by Lexy Timms
She looked over the side of the boat and set her reflection before Ash’s face popped up beside hers.
Kallie’s eyes flew open and she scrambled from the tub. She unplugged it and dried herself off, her entire body shaking. No. She couldn’t allow her mind to keep dragging her under the way it was. Ash was gone, and there was nothing she could do about that. James took his revenge and he had won, and the only thing she had was moving forward.
Moving on without the man she’d fallen in love with.
“Kallie?”
Eris knocked on her door as she slipped back into bed.
“Yep?”
“Taking another nap?”
“I am.”
“How was your bath?”
Kallie didn’t know how to answer that question, so she kept silent.
“Listen, Jeremy wanted me to tell you that we’ve all been invited to a party tonight. It’s supposed to be quite the bash. Apparently, that’s why Jeremy was coming up this weekend,” Eris said.
“Have fun,” Kallie said with a murmur.
“Jeremy has to go so he can rub elbows and promote his club. You know, businessman shit and all.”
“Okay,” Kallie said.
“Jeremy wants us to come with him.”
Kallie sighed. She should’ve known better. She should’ve known her friend wouldn't allow her one fucking weekend to herself. She pulled the covers over her head and turned over, trying to cloak herself in darkness. She felt the bed buckle at her side before Eris’s hand fell to her back, and gently her best friend began to rub it.
“I know I said I would give you the weekend—”
“Yes, you did,” Kallie said curtly.
“But you can’t let him win,” Eris said.
“No one’s winning, Eris,” she said as she threw the covers off her and sat up. “No one’s winning in any of this. Where the fuck do you get that kind of word anyway?”
“Kallie, come out with—”
“I said ‘no,’ Eris. No to the parties and no to the public and no to the damn Hamptons. But you won’t shut up about it! You won’t back the fuck down! Yes, I’m heartbroken. Yes, I fell in love with Ash. Yes, James is a fucking asshole and yes...! I’m hurt! But I don’t process things the way you do, and I don’t act the way you do because I’m not you, Eris. I never have been and I never will be.”
“I’m not asking you to be me,” she said.
“But you are, Eris. This is how you process things. You go out, fuck a bunch of dudes, and get over it. And I tried that, Eris. I went to the island. I snagged me a man. I had my one-night stand. And then I fell in love with him, Eris. Because it’s perfect. He’s kind, and gentle, and passionate. He’s patient, and caring, and so unlike the people he surrounds himself with. I tried it your way, and I got screwed over by the man who screwed me over on my fucking wedding day!”
Kallie trembled in the bed as she pulled the comforter up to her chin.
“Stop making me do shit I don’t want to do,” Kallie said.
“Then stop giving in to shit you don’t want to do,” Eris said.
“What?”
“Get real, Kallie. No one makes you do anything. You wanted to go on that honeymoon to get away, but you didn’t feel you deserved it. You wanted to give into Ash, but you didn’t feel it was right. I’m not someone pushing you to do things you don’t want to do. I’m someone who’s encouraging what you already want to do because you’re so stuck fighting yourself all the damn time.”
“Get out,” Kallie said.
“Come to the party.”
“Get the fuck out, Eris, or I’m catching a cab home.”
“Jeremy and I will be ready at eight to leave.”
“Get out!”
Eris got off the bed as Kallie sank herself back down beneath the covers. She felt her entire world careening out of control. She felt her emotions getting the best of her. She felt trapped and loose and unbalanced and hinged shut all at the same time. And she needed her best friend’s voice out of the equation.
“I know you’ll show up,” Eris said, “so know this. I’ll protect you at that party. From whatever comes. But I know you don’t want to coop yourself up. You know how I know this?”
Kallie buried her face into the pillow and unleashed her tears of loneliness.
“Because deep down, you don’t want to be alone right now. You don’t want to be around Ash, but you don’t want to be alone.”
Kallie groaned into her pillow and she listened as Eris shut the door. Closed her off from the world and blanketed her body in darkness. She lay there, partially clothed in the king-size bed as she turned Eris’s words around in her head. She didn’t want to go to this party. She didn’t want to be around people. She didn’t want to throw herself to the fucking sharks and she sure as well didn’t want to get dressed up to do it.
But Eris was right about one thing.
One painful truth that made Kallie feel weaker than she’d ever felt.
She really didn’t want to be alone.
Chapter 4
Ash
Ash’s pounding head pulled him from his deep slumber. His eyes were swollen and his mouth was dry. His throat hurt and his body felt useless. His hangover was rough. Worse than he’d ever experienced. He slid from bed and stumbled into his bathroom, then thrust his face underneath the faucet. He drank and he drank. He swallowed the tap water down until his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth. He felt pathetic. Idiotic. Useless. But he wasn’t going to spend the day moping around.
He’d done enough of that.
Ash resolved himself to the party. It was the entire fucking reason he’d left the city in the first place. And seeing Kallie once for a couple of minutes wasn’t going to take that from him. Sasha had a bottle of wonderful booze with his name on it, so he was going to make the best of the situation. Even though he felt as if there was no point to it.
Kallie was lurking around, and he felt like she would jump out at any moment. Corner him and start talking to him with her soft lips and her lilting voice. Those innocent eyes and that beautiful hair he missed fisting in the palm of his hand. The mere idea of her being in the Hamptons burned him to his core. Did she really have no regrets? Did she really not give a shit as to what she’d done to him? It was as if the consequences of her actions had no bearing on how she lived her life. She didn’t give a shit that she hurt him. Broken his heart. Broken the heart of her ex.
He sat back on the corner of the tub and closed his eyes.
He couldn’t let Kallie take this party from him. He expected her to be wilting away in her apartment, but apparently, she wasn’t going to be doing that. She wouldn't be crying herself to sleep every night over what she’d done. Over the havoc she had wreaked on him. But that didn’t mean she had to have a hold on him any longer. He would go to that party and he would have the time of his life and he’d find himself a nice piece of pussy to lie with so he could forever wipe her scent from his skin.
His eyes whipped open before he drew in a deep breath of air.
That was it.
That was what would cure Ash of the hold Kallie still had on his heart.
Ash dumped himself back into bed and slept off the rest of his hangover. And when he returned back to the world of the living, it was time to get ready for the party. He showered and shaved. He combed his hair back with a bit of gel. He put on his best linen shirt with a pair of shorts that hung low on his hips. Showing off all the bits and pieces of himself women couldn't get enough of. He slipped into his flip-flops before he splashed some aftershave on, then he grinned. It was the best he had looked in days, and it was finally time.
Time for him to rise from the ashes and find himself another woman to bide his time with.
But once Ash got to the party, the idea of touching another woman made him feel strangely ill. Suddenly, seducing Sasha didn’t seem like a good idea. Suddenly, grinding against all of the bikini-clad beach babes didn’t seem appealing. His plan
changed in a heartbeat. He would be polite to the birthday girl, say his hellos, and then avoid her at all costs before she got the wrong idea. The thought of sleeping with another woman sounded good to him in theory, but the idea of putting it into action revealed a deep truth not even he could swallow down.
He wasn’t ready to move on yet.
The sense of betrayal he still felt ran deep in his bones, but it didn’t stop him from still wanting Kallie. He was fucking disgusted with himself. Ash was ashamed of still wanting a woman like that. Usually, he would be looking around for his companion for the night. Sasha Benson’s party was the social event of the season, and there were plenty of women there with their sights trained on him.
But suddenly, the idea of a hookup sounded lame to him. Pathetic to him. And he had indulged in enough pathetic attempts for one day.
Ash walked into Sasha’s parents’ mansion and he was promptly greeted with a drink. Women wiggled their fingers at him and tossed him winks, but he shrugged them all off. Everyone who was anyone was at this party, so there would be plenty of people to talk with who didn’t want his cock. Who didn’t want his money. Who didn’t want his touch.
“Ashly! Over here!”
That grating voice caught his ear as he turned around.
“Oh no. Don’t drink that swill. Here, I’ve got just the thing you need,” Sasha said.
She took his hand and led him over to the bartender. She reached behind the counter and popped the lid on one of the most expensive scotch brands on the market. She poured him a glass and handed it to him, her smile gleaming up at him.
“To the birthday girl,” Ash said.
“Ah, to me,” Sasha said as she raised her wineglass. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
They clinked glasses before Ash threw back his drink.
“Want another?” Sasha asked.
He handed his glass to her and scanned his eyes across the room. But he didn’t get very far before his eyes stopped. He should’ve known his friend would be here peddling his club to the rich elite, but he never would’ve dreamed she would have come.
Ash would’ve rather had a hole in his fucking head.
“Something wrong?” Sasha asked.
Her tinny voice ripped him from his thoughts and he took the glass again. Kallie was there. Of fucking course she was there. With Eris and Jeremy, who couldn't stop hanging off each other. He wasn’t sure if Kallie had seen him or not, but he wanted to keep out of sight if he could. The last thing he wanted was another run-in with her. The last thing he needed was to feel the need to approach her.
So he grabbed Sasha’s hand and pulled her into a corner.
“Oh! Well, well. A little eager there, aren’t we, Mr. Worthington?” Sasha asked.
He couldn't stand how she’d always called him that.
Ash was annoyed. It felt like his entire life had been infiltrated by this one woman. And now, there was nothing he could do to avoid her. She was everywhere. Inside of him and outside of him. He would ignore her. Her and her entourage. Despite the fact that Jeremy was his friend and despite the fact that he wanted to know how the club promotion was going.
Instead, he would focus on the birthday girl.
“Not eager,” Ash said. “How is the party going thus far?”
“Oh, you know. Drunks in the ocean, naked people in the hot tub. Most of the rooms upstairs are already full with nightly lovers,” Sasha said.
“I hope you pay your maid overtime,” he said with a grin.
“Always on nights like these.”
Even though Ash told himself he wouldn't make himself readily available for Sasha, he was more tuned into her. Anything to avoid Kallie’s line of sight. He didn’t want to be looking over at her if she saw him, and he certainly didn’t want to be alone at a damn party if she found him. How stupid would that look? Her gallivanting for her next target and him moping in a damn corner?
