downhill. And to Violet’s dismay, she didn’t want him to move away. He smelled so good—like wood smoke and spice—and his muscles bulged with each small movement. When he licked his lips after finishing his drink, her heart almost burst from her chest.
Danger, danger. Get out of here or you’ll do something stupid. Like kiss him.
“What time is it? Oh, I need to get home. I need to feed my—” She racked her brain for an animal to feed and finally landed on, “Clown fish. My clown fish.” Clown fish, seriously?
“Your clown fish. He needs to be fed at one sixteen a.m.?” Ash’s lips twitched.
“Yes, he’s a very particular fish. I got him when he was a baby fish and he’s very important to me.”
Violet paid for her drinks—not looking at Ash when she did it—returned her jewelry to her purse and practically sprinted out of the bar.
Ash watched as Violet jogged down the sidewalk away from him. What the hell had he said or done to freak her out like that? He knew very well she didn’t have to go feed a clown fish or whatever it was.
If she were simply uninterested in him, he’d let her be. But he’d seen the interest in her eyes, the way her pupils had dilated, the way she’d crossed her legs toward him. She’d played with her hair, she’d licked her lips. She’d had so many obvious tells that had screamed KISS ME, TAKE ME, that he’d had to restrain himself from kissing her right then and there in the bar.
“Violet, wait up,” he said as he caught up to her. “Hey, talk to me.” He touched her arm, and she stopped walking but didn’t turn to look at him. “Look, if I said something that offended you, I apologize. Let me make it up to you.”
She inhaled deeply before letting out a deep sigh. Her breath puffed white into the cold air. “You didn’t do anything. Really.” She finally looked at him. “Am I allowed to say ‘it isn’t you, it’s me’?”
“That’s almost as big of a lie as your fish.”
She gasped, then laughed. “Excuse you, Marty the fish is very real and very important to me.”
“Marty? Now I really know you’re lying.” He lowered his voice, wanting to sound inviting. Tempting. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
Her blond eyebrows shot straight to her hairline. “Is that a euphemism?”
So much for tempting her. “No, it’s not.”
At this point, they’d moved toward the opening of an alleyway that afforded them some measure of privacy. The streetlights were just bright enough that Ash could make out Violet’s expression somewhat, but she was still rendered rather shadowy. The mystery of her only intrigued him more. Who was she, really? And why did he want to know so badly?
“When’s the last time you let yourself have any fun?” he asked.
His voice was a murmur, and he leaned down so he was almost touching her ear. To his delight, she was tall enough that he didn’t have to lean far. He was used to getting a crick in his neck when kissing women. The thought of avoiding that small annoyance only added fuel to the fire of his desire for her.
“I have fun all the time,” Violet countered.
“Name an example within the last week.”
“I played dominoes with my mother-in-law.” She said it with such verve that God almighty, he wanted to kiss her right then and there just so she could add some real fun to that pathetic list.
“No, I mean something fun with a person your age.” He moved closer until her soft hair tickled his cheek. “When’s the last time you let yourself have fun without worrying about the consequences?”
“I’m too old to do things like that.”
Ash laughed softly. “You act like you already have one foot in the grave, when in fact you’re a gorgeous, intelligent, young woman. Damn shame, in my opinion.”
Violet huffed. “I didn’t ask for your opinion about my life. And what about you? What kind of a guy picks up a woman during his niece’s birthday party?”
“A man who knows what he wants.”
“Oh my God, you’re so, so—” She growled in frustration. “Annoying. Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?”
He couldn’t stop smiling; his face hurt from it. The rarity of a woman like Violet, who loved to banter and who didn’t simper, was refreshing. Arousing.
“I’m never annoying to anyone,” he said. “Now, you know what we’re going to go do?”
“Work on our taxes?” She said it almost hopefully.
He touched the tip of her nose. “We’re going to go have some fun and not worry about anyone else.”
She hesitated: he could feel it in the way her body tensed. “I’m not going to sleep with you,” she said in an anxious rush. “I don’t know you, it’s too soon—”
He pressed her lips together with his fingers, effectively cutting her off. “I’m not talking about sex.” At least not yet. “I’m talking good, clean, wholesome fun.”
She moved his hand away from her mouth. “With you?”
“Yes, me.” Ash stepped away and held out his hand. “Do you trust me, Violet?”
She didn’t move for a long moment. Right then, all he wanted was for her to say yes. Not just for his own enjoyment, but for hers, too.
It felt like an eternity before she said, “Yes, I trust you,” and she placed her hand
in his.
4
Violet couldn’t imagine where Ash wanted to take her at one thirty in the morning that wasn’t to his place. When she said that she trusted him, her boring, logical side yelled, You don’t know him! Go home! You’re crazy!
And yet...her intuition told her she could trust him. She trusted that when he said he wanted to have “good, clean, wholesome fun,” he meant it. At least, as much as Ash Younger could do anything wholesome.
She followed Ash down the street and out of the small downtown area. Tipping her head back, she could make out a few stars, and she felt like they were the only two people in the entire world. The town was so quiet. The only sounds were a dog barking and a single car driving by.
When they arrived at the playground, Violet let out a startled laugh. “This is what you had in mind?”
“What, do you have something against swings?” Ash sat down in one of the swings that was so low to the ground—especially considering that he had to be over six feet tall—that Violet started giggling so hard that her stomach hurt.
She sat down next to him in a swing and started pumping her legs. At five-ten, she had to bend her legs until her heels touched her butt just to avoid scraping her feet against the sand below.
Ash swung next to her. When she glanced over at him, he sent her a brilliant smile. She shook her head.
“I can’t imagine you went to a bar to pick up a woman just to take her to a playground.”
“I like to think I’m not as obvious as you’d like to think,” he countered.
Violet pumped her legs until she swung high into the air. She let out a deep sigh as she caught sight of the houses that sat in the hills overlooking Fair Haven. Lights twinkled from a few windows. She didn’t mind that it was chilly outside or that her hands were freezing from the metal chains.
“Once when I was in first grade,” said Ash as they swung higher and higher, “I tried to get into one of those baby swings. You know, the ones that look like a rubber diaper?”
Violet’s lips twitched. “And?”
“Well, I was already big for my age, and hardly baby-sized. I managed to somehow get my legs into the leg holes and tried to swing, but soon realized that I’d made a very, very bad decision.”
“Got a little bruised?”
He laughed. “My balls were sore for a week. When I tried to get out, I couldn’t. I was stuck in a baby swing. My teacher had to call the fire department to cut me out.”
Violet started laughing so hard that she lost her momentum. Gasping for breath, she wiped her eyes and was almost finished laughing before another bout of giggles burst from her.
“I’m glad you think my pain and anguish are so funny.” Ash kept swinging next to her.
Suddenly emboldened, Violet began swinging again until they were neck and neck. “Whoever jumps the furthest wins a prize,” she said.
“What, a broken arm?”
“Chicken.”
He snorted. “Fine, it’s a deal. What do you want?”
She considered. “If I win, you have to ride that dragon thing over there,” she said as she pointed to the plastic dragon on a spring. “And I get to record it.”
“Kinky.” Ash swung down and then up again. “If I win,” he said, his voice like dark velvet, “I get to kiss you.”
Laughing breathlessly, she began to count down. On three, they jumped from their respective swings and landed on the sand below. Violet felt the air whoosh from her lungs, and Ash grunted as he landed with a loud thump.
Both gasping for air, Violet turned toward Ash, only to see him smiling like the cat that had caught the canary. His right arm stretched above his head, and when Violet did the same, she realized he’d technically jumped the furthest.
“No fair,” she muttered, “your arms are longer than mine.”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
He cupped her cheek, and everything else faded away as he brushed his mouth against hers. Violet’s heart fluttered like a caught butterfly. He kissed her softly, playing with her bottom lip, his touch gentle. Violet melted against him, his body warm and solid. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he growled and deepened the kiss until she saw stars under her eyelids.
She didn’t care that it was the middle of the night, or that they were lying in the sand on a playground. She didn’t care that she barely knew this man who kissed like the devil but who had the smile of an angel. Pressing closer to him, she tangled her tongue with his, loving the way he shuddered under her hands.
The kiss transformed into a conflagration, and before Violet knew it, she was under Ash as his hands roved all along her torso. She arched under his touch with abandon. Her inhibitions melted away with every stroke of his tongue and every caress of his hands.
“God, you’re sweet,” he muttered as he kissed down her throat, laving her collarbone. “I want you.”
She knew he wanted her—she could feel his erection against her hip. And just as suddenly as the conflagration had begun, her rational mind emerged to ask her, What are you doing?
