by Iris Morland
He laughed. Pushing the papers into some semblance of a neat pile, he got up to get plates and drinks for them both. Thea hadn’t texted to say she’d be coming over, but Thea rarely did. She came up with an idea and a minute later, she did it.
“I got vegan pizza for me, disgusting normal pizza for you,” she said.
“So, you got me the edible pizza?” Ash piled three pieces of the meat lover’s supreme pizza onto his plate. How did the sweet scent of cheese and grease always make a person feel better? Pizza could cure the world’s evils with just one bite.
“Eating animals is inhumane, but I already knew that you were evil.” Since becoming vegan, Thea had embraced the lifestyle with a verve that only served to amuse Ash. He made a point to tease her about it as much as she made a point to chastise him for eating meat.
“How many protests did you attend this week? Did you throw red paint on anyone?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose. “I only went to one, and it was just me and two other people.”
“What was the protest?”
“A chicken farm outside the city with horrible conditions.” Thea’s face fell. “You should’ve seen all those chickens, stuffed in that barn and so fat with growth hormones that they can’t walk—”
Ash held up a hand. “Not while I’m eating.”
“You mean not while you’re eating those very chickens?”
He took a huge bite of pizza. “Exactly.”
Ash had a feeling that Thea had embraced veganism and everything that came along with it because her life was in stasis at the moment. She hated her job as a receptionist, and although she was a talented artist, she hadn’t yet been able to make a living from her art. It didn’t help that she was so protective of her art—which consisted mostly of graphic novels—that she wouldn’t even let her family read or look at her work.
Thea was a total bleeding heart: she tended to try to save anyone and anything she could. Ash couldn’t judge her for it, although he’d never tell her as much. A younger brother had to keep those kinds of opinions to himself.
After they finished eating, Thea pointed to the pile of papers. “Doing work on the weekends again? I thought you had already finished everything with the restaurants’ taxes.”
“I did. This isn’t related to that.”
When he didn’t explain, Thea frowned. “Are you doing someone’s taxes for them?” Her eyes gleamed, and before Ash could react, she’d snagged a number of the papers and began rifling through them. “White Dahlia Jewelry—oh. I get it now. So you’re doing Violet Fielding’s taxes now? I hope you’re charging her a pretty penny.”
He gritted his teeth. “It’s none of your damn business.” He took the papers from her and returned them to the pile.
“Don’t tell me that the infamous Ash Younger, playboy extraordinaire, the man who wouldn’t drive me to the mall as a teenager without me agreeing to buy you something in return, is doing something for free.” She started laughing. “No way. You’re doing Violet’s books for free? Wow. The sex must’ve been really amazing for you to agree to that.”
“Thea,” he growled in warning.
“Hey, I’m just saying. Nothing wrong with being nice and charitable for once. I’m happy to see that you have a flesh-and-blood heart. I thought for sure it was made of stone.”
“I’m just helping her out. She needed it, and I offered. That’s it. I’m not a complete asshole.”
“Debatable. And considering what a huge mess this is, just from looking at it, I have a feeling this is a massive favor you’re doing for her. You must really like this woman.”
Ash wanted to push his sister out the nearest window. Or duct-tape her mouth shut. Why did older sisters have to be so damn nosy? He didn’t exactly pry into the details of her love life. Then again, Thea hadn’t dated much in the last few years, and the guys she had dated had been such wimps that Ash hadn’t had to threaten to beat them up if they hurt Thea, since she’d been the one to end things every single time.
“She’s nice,” he hedged, finishing off his beer. “Want another beer?”
“No, I’m good. She is nice. I was at her jewelry party Saturday. It’s funny—when I mentioned you, she suddenly stopped being so chatty.” Thea’s smile widened. “She seemed like she’d rather talk about cockroaches than talk about you.”
Ash was going to kill his sister, and no one could blame him for it. “Thea, just drop it.”
“No, no, I’m just saying that I know there’s something between you two, and the fact that you’re here, stewing about a woman when you never ever stew, is probably the greatest thing since the invention of the toaster oven.” She laughed and fell back against the couch. “Mostly because seeing you squirm is way too satisfying.”
Ash got up to get another beer for himself. Staring into the depths of his fridge, he once again wondered why the hell he was doing this for Violet. Why being around her mattered so much. Why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Why he dreamed of their one night together and yearned for many, many more nights with her.
He slammed the refrigerator door closed, the sound of it rattling immensely satisfying.
“If we’re going to talk about my love life,” he said as he sat back down, “we might as well talk about yours. Fair is fair.”
Thea shrugged. “Nothing to talk about.”
“Exactly. How long has it been? Three years?”
“Four,” she mumbled. “I’ve been busy.”
He snorted. “With answering phones? Come on, admit it: you’re just as fucked up as I am with shit like this. Our parents did a number on us all. We’re damaged goods. So what?”
Thea’s expression turned somber. “Is that what you think? That we’re too damaged to have something real?”
Ash fell silent. He’d always thought so. He’d told himself that love wasn’t in the cards for him, and he’d been fine with that. Love was complicated and messy and dramatic. He’d seen how Trent had been torn apart when Lizzie had run off, how he’d yearned for her for years. Was all that pain worth it in the end? Ash didn’t know. It sounded like a lot of bullshit to him.
“You saw how Mom turned out when Dad didn’t love her like she loved him.” He shrugged. “It ended badly.”
“That’s one way to put it. But do you really think that was love between them? I think it was a lot of manipulation and abuse. You don’t hurt people you claim to love.”
Ash wanted to slap himself. Why had he brought up their parents? He thought of his mother, of her battered face after his father had hit her, how she’d cry in her room for hours, and how nothing he or any of his siblings did could make her stop crying. How she’d been alive one morning and dead from an intentional overdose by the afternoon.
How their father had gotten meaner and meaner until none of them except Trent had gone near him. The first time all of the siblings had been in the same room with their father was when he’d been dying. That had been two years ago now.
His ex-girlfriend Kayla’s text rang in his mind again. Kayla had been gorgeous, but she’d been at loose ends for years and had gotten clingier and clingier with him. Ash had believed that she’d wanted to be in a relationship with him because he seemed like a good source of security for her. In an effort to help Kayla, he’d gotten her a job at a local restaurant and had found an apartment for her without consulting her. Kayla had thrown both offers in his face and had broken up with him right then.
You always push too hard, she’d texted later. He did things without thinking of the consequences; he thought he could order people’s lives because he was arrogant enough to think he knew better than them. Everything Kayla had said had pricked at him until he felt like he was covered in cuts and nicks.
Had he pushed too hard, or had Kayla simply overreacted? Now he didn’t even know. Lately, he didn’t know if he could trust his own judgment.
“Why does everyone think that having something real is that important?” he asked. “I don’t need marri
age and kids to make me happy. Not everyone is like Trent.”
“True, but it’s one thing if you don’t want that. It’s another if you deny yourself it because you’re convinced you don’t deserve it.”
Those words rang in his mind after Thea left, and he began to look through Violet’s books again. Although he was exhausted, there was something about these books that nagged him.
As he looked further into the entries, he realized that not all of them had been done by William. There were at least three other bookkeepers who’d assisted on some level, some doing a better job than others. Ash frowned. Had William hired help without Violet knowing? And more importantly, had one of these bookkeepers cheated Violet out of her own hard-earned money?
Ash began taking notes, trying to follow the clues. He hoped he was wrong, but as evening turned into night and he turned red-eyed with fatigue, he became more convinced that someone had skimmed money from Violet’s business.
11
Violet scanned the occupants at the bakery, The Rise and Shine, and let out a breath of relief that Ash hadn’t arrived yet. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, but at the same time, she needed to prepare herself anytime she was around him.
Everything he did reminded her of their night together. He could do something as benign as tap his finger against his knee, and suddenly she’d be transported back to when he’d parted her knees and had sunk between them...
“What can I get you?” a girl with dark brown glasses and pink hair asked Violet. The girl smiled, showing perfectly straight white teeth.
“An Americano with room for cream, please.”
“Cream in an Americano? I’m going to have to write you up,” Ash said over her shoulder.
Violet jumped a little and whirled to face him. “You scared me!”
“You didn’t hear the front doorbell jingle?” He grinned.
She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard anything. Blushing, she turned back to the cashier and paid for her coffee, avoiding Ash’s amused eyes. He ordered and came over to the table Violet had snagged in the back of the shop. A number of people were already there, but luckily, she didn’t recognize anyone she knew. The last thing she needed was anyone gossiping about her being with Ash.
“Your text last night kind of freaked me out,” said Violet, trying to sound lighthearted and failing. “I hope my books weren’t that bad.”
Ash’s grin quickly fell away, his forehead creasing. Taking out his laptop from his bag, he moved his chair closer to Violet’s so he could show her some spreadsheets. She inhaled his scent, the hair on the back of her neck prickling. Her heart thumped so loudly that she almost didn’t hear what he was telling her.
“The numbers, they just wouldn’t add up,” he was saying, pointing to one of the spreadsheet’s cells. “It took a while because everything was such a huge mess, but I hate to tell you this…” He took a deep breath. “Someone was skimming from your business. Money is missing.”
It was silly, really, but she hadn’t expected to hear that. She’d expected to hear Ash scold her for her poor bookkeeping, or for him to recommend how to do things better. She’d thought that it was all just a mess, not that someone had been stealing from her. She felt the ground shift under her until it took her a moment to regain her bearings. North was south, east was west, and nothing made any sense.
“Do you know who it was?” Her mouth was dry as she asked. She felt a bit like she wanted to throw up.
“Did you know your husband hired bookkeepers to help? Because I found evidence of at least three handling the accounts.”
“Yes, I knew. I mean, it was for such a short time with each one that honestly I’d forgotten he’d even hired any, but it must have been one of them. How much money do you think they stole?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m guessing at least ten thousand.” At Violet’s groan, he put a hand on her shoulder. “If these bookkeepers were around for such a short time, are you sure…?” His voice trailed away.
She stared at him. When he looked away, she realized what he’d been asking. “Are you asking me if William had something to do with this?” The thought was so absurd that she barely restrained herself from laughing. “Can a husband steal from his own wife anyway?”
