Loving Ashe Read Online Free PDF Page B

long before I met you,” he said, slipping his hands inside his jeans pockets as he walked towards her.
    “You still made me feel better about what I would have ended up doing – or rather, not doing, for that matter.”
    “Why would you feel anything but better about it?” Ashe asked, frowning. “Did you really want to see him again?”
    “Him? No, I mean, I had a few questions for him, but in the end it wasn’t worth it.” Riley exhaled. She really had to go. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Ashe. Dinner was fun.”
    “Thank you, Riley,” he said. “But it’s late. I can have the driver take you home.”
    “No, thanks,” Riley said, shaking her head. “I’ll take a cab.”
    “Can I call you some time?” he asked, taking another step towards her.
    She stared at him, unable to believe her ears. She would love to give him her number, but then what? He’d just be another Gareth, only this time, he was already at the top of his game, whoever he was. Gareth had been a nobody back then. She’d paid for everything just so he could go to his acting classes and his auditions, and Riley never complained because she loved him.
    Three years later, she just might not be over Gareth at all if she ended up dressing in the skimpiest dress she owned and buying a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes — on sale — that would probably end up returned or never worn again, all because he sent her a text saying he missed her.
    You always fell for his lines, Ri,
her older sister Paige had told her more than once.
That’s why he’s an actor. What other job gives someone the perfect excuse to lie?
    No wonder Riley had stopped watching movies the moment Gareth left her three years ago.
    “I had a wonderful time, too,” Riley said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “But suppose I don’t give you my number and say that I did. Or let’s say I did give you my number and you lost it, misplaced it, or maybe deleted it by accident. It happens all the time.”
    “That would be lying, and I hate lying. But I understand what you’re saying,” Ashe replied as thunder rumbled overhead and a large drop of rain fell on Riley’s nose. “Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?”
    “I’m sure,” Riley said, just as a limousine stopped right in front of Ashe and an older woman with long blonde hair leaped out of the rear door, calling his name. And just then, as Riley waved goodbye and turned away, the skies opened up.

4
Witless Protection Program
    It was pointless to argue on principle that Riley didn’t need a ride home when she obviously did – especially in the middle of a rainstorm. And with Ashe stubbornly refusing to get into the limousine unless she did, he left her with no choice. No point in being stubborn only to die from pneumonia as a result.
    From what Riley gathered as she scrambled into the limousine in front of Ashe, the blonde woman’s name was Collette, and right now she was not a happy camper as she sat across from Riley. Sitting right next to Riley, his dark hair miraculously still perfectly styled, Ashe offered her his jacket. Her shirt was drenched and one could practically see right through her lace bra and even more.  As she allowed him to rest his jacket over her shoulders, she saw that he was just as soaked from the rain as she was, but as he raked his fingers through his dark hair, she had to admit that it suited him.  Even his white shirt – or wet shirt at this point – revealed defined muscles along his chest and shoulders.  If she looked lower, she was sure to see a six-pack, but Riley didn’t chance it.  She’d probably drool.
    She should have just gone back into Lee’s and waited till the rain stopped before hailing a cab, she thought. It would have been a much better fate than sitting opposite a seething blonde with daggers for eyes. Collette had a nasty habit of glaring at Riley and then at Ashe, her mouth set in a thin line against her face. Then she’d switch