Not the Marrying Kind

by Jae

  So Ashley was ready to try new things, but only while they were in Florida. Sasha suppressed a sigh. She would miss this side of Ashley when they returned home—the side that leaned in to Sasha while they sat at the bonfire, resting against her shoulder, apparently without even realizing.

  The dry wood crackled and popped. Sparks shot into the night sky and then trailed down slowly.

  Sasha ate her half of the cupcake and stretched her legs to the side to dig her toes into the still warm sand. Ashley’s shoulder warmed her from the other side.

  “They’re good,” Ashley said around a mouthful of cupcake. “But I’m really looking forward to trying the cake at the wedding.”

  “Ooh, me too.” Grace sighed. “Cake is my secret vice.”

  “Not-so-secret vice,” Lauren corrected with a chuckle. “It was all over the tabloids when they caught you with a piece of chocolate cake on the set of Lucky, remember?”

  Ashley looked from Grace to Leo, a wrinkle forming on her forehead. “How will you manage to keep the press away from the wedding, especially with Grace being there? If they think Grace eating a piece of cake is newsworthy, they’ll be all over the wedding.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that.” Lauren flashed them her best James Bond grin. “Operation Decoy is firmly in place.”

  “Operation Decoy?” Sasha asked.

  “Lauren used to be my PR agent, and she managed to keep the press away from her and Grace’s wedding, so I asked her for help in keeping our special day private,” Leo said. “I want to give Holly the wedding of her dreams, away from the paparazzi and the glitzy persona of Jenna Blake.”

  Holly leaned over and kissed Leo’s cheek.

  “As soon as we leave here, someone will leak it to the press that Jenna Blake just spent the weekend in Florida to check out a location for her wedding,” Lauren said. “The paparazzi will swarm all over the Keys, trying to find the place. No one will connect a pop star’s glitzy nuptials with a tiny town in Missouri. Once they find out, it’ll be too late.”

  “Thanks again, Lauren. I really owe you.” Leo finished her Cuban sandwich, wiped her hands on her shorts, and pulled her guitar from its battered case.

  Sasha traded a surprised gaze with Ashley. She knew Leo didn’t normally share her music with anyone but Holly, at least not outside of concerts. She had played at the bar for Sasha’s birthday, but that had been in public, where she could put on her Jenna Blake mask. This was different.

  The others stopped chatting as she strummed a few chords, then launched into an instrumental piece Sasha didn’t recognize. Maybe Leo had made it up on the spot. It certainly fit the atmosphere of this tropical setting, soothing yet lively.

  Ashley leaned in to Sasha more heavily as the last notes of the song faded away. Was this bringing up memories of the time when she’d been in a band with Leo, playing the keyboard and providing background vocals? Sasha fought the urge to wrap an arm around her to comfort her.

  Leo transitioned seamlessly into the next song, and Sasha recognized this one. It was a love song from Leo’s latest album, the one she had written in Fair Oaks and produced on her own. This time, Leo added her voice to the sound of the guitar, and everyone listened, spellbound.

  After singing a few more songs for her small audience, Leo reached for the case to put the guitar away, but Holly covered her hand with her own. “One more, please.”

  Leo kissed her softly. “Your wish is my command.”

  Lauren laughed. “I can see that you don’t need my advice on how to make a marriage work. You already know that a happy wife means a happy life.”

  The others added a bit of gentle teasing too.

  Leo just smiled, her gaze still on Holly. “Any requests?”

  Holly shook her head. “You pick. I love all of your songs.”

  Leo trailed her fingers over the neck of the guitar for what seemed like a long time, as if she couldn’t make up her mind. When the opening chords finally rang out across the beach, Sasha sucked in a breath.

  It was the only song on Leo’s latest album she had never played in public. “Three Things” was about her complicated relationship with her late father, at least that was what Sasha had thought when she had first heard it. Why had she chosen to play this one now?

  But instead of launching into the song, Leo repeated the instrumental intro and looked across the fire at Ashley. “This one was really meant to be a duet, so I need someone to help me out. Ash? Do you happen to know the lyrics?”

