Loving Ashe Read Online Free PDF Page A

dinner, I can pose with you outside.”
    The woman glanced at Riley, frowning, but Ashe continued to flash her his perma-smile. He was good, Riley thought, as his smile seemed to melt the woman’s initial icy reaction. She walked away, but not before taking a picture of Ashe anyway, the sound of the camera shutter barely audible above the din of the noodle shop.
    “So I guess this is where I ask you if you’re really famous,” Riley said. “It’s not every day that my dinner companion gets photographed on the streets of Manhattan by passing tourists, or approached at a restaurant while he’s slurping a noodle.”
    “Does it bother you?”
    “There you go again,” Riley said. “Answering my question with a question.”
    He smiled. “But you didn’t ask a question. You were wondering out loud if this would be the time to ask me if I’m famous.”
    “Are you?”
    He shrugged his shoulders. He’d stopped eating and Riley wondered if being recognized had somehow ruined his appetite. “Fame is relative. That woman may have recognized me, but then many others in this restaurant haven’t.”
    “So you
are
famous,” Riley said. “Does it bother you that some people don’t recognize you?”
    He shook his head. “No, and in fact, I prefer they didn’t. That way, I get to eat my noodles in peace and not worry about somebody taking unflattering pictures of me as I eat. Hopefully not with a noodle hanging from my mouth.”
    “I’m sorry,” Riley said.
    “It’s not your fault that some people can’t help themselves.”
    Riley took a deep breath. The conversation seemed to drag his mood down. The smile was completely gone. “So, do you like it? Acting?”
    “I do, yes,” he replied, the smile returning to his face. “I’ve been doing it now for the past ten years or so.”
    Three giggling teenagers walked past them and Riley thought they were about to line up in front of him and ask for autographs. But the teen-agers were more engrossed in what was on their phones than the people around them and had settled themselves at the next table.
    “Is this the part where I’m supposed to ask you what shows you’ve been on?” Riley asked.
    He chuckled. “This is the part where you get to ask me whatever you want.”
    Riley took a deep breath and thought for a moment. What would she ask, she wondered? She wondered if it bruised his ego, meeting someone who had no idea who he was. Perhaps Gareth felt the same way when someone didn’t recognize him. Back then, no one did.
    “People usually answer questions more truthfully when they’re under pressure,” Riley said. “So now it’s rapid-fire question time. I’ll take the first answer that comes to mind. Ready?”
    Ashe frowned, as if he didn’t understand what she meant. But Riley didn’t want to give him time to think. He could improvise if he had to, lie if necessary.
    “Morning person or night person?”
    “Night person,” he replied, a smile forming on his lips.
    “Are you funny?”
    “Unfortunately, no.”
    “Do you consider yourself serious then?”
    “Unfortunately, yes,” he replied, frowning. “In fact, tonight, someone just called me an old fart.”
    “If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be?”
    “Pepe La Pew.”
    Riley giggled, imagining him batting his eyes like the lovable skunk.
    “You’ve got to keep going, Riley, or it’s my turn to ask questions,” he warned. “And I have to warn you – I don’t take prisoners.”
    “If one song were to describe your life, what would it be?”
    “
I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing
.”
    “Aerosmith! That’s my favorite band! And did you know that they’re playing in Atlantic City – ”
    “Next question or it’s my turn,” Ashe warned, arching an eyebrow.
    “What do you like best about your job?”
    “Being someone I’m not – for a time.”
    “What don’t you like about your job?” Riley asked.
    “That you’re only as good as your last movie.”
    “When