What was she doing? This wasn’t her. She didn’t do one-night stands. She didn’t kiss strange men in parks.
Have you forgotten me already? William’s voice resounded in her mind.
“I—no. Wait. Please stop.” Her voice was shaky. “Stop.”
Ash stopped, his forehead creased with concern. “What is it?”
Violet pushed at his arm, and he moved away enough that she could sit up. She took a deep breath.
“Sorry, it was just—a lot.”
“Don’t apologize. I let it get out of hand.” He stood up and offered her a hand. “Do you want me to take you home?”
For some reason, she didn’t want to go home because then this magical night—even with its random bumps and awkwardness—would end. Violet would have to return to being boring Violet Fielding, widow, failing entrepreneur, and a woman who was apparently too terrified to enjoy life or kiss a man in the park.
“No, I want to keep having fun.” She pulled on his hand. “Let’s go down the slide.”
Ash seemed surprised, but he didn’t comment on her strange behavior. He probably thought she was a bit of a loon. One minute she was cold, then hot, then cold. She couldn’t understand her own behavior, either. So for the moment, she decided not to think about it.
Violet was good at a lot of things, but she excelled at denying what she didn’t want to see.
That was the funny thing about denial: you could always deny that it even existed.
Ash had thought of going to the playground totally by chance. When he’d said that he’d wanted to show Violet something, he’d honestly had no idea what he’d even meant. What was open in the middle of the night that wasn’t just another bar?
That random idea had turned into one of the best nights of his life—regardless of his skinned palm and newly bruised elbow.
“Ready?” He clambered onto the slide behind Violet and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Go!”
She squealed as they went down the slide before falling into a heap at the bottom. He laughed as she laughed, and all he wanted to do was kiss her again.
The streetlights surrounding the park provided enough illumination that he could make out her expression. She seemed relaxed for the first time that evening. Who would’ve thought he’d just needed to take her to the playground?
Getting up, he groaned a little. “I’m way too old for this,” he muttered. He limped behind Violet to make her laugh again.
“Aren’t I the old one here? Come on. You still haven’t ridden that dragon thing.”
“I distinctly remember something about you losing that bet.”
“I’ll ride one, too.”
She looked at him over her shoulder, her hair blowing in the night breeze, and it took every ounce of his self-control not to kiss her a second time.
That kiss, though. It had rocked his world. He’d had his fair share of amazing kisses, but that one had been
something different. He almost didn’t want to think too much about why that was.
As they sat on their respective springy animals, Ash didn’t try to force past the silence that had fallen between them. He watched Violet instead: the way she pushed her hair over her shoulder, or how she tilted her head back to look up at the stars. In profile, she was somehow more beautiful, her nose a lovely angle that led to her pillowy lips, her right ear a whorl like a pale seashell.
“How long have you lived here?” she asked him.
“All my life, except for when I went to college. What about you?”
“I grew up in Yakima, went to UW. I was living in Bothell up until two weeks ago.”
“So that’s why I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“My mother-in-law needed help. She’d never admit it, but I knew she did.”
He blinked in surprise. Weren’t mothers-in-law always the type of people you stayed far away from? He’d never had one of his own, but considering how Trent’s mother-in-law terrified all she knew, it hadn’t seemed so much a stereotype as something that was true.
“You left everything behind for your mother-in-law?” He whistled. “I’m impressed. That’s very nice of you.”
“Martha has been like a mother to me since I first met her. She was always so lovely to me, and especially after I married her son. I got lucky.”
“What about your own mom?”
“She’s busy traveling the country with my dad in their fancy new RV.”
He laughed while at the same time envy stung him. He’d never had any kind of a mother—or father—figure in his life. His own mother had committed suicide when he’d been just a kid, and his father had died without any of his kids mourning his loss. Edward Younger had been mean, selfish, and a giant pain in the ass until his very last breath. He couldn’t imagine moving to some tiny town like Fair Haven for someone not even his blood relative.
“How did you get into accounting?” she asked.
“I didn’t know what else to major in.” At her laughter, he shrugged. “It’s true. I was always good at math, but science bored me. I needed to do something practical. I’m not a theater guy or musician or anything like that. I got my degree, messed around doing nothing for a bit until my brother hired me to do his books. My brother is annoying, but he’s a good boss.”