Ash sipped on his drink as Sasha continued to rattle off about herself. So self-involved. So brainless.
“You know, I was thinking about my birthday presents,” Sasha said.
“What would the woman who has everything in the world get for her birthday?” Ash asked.
He watched her hand slide down his chest and he knew exactly what that meant. Her hand trailed along the hem of his shorts, her fake nails dancing along his Adonis belt. He threw the rest of his drink back and held the glass out for her. Signaling he wanted more. She leaned into him. Pressed her fake tits against him. Then she plucked the glass from his hand and turned to let him look at the view. She sashayed her hips a little deeper, trying to make curves out of straight lines.
He wasn’t remotely interested in Sasha for the night. Or ever. But at least if she was around, he didn’t have to worry about Kallie.
And the scotch Sasha kept pouring him wasn’t half bad either.
Chapter 5
Kallie
Kallie saw them. She saw that woman hanging all over Ash. The woman from the restaurant that day after walking through Central Park. It made her physically sick, watching the disgusting display. How Sasha went and fetched Ash drinks. How her hands trailed down his chest. How her fingers danced along the hem of his shorts. She might as well have stripped herself down and tattooed his name on her body. Kallie didn’t fit in with the crowd around her. That much she knew. But had she known Jeremy and Eris were dragging her to that stupid birthday party, she would have never attended.
Kallie needed some fresh air.
So she stepped out onto the porch.
The ocean breeze flowed through her hair as she leaned against the railing. She sipped on her fruity drink and watched the waves roll in. Her back was to the party and her eyes were cast to the darkened horizon. Her mind flew back to the yacht trip on the island. Where they sailed until the horizon was no longer present and lost themselves in the coral reef and the snorkeling. How they made love underneath stars exactly like the ones she was staring at. Times had been easier back then. Kallie laughed at herself cynically.
Back then.
The island was only three weeks ago.
“Looks like you could use some company.”
She panned her gaze over to see where that voice was coming from. In her mind, someone was talking to her. But the voice was commanding. Very unlike the people she was surrounded by. All the women were giggling, and all of the men looked like prepubescent surfer boys who hadn’t come into their own yet. But the boy who approached her didn’t look like all of the other guys. Still younger but had a tan to his skin. A strength to his body that boasted of his youth and what he could lift in the gym. His shoulders were broad and his eyes were kind, hidden behind a pair of thinly rimmed glasses.
“I’m Stanley,” he said.
“Kallie.”
Her eyes danced along his figure. Even with the dark-brown hair and the kind eyes, he couldn’t have been out of college yet. Which was good for Kallie. She wasn’t drawn to younger men nor could this man possibly have any sort of a fortune. He was too young. If she talked with him, no one could accuse her of trying to snake her way into his life. Into his wallet. He was a college kid probably here on his parents’ dime, partying it up with the rich and famous and trying to pitch his latest start-up.
“What brings you to the party?” Stanley asked.
“A friend of mine and her man-friend dragged me out,” Kallie said.
“Man-friend, huh?” he asked with a chuckle.
“It’s really the only term I’ve got for him.”
“Then it’s an apt enough term if it’s the only one.”
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“It’s the party of the year. Everyone comes to the Hamptons for it. Are you a friend of Sasha’s?”
“Hardly,” she said flatly.
“Ah, then it’s nice to find another like mind.”
“You don’t like Sasha?” she asked.
“Never been a fan of women who sail around on their parents’ dime, no.�
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Kallie furrowed her brow as she took another sip of her drink.
“So what do you like to do for fun here in the Hamptons?” Kallie asked.
“Honestly? There isn’t much to do. There’s swimming. Surfing, which I do none of. There’s partying and drinking. Then there’s my comic books.”
“Do you collect them or something?”
“Or something,” Stanley said with a grin. “I don’t collect them to show them off. I actually enjoy reading them, if you can believe that.”
“Plenty of people read comic books. My best friend, Eris, is one of them.”
“That the friend with the man-friend?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kallie said with a giggle. “That’s the friend.”
“I take it they ditched you for a room upstairs?”
“What’s upstairs?” she asked.
“Never mind,” he said quickly. “Do you read comic books?”
“Not really. I’m more of a beach novel kind of reader.”
“Ah, so the romances and the dirty mysteries.”
“More like the crime novels.”
“Ah, so you like the suspense,” he said.
“The suspense is the best part. If it’s good enough, it keeps me up all night.”
“I can think of a few things that would keep a woman of your caliber up all night.”
Kallie’s eyebrows hiked up and a shocked giggle fell from her lips. He was refreshing to talk with, even if it would only be a one-shot, platonic conversation. And it was nice to talk with a man she had no regard for other than a temporary conversation. They continued to talk about the things they enjoyed reading. Stanley described some of his favorite comic book twists and Kallie recommended some crime mystery novels for him to read. She felt relaxed for the first time since stepping into the house.
Then, a familiar voice interrupted their conversation.
“You better watch out, Stanley. You’ll end up married and broke before you finish your junior year of college if you keep this up.”
Kallie whipped her head around and frowned at Ash.