  Ashley stiffened against Sasha’s side. “Um, yes, I do, but I can’t sing it with you. I haven’t been up on a stage for over fifteen years.”

  “This is a beach, Ash, not a stage,” Leo said. “You’re among friends. No one will judge if you’re a little rusty.”

  The others murmured their agreement.

  Sasha softly squeezed her shoulder. “I know you can do this.”

  Ashley leaned more heavily into her as if needing the support not to run away. Finally, she nodded and breathed an almost inaudible, “Okay.”

  “Great.” Leo repeated the intro a third time and then started to sing. Her voice was beautiful and expressive, transporting the raw emotions of the song perfectly.

  Then she nodded at Ashley to join in for the second verse.

  Sasha held her breath.

  Ashley’s first line came out a bit shaky, but as she sang on, she either gained confidence or she forgot she had an audience. The fire threw flickering shadows across her features, revealing the myriad of emotions that darted across her face. By the time they started the third verse, joy was the most prominent one. She swayed softly to the rhythm of Leo’s guitar, her entire body fully immersed in the music.

  Sasha had heard Leo perform with other pop stars, but to her, this duet was her most beautiful by far.

  Ashley’s sweet tones complemented Leo’s rich voice with its smoky edge perfectly. Of course, she couldn’t keep up with Leo’s incredible range—and she didn’t try to. They weren’t competing vocally but rather encouraging each other to let their voices soar into the night air.

  As they took turns with the lyrics, the song seemed to become a conversation. Their voices mingled for the chorus, and they looked at each other across the fire as they sang about forgiveness and letting go of the past.

  Sasha listened breathlessly. She had a feeling the song was no longer about Leo and her father but about Leo and Ashley and their complicated and, at times, hurtful history with each other.

  When the last notes of the song faded away, silence settled over the beach, interrupted only by the steady murmur of the ocean waves.

  Uncharacteristically, it was Jo who first spoke. “Wow. That was very nice.”

  Sasha stared at her. It had been way more than very nice. Didn’t she understand how special their duet had been? But then again, Jo had no idea what music—and Leo’s friendship—had once meant to Ashley. This was about so much more than singing a song with a friend while sitting around a bonfire. It was about forgiveness and about Ashley reclaiming a part of her that she had given up a long time ago.

  Ashley slumped against her as if the effort of singing the song had drained her of the strength to sit up on her own.

  Sasha could no longer stop herself from wrapping an arm around her. “It was beautiful,” she said very quietly. You are beautiful. She bit her lip before she could say it out loud.

  Ashley gave her a grateful look. She didn’t pull away from the loose embrace, despite Lisa, Cait, and Jenny watching from the other side of the fire.

  “See? It all came back to you quickly,” Leo said. “We should do this again sometime.”

  Ashley nodded, and since they were touching all along their length, Sasha could hear her rapid swallow. She tightened her arm around her.

  Finally, Leo put her guitar away and stood. “Well, on that note, I think I�
�ll turn in now. All the food and the ocean air are making me sleepy. Thank you all for the great evening and for taking the time out of your busy lives to come to Florida with us. Having you here made this weekend truly special. Holly and I had a wonderful time—not just because of this magical place, but mainly because of you guys.”

  “A big thank-you from me too,” Holly added. “I think I speak for Leo and me when I say that we are both very grateful to have you in our lives, and we look forward to also sharing our wedding day with you too.” She smiled as everyone returned her sentiment. “Sleep well. Oh, just a reminder: our flight is at noon, so we should leave here around nine.”

  The fire had burned down while Leo had entertained her friends with her songs, and now they carefully shoveled sand over the gleaming embers.

  Sasha stood too and smoothed a bit of sand off her shorts. She and Ashley worked together to fold their blanket and gather the remnants of their picnic.

  As if by unspoken agreement, they hung back as everyone else strolled along the boardwalk to the house.

  “I think I need a moment alone before I join them,” Ashley said.

  “Sure.” Sasha pointed at where the others had disappeared. “Do you want me to—?”

