Ash

The second Ash stepped foot back into New York City, it was like a siren sounded throughout the entire state. He made his way for his penthouse apartment that overlooked the city, and by the time his first night was over with, he had fourteen invitations to different exclusive events. Charