by Box Set
“What?” Maggie yelled, her voice echoing through the kitchen. “How the hell did he not remember you? What an asshole! I don’t care that he is Troy’s best friend, this seriously makes me question my love for him.”
Ashlynn heard Troy’s affronted, “Hey,” in the background and rolled her eyes. “Shut up, you know you adore Troy. It’s not his fault his friend is a devil in expensive clothing.”
“Okay, but be honest…he’s pretty hot, right?”
Ashlynn would admit no such thing. She would not confess to checking out that muscular build, or avoiding his incredible blue eyes because of their irresistible magnetic pull.
God, she was pathetic. After everything he’d done and everything she knew him to be, she still mooned after him like that lovesick girl who’d sported the huge crush on her savior.
“Yes, he’s still a good looking guy, but that’s how he reels you in. Makes you fall for the champion of the weak and unpopular, and then he kisses you until your toes curl and bam, he leaves town. Nothing. Nada. Zip for twelve years. And then, when he does show up and happens to be your neighbor, he doesn’t even remember your name.”
“So, you’re not bitter or angry at all. Good to know,” Maggie said dryly.
“Is this the only reason you called?”
“No, it is not. I also want to make sure you show up in something hot tonight, and not just jeans and a t-shirt. We’re celebrating, which means dressed to the nines with heels, a boob shirt, and if I see a scrunchie, I will not be responsible for my actions.”
“Whoa, you’re kind of being a dictator…emphasis on the dick,” Ashlynn said.
“Is it too much to ask that on a night out with my girls I don’t feel like you’re ready to bail at any minute to go home and stream some stupid comedy and cuddle with that disgusting dog of yours?”
“She doesn’t mean it, Bernie,” Ashlynn crooned. Bernie lifted his head from where it had been lying on his paws and cocked it to the side.
“See, and you’re talking to him now. You need to get out of that house, away from all your crazy patients, get drunk and possibly make out with a sexy guy who will knock your socks, pants and underwear off!”
“Maggie, let me make this very clear.” Taking a huge bite of her turkey sandwich and chewing it slowly, she could hear the impatience vibrating through the phone.
“Did you put me on mute or something?” Maggie called.
“Nope, was chewing my lunch, but if I get even the slightest suspicion that you’re trying to set me up tonight, I know a hundred ways to murder you and make it look natural. So, whoever you told to show up tonight, you better call and cancel.”
“Why? You’re a single adult in need of some serious loosening up. Why not let your freak flag fly?”
“Because that’s how naked pictures of me ended up plastered all over town.”
Chapter 3
Bash stood at the bar with Troy and a few more friends, nursing a whiskey as he watched the people inside Broken Promises Saloon. Well, technically, he watched one woman in particular.
Ashlynn swayed to the beat of a Brantley Gilbert song, her long dark hair like a chocolate waterfall around her shoulders. She laughed at something Troy’s fiancé, Maggie, did. The tiny redhead with curls like Shirley Temple was cute, nice, and Troy obviously adored her. Maggie had at least come over to kiss Troy and say hi.
Her friends, however, hadn’t even addressed Bash when they’d walked through the door, Ashlynn in her white halter top, jean skirt, and brown cowboy boots. She’d come up to the bar and bought three shots for herself, Maggie, and their other friend, Karianne, before shooting them back and heading out onto the dance floor. Karianne, who had champagne blond hair and a set of hard green eyes, had glared daggers at him as Ashlynn pulled her along by the hand.
Troy had filled him in on why Ashlynn hated his guts, but he still hadn’t figured out the right way to talk to her. To explain that he’d had no idea the two of them were being photographed and if he had, he would have climbed out of the car and beat the shit out the culprit. He had never been the guy to kiss and tell, and he would especially not have done anything to hurt or embarrass Ashlynn.
It was still hard for him to associate the strong, vivacious woman on the dance floor with the shy, curvy girl he remembered. The one who had been paired with him when she was a freshman and he was a junior on their Biology project. He’d hated school and was ready to be done, but having just returned from Saddle Creek, he was determined to at least graduate. John, the man who’d run the boys camp, had taught him a lot in those six months. About respecting himself enough to do what was right for him and protecting people who couldn’t do it themselves.
He'd given all the boys at the camp a list of rules, and Bash had tried to live by them as best he could. And talking about your conquests was definitely a violation of John’s teachings.
Which was why Bash had never said a word about that night after he’d finally graduated high school, when he’d come upon Ashlynn, who was a sophomore, surrounded by a group of guys from their school. She’d been struggling not to cry, he could tell by the set of her shoulders and the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“What’s the matter, chunk? No smart-ass comment now? Huh? Not gonna call me dumb?” Paul Jacobs was the same age as Bash and was leaving Promise behind with a full-ride football scholarship to some school in Florida. Bash had always thought he was a prick with a massive ego, but had never thought he’d be the type to gang up on one girl.
Ashlynn didn’t say a word, just kept backing away as the circle closed in.
Paul grabbed her arm and pulled her up against him. That seemed to wake her up and she started struggling.
“I think you should make it up to me. Apologize properly.”
All of it happened fast, and before he knew what he was about to do, Bash stepped out of the shadows. “You’re going to let her go. Now.”
“Whoa, hey man! Where did you go?” Troy asked, pulling Bash out of the past.
“Nowhere, just thinking about what I’m going to say to get Ashlynn to talk to me.”
Troy shook his head. “I would just let it go if I were you. She’s been stewing on her hatred of you for a long ass time. No way is an explanation gonna disintegrate all that.”
Bash finished off his glass of whiskey with a hiss. “Even if I’m innocent?”
“Especially that. Otherwise, she has no one to blame anymore except the unknown prick who took the pictures.”
Bash had gone searching for the pictures last night after the Wi-Fi had been hooked up at his place and he had to say, they weren’t even that clear, which was probably why he’d never seen them before. Most of them were of the back of his head, except that one of his bare ass, but even that was fuzzy.
He still couldn’t figure out how someone had taken a picture of them without the flash going off. He hoped at least if a big white light had flashed through the window, he would have noticed.
Then again, he had been a little busy.
The girls came back over to the bar, and Bash stepped forward, about to ask to buy Ashlynn a drink, when another man slid in beside her. He reminded Bash of Toby Keith, a blond giant with big teeth and curly hair to his shoulders.
“Hey there, Ash. Can I buy you a drink?”
Bash knew the guy, but couldn’t place him until Ashlynn called him Nick.
Nick the Dick. And the nickname wasn’t for his attitude.
“Sure, Nick. You know I never turn down free booze,” Ashlynn said.
Nick had been the year behind him, but had played varsity football since he was a freshman, due to his size. The guy was still built like a brick wall, but had always been a good guy. At least, from what Bash remembered of him.
“How’s it going, Nick?” Bash asked.
Nick turned to see who was talking to him and his eyes widened. “Holy shit! Sebastian Valentine!” Nick held out his hand and when Bash took it, he found himself brought into a big hug against Nick�
��s massive chest. “It is good to see you.”
Bash finally pulled back and caught Ashlynn’s look of disgust. At least she wasn’t pretending he was invisible anymore.
“Thanks, you too, man,” Bash said.
“I’ve got all your movies! You are awesome. Hey, what was it like to work with Bruce Willis? I saw him once when I was delivering in Sun Valley, but I couldn’t even talk!”
“Delivering?” Bash asked.
“Oh, yeah, I work for FedEx. Man, I can’t believe you’re here!”
Nick handed Ashlynn her shot without even looking, his attention on Bash, while Bash watched Ashlynn glare at the back of Nick’s head.
“Well, Bruce is a real professional guy, easy to work with,” Bash said.
Ashlynn finished her shot and slipped her arm through Nick’s. “Hey Nick, do you wanna dance?”
“In a minute, Ash.”
This time, Ashlynn’s glare was directed at Bash as she headed back onto the dance floor, her friends close behind. Bash’s gaze followed the way that short jean skirt twitched back and forth, and he decided then and there that before the night was through, he was going to have a little talk with Ashlynn.
“So, tell me more about being an action star. Do you do all your own stunts?” Nick asked.
Just as soon as he could shake his new super fan.
***
Ashlynn was six shots in and feeling really good. Besides the few encounters with Sebastian she couldn’t ignore, she was actually having a blast just dancing with her girls, forgetting about all her stress and responsibilities.
“Want another shot?” Karianne asked.
“Woo hooo, shots!” Maggie shouted.
Troy had agreed to take them all home at the end of the night, so they were all pretty hammered, and Ashlynn’s common sense tried to break through the haze of alcohol.
If you have another one, you’re going to be hugging the porcelain goddess tomorrow.
But three sheets to the wind Ashlynn cheered, “More shots!”
The three of them danced their way through the crowd of people who had filled up Broken Promises Bar in the last few hours until Maggie threw her arms around Troy, who was leaning against the bar with his friends.
“Whoa, you having fun, babe?” he asked.
“Yes. I just love you so much. ’Cause you are gonna be my husband.” Her voice was high and singsongy and Ashlynn made a face when Troy kissed Maggie sweetly on the lips.
“What’s up, you don’t like Troy?” Sebastian asked next to her.
Where the hell had he come from? Ashlynn turned toward him with her arms crossed. “What are you talking about?”
“You were making a face at them, and I asked if you didn’t like Troy.”
“Of course I like Troy. He’s a good guy. I just don’t like his taste in friends,” Ashlynn said.
“Come on, Ash, let’s get the shots,” Karianne said.
Sebastian stepped in front of Ashlynn before she could move. “I think the two of us need to have a conversation. I know what you think I did, but I had no idea anyone was taking pictures.”
“Whatever, I don’t even care anymore, it was so long ago,” she lied.
“Then why are you acting as if I’m the anti-Christ? If you’ll just let me explain—”
“Or you could just stay the hell away from me, and we’ll be all good.”
Sebastian’s beautiful mouth thinned into an angry line. “Have it your way.”
He walked away from her toward the entrance, and Ashlynn found herself chasing after him, ignoring her friends calling her name behind her. She stepped out onto the wooden steps and saw him opening up the door to his car.
“So, you’re going to take off again without a word?”
Sebastian paused halfway into his car and looked up at her. “I’m just going home.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Ashlynn had no idea why she was pushing him like this, especially when she’d told him to leave her alone, but when he slammed his door and started marching back up to stand toe to toe with her, her world spun a bit.
Whoa, was he always so tall?
“That night, after we finished and I drove you home, you said thank you, and got out of my car without giving me a phone number or anything. And then, I got home and my old man and I got into it and he kicked me out. So, I left town a little earlier than I’d planned and I had no idea that the girl who had practically jumped out of my car to get away from me actually wanted me to call her.”
Ashlynn didn’t remember it that way at all. She’d remembered awkwardly getting dressed, and listening to him talk about getting the hell out of this town. Her heart had sunk deeper with every word as she realized that she’d just had sex with the guy she’d been crushing on for two years and he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
Humiliated, she’d barely been able to manage that quiet thank you before she’d started balling her eyes out. She’d run into her house and broken down across her bed, heaving sobs into her pillow.
And then the next day, her tears had given way to fury.
“You kept talking about leaving town, so I figured that was it. I didn’t know that I wasn’t even going to warrant a good-bye.”
“I was an eighteen-year-old kid! I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, but I had my own shit going on,” he said.
“You’re such a jerk.” The shout cost her dearly as her stomach started to turn. Bile rose up in her throat and before she could stop it, she was bent over and vomiting.
Right on top of his shoes.