  “No.” Ashley grasped her arm and then didn’t let go. “Please stay. I didn’t mean alone alone. Do you mind if we walk along the beach for a while?”

  “Not at all.” Sasha draped the blanket across Ashley’s shoulders so she wouldn’t get cold in the ocean breeze and then set them off along the shoreline, with the gently lapping waves a few yards to their right.

  Ashley kept her hand on Sasha’s arm as they walked. It felt a bit like an old-fashioned courting couple out for a midnight stroll, and Sasha decided that for a few minutes she would allow herself to indulge in the illusion that that was what they were—a couple.

  “That was incredible,” she said after a while and pointed back to where the fire had been. “I mean, I heard you and Leo sing together back when we were in school, but this just blew me away.”

  Ashley laughed giddily. “Really? God, I was so rusty. I must have listened to her album a thousand times, but I was so nervous that I think I got the lyrics wrong at least twice.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Sasha said. “You both put so much emotion into every line, it was as if you were talking to each other—really talking for the first time in years.”

  Ashley stopped walking and stared at her in the near darkness. “You got all of that? That’s exactly what it felt like to me too! Do you think Leo picked that song on purpose, to let me know she has forgiven me?”

  “I’m sure she did. She’s got seven albums under her belt. She could have chosen any of her other songs.”

  Ashley exhaled. “I’m glad. I mean, Holly said they’d decided to not hold on to any bad feelings and that she wanted to work on getting our friendship back, and they invited me along for the dress shopping and the bachelorette weekend, but I was never quite sure if they really wanted me there or whether Leo’s mom convinced them because it would look strange to leave me out.”

  “They want you here.” And so do I. Sasha held back from voicing that second sentence, though.

  They strolled along the shoreline for another few minutes in amiable silence. Sasha didn’t try to make conversation since she knew Ashley needed some space to let it all sink in.

  Finally, Ashley squeezed Sasha’s arm. “It’s getting late. We should head back.”

  Sasha suppressed a sigh. They still had a few hours tomorrow morning, but their magical weekend in the Florida Keys was undeniably coming to an end, and she couldn’t help wondering how things between them would be once they were back home. Ashley for sure wouldn’t put her hand on her arm while they strolled along the creek. Reluctantly, she steered them back toward the beach house.

  As if neither of them wanted the evening to end, they took the long way around instead of walking through the house. They wandered through the lush garden that was lit with solar-powered lamps, and Ashley pointed out the names of the tropical plants that grew there: birds of paradise, hibiscus, and bromeliads.

  Sasha couldn’t help smiling. “You’re such a flower geek.”

  “Oh, do I hear the pot calling the kettle black, Ms. There’s-a-

  little-too-much-sugar-in-these-cupcakes?”

  Sasha chuckled. Yeah, admittedly, she had said that when she had tried the key lime cupcakes earlier. “Okay, maybe we’re both geeks.”

  “Yeah, I think we’re evenly matched.”

  In this romantic fairy garden, the words seemed to linger between them and take on a deeper meaning. Was it just her, or did Ashley feel it too?

  But it didn’t matter, she reminded herself. Tomorrow, they would go home, and things would go back to normal—whatever normal between them would look like.

  She trudged up the stairs behind Ashley. They both smelled of wood smoke and ocean air, so Sasha escaped to the bathroom to unbraid her hair and take a shower.

  Once she was done, it was Ashley’s turn.

  Sasha lay in bed, waiting for her. Would Ashley want to be held tonight too, or had that been strictly a one-time thing? Sasha didn’t know what she should wish for. Another night with Ashley in her arms would be pure masochism. She needed some distance, not more intimacy. But she knew if Ashley asked, she wouldn’t say no.

  Damn. When had she gotten so weak? Just two months ago, she had been independent, easygoing Sasha, who wasn’t looking to be tied down. And now…

  A gasp from the bathroom interrupted her thoughts. She jumped up and hurried to the bathroom. “Ash?” she called through the door. “You okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, yeah. I rubbed the towel across my back and discovered that I got a little sunburned.” Ashley sucked in an audible breath. “Okay, a lot sunburned, actually. At least it feels like it.”