“Maybe not in the eyes of the law, depending on how you had your business set up, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have hidden money that you were unaware of.”
She shook her head. She felt dizzy, and she wrapped her arms around herself, like she could ward off Ash’s wild claims. Not William. There’s no way. He never would’ve betrayed me like that.
“That’s not possible,” she whispered. “William wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t a thief. He loved me. Why would you even suggest such a thing?”
Ash held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even suggested it since I have no proof. It must have been one of the bookkeepers.” He pulled out his phone and began texting someone. “Let me contact my brother Phin. He’s a lawyer. He’s not in business law or marriage law, but hey, he’ll at least know who to talk to, if all else fails.”
Violet felt like someone had shoved her underwater, and she couldn’t swim fast enough to the surface. The water was thick, viscous, and she felt it pulling her down, down, down. Panic settled inside her chest. She couldn’t push the thought of William stealing from her out of her head, no matter if there wasn’t any proof that he’d committed a crime.
He wouldn’t have. There’s no way. He was a good guy. Our marriage was happy and normal, and it had its problems, but don’t all marriages?
“Wait,” she said to Ash. He looked up in surprise. “Please don’t text your brother about this. I need to think.”
Ash blinked. “I just sent the text. Shit.” He leaned toward her, his forehead creasing. “Violet, are you okay? You look really pale.”
Hearing that he’d already sent the text made Violet want to shrivel up and die from embarrassment. She should never have asked Ash for help, she thought in a panic. She should’ve filed for bankruptcy and let the business go. William had always told her that it wouldn’t end well. You aren’t good with numbers. How can you run a business if you’re bad at something so important?
Ash put his laptop away and took her hand, which she realized was shaking. “We’ll figure this out,” he said in a low voice. “When I said I’d help you, I meant it. I don’t know if we can save your business, but I’m going to try my hardest. I know how much it means to you.”
She took a deep breath, then another. Eventually, her heart slowed; the panic began to recede. “Thank you,” she whispered finally.
After that, they sat in silence, drinking their coffee. Ash seemed lost in thought, and Violet found herself studying his profile, much like she had done when she’d first seen him at the Fainting Goat a month ago. It was silly, but watching him like this calmed her nerves somehow. Maybe because he looked so capable, so strong. Like he could handle anything the world threw at him.
In the sunlight pouring through the bakery’s windows, his handsomeness was only magnified. To her delight, his hair sparkled in the sunlight, the light bringing out the red in the strawberry-blond strands. A light dusting of a beard dotted his cheeks and jaw.
“What color is your beard?” she asked abruptly.
He blinked before laughing. “Um, it’s kind of reddish blond? But it’s patchy and doesn’t grow in very well, so I always shave it. Why?”
“No reason. I like you clean-shaven. It shows off your jaw nicely.”
His teeth flashed white as he smiled. “Is that a compliment? I can’t believe it. I thought we were platonic business associates now.”
“Don’t push your luck. And anyway, that doesn’t mean I can’t admire my business associate from afar. I’m not blind.”
“Neither am I.” His gaze traveled from her breasts to her face, and Violet felt that gaze like a hand caressing her. “I have to say, you’re the most beautiful business asso
ciate I’ve ever seen.”
She laughed. “You’re shameless.”
“I know, but you like it.” He leaned so close that his breath ruffled her hair. “I can’t stop thinking about you, you know. How you looked when I was inside you. The way you said my name when you came.”
Violet’s blood heated until it boiled. The entire bakery faded away, and it was as if they were the only two people in existence. She closed her eyes, her own memories flooding back to her.
Why do I keep saying no? It doesn’t have to be serious. God knows he knows his way around a woman’s body.
Violet had the sudden urge to give in a second time, but when William’s face appeared in her mind, she shook her head. Disgust replaced desire. Where had the staid, boring Violet gone? How had she transformed into this person she hardly recognized? A person who had one-night stands. A person who had forgotten all about the man she’d loved and lost, like he’d never existed.
“I should head home,” she said as she rose from the table, almost knocking the chair to the floor. Grabbing her coffee, she didn’t stop to hear Ash’s protest. When she heard footsteps behind her, she just picked up her pace.
“Dammit, Violet.” He grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. “How many times are you going to do this? Run away from the obvious?”
Her face turned hot. “I’m not running away. I’m leaving what is obviously a situation that’s not good for me. Or for you, for that matter.”
“Why? I want the exact reasons why I shouldn’t throw you over my shoulder, take you home, and fuck you until you’re hoarse from screaming my name.” He crowded her until her back was against her car. “Because unless you give me a good reason or five, I’ll know for sure that you’re just running away.”
She shivered, but not from fear: the intensity in Ash’s gaze only sparked her own desire for him. She wanted him to take her back to his place and fuck her. God, she wanted that. She wanted it so intensely that she couldn’t find the words to tell him that this was all a bad idea.
“It doesn’t matter how much I want you,” she said softly. His gaze heated at her words, but she shook her head. “I do want you. You know that. That doesn’t mean it won’t end badly for us both. Just because I want to eat an entire pan of brownies doesn’t mean it won’t make me sick later.”