“Shit.” He jumped back out of sight, and she continued to heave, tears gathering in her eyes, blinding her. Someone had taken her hair into their hand and was rubbing her back softly, murmuring. She realized it was Sebastian and she wanted to scream at him to stop being nice to her, but couldn’t speak.
Sucking in air, she decided that if she was going to be struck by lightning and die swiftly, this would be the time.
And then she wasn’t thinking at all as she pitched forward and proceeded to pass out.
Chapter 4
Bash grimaced at the squish of vomit under his feet as he carried Ashlynn down the steps and placed her into the passenger seat of his car. This wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined his first night back in Promise ending. He’d figured maybe he’d explain to Ashlynn what happened, and then it would be on her to accept the truth.
He hadn’t expected her to blow up and chase him down. Never dreamed she’d vomit on his thousand dollar shoes.
And he especially hadn’t expected to be driving a passed out Ashlynn home. He’d texted Troy to let him know she was with him, and then turned up his classic rock station, trying to drown out his busy brain.
What had he been thinking trying to talk to her when she was shit-faced? Hell, she probably wouldn’t remember half of what he’d said in the morning.
He pulled into her driveway ten minutes later, and when he lifted her into his arms, he smelled the rancid scent of vomit. Jesus, had she puked on herself? He was going to have to clean her up. There was no putting her to bed in the clothes she was in.
The sound of deep baying came from inside the house, and Bash realized that her giant ball-butting dog was just waiting for them the minute he opened the door.
Damn it. Would the dog freak out and attack him if he caught him carrying his mistress?
Making a crazy decision, Bash put Ashlynn back in his car and drove back out and into his driveway. He wasn’t fully unpacked, but at least he wouldn’t get mauled for being a good guy.
He managed to unlock the door and carry Ashlynn inside, kicking his soiled shoes off. He took her up the stairs to his bedroom.
When he flipped on the light, she mumbled a bit, but didn’t stir. He could see the stain on the front of her white halter and fought his own urge to puke.
God, this was going to be a fucking mess. Would it be wrong if he set her on the floor to change her?
He decided that if he could just keep her o
n her back, it should be fine.
Laying her on top of his bed, he left for a second to get a towel, a warm wet washcloth, and grabbed a t-shirt out of his dresser as he came back into the room. He laid the towel on the ground and took off his socks and pants, starting a pile of dirty clothes on top.
Ashlynn hadn’t moved, her hair fanned out in a tangled mess around her head. He wiped around her mouth and chin, but then she groaned and tried to turn on her side.
“Stop licking me, Bernie,” she mumbled.
Bash stopped his ministrations, laughing quietly at being mistaken for her dog, and dropped the washcloth on the towel. He had gotten her face clean anyway, but now he could see that even her skirt had droplets of vomit.
There was no leaving her in her clothes—at least, not in his bed. Kneeling in front of her, Bash pulled off her boots and socks first, and then, with a deep breath, reached for the snap of her skirt.
He jumped when she grabbed his hand weakly, and he peered up to find her sitting up slightly, watching him with half closed eyes.
“What’sa doin’? she slurred.
“I was just trying to get you changed. Your clothes are covered in puke.”
“Oh. Sanks.” She flopped back on the bed and he waited for a second until he heard a soft snore.
Well, at least she’d acknowledged she knew what was going on. That had to lessen the creep factor a bit, since getting her out of her filthy clothes was still a necessity, if he didn’t want to be cleaning puke off his bed tomorrow. He pulled her skirt down the length of her legs before he changed his mind, trying not to look at her pink lacy panties. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with him? He fished her keys and phone out of her pockets and set them on the nightstand.
Finally, he just had the halter top to go, and he had no idea why his palms were sweating so much. He was careful as he lifted her into a sitting position and untied the halter strings behind her neck.
When he’d wrestled the halter up and dropped it onto the towel, he was left with one last conundrum. Did he remove her bra or was that going too far? The thing looked uncomfortable, if the way her breasts pushed up over the top was any indication.