  Sasha winced in sympathy. “You should put some after-sun lotion on it. There’s some next to the sink.”

  “Um, like I said, it’s on my back. I can’t reach.”

  “Oh.” Sasha stared at the bathroom door between them. Should she offer to help? Just the thought of touching Ashley’s bare back and smoothing lotion over her soft skin made her feel as if she had a sunburn too. Bad idea. Really, really bad idea. But instead of backing away, she heard herself say, “Want me to do it?”

  For several seconds, she heard only silence, then Ashley said, “That would be, um, nice of you.”

  Nice. That was the last word Sasha would use to describe herself right now. Nervous, confused, eager—yes. But not nice. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

  It wasn’t a problem, right? She could do this. Put some lotion on Ashley without letting her hands—or her eyes—wander, go to bed, and sleep.

  “Okay, I’m coming in. Are you decent?”

  A nervous giggle came from the other side of the door. “Well, as decent as I can be while still allowing you to put lotion on my back.”

  Trying not to picture Ashley’s state of dress…or undress, Sasha reached for the doorknob. Her palms were damp, so she quickly wiped them on her boxers. Slowly, she pushed the door open.

  Ashley stood at the sink, her back to Sasha—her very naked back. She was wearing only a pair of panties, clutching her sleep shirt to her chest.

  Sasha’s gaze zeroed in on the bare skin on display. God, she so much wanted to run her fingers across it and soothe the hurt away.

  “Um, does it look bad?” Ashley asked.

  Bad? No, it looks beautiful. Sasha stopped herself from saying it. She tore her gaze away from Ashley’s back and met her gaze in the mirror above the sink. “No. But it is a bit sunburned.”

  Slowly, Sasha stepped closer. The narrow space between them seemed to buzz with electricity. She swallowed and gently brushed Ashley’s hair over her shoulder so it wouldn’t get in the way.

  Ashley h
eld very, very still. Was she even breathing?

  Sasha’s fingers were a little unsteady as she reached for the bottle of after-sun lotion and squeezed a bit of it into her palm. She rubbed it between her hands to warm it, then hovered her fingers over Ashley’s back before slowly lowering them.

  Ashley sucked in a breath. A visible shiver went through her.

  Instantly, Sasha stilled her fingers. “Am I hurting you?”

  Ashley shook her head. “It was just, um, cold for a second.”

  “Okay. But tell me if I do hurt you.” Tenderly, she smoothed her hands over Ashley’s back, from her neck to her hips. Her skin was warm beneath her fingers and so incredibly soft. She longed to caress every inch of it and slide her hands to her sides, where it might be even softer, and then to her front. Jesus, this was insane. When her need became too strong, she recapped the bottle of lotion and turned away under the pretense of washing her hands at the sink, hoping some cold water would help regain her composure.

  “Is it starting to feel better?” she asked over her shoulder to cover the awkward silence.

  Ashley didn’t answer.

  Sasha shut off the water, reached for a towel, and turned.

  Ashley was still standing in the middle of the bathroom, clutching the sleep shirt to her chest instead of sliding it back on.

  “Ash? Hey, you okay?” Gently, she touched one slightly sunburned shoulder and guided her around so she could see her face.

  A storm of emotions darkened Ashley’s eyes. She reached out and gripped the fabric of Sasha’s T-shirt with one fist. “No,” she whispered. “I’m not okay. Not at all.”

  Sasha lifted one hand and cradled Ashley’s face. “What’s wr—?”

  Ashley gave a desperate tug on Sasha’s shirt. Then her lips were on Sasha’s.

  Oh holy…! Whatever fuses had held Sasha back blew in a spark of desire. She slid her hands along Ashley’s smooth, lotion-covered back and drew her closer as she returned the kiss with equal passion.

  Their tongues slid against each other. Ashley tasted of key lime cupcake, but on her, it didn’t taste too sweet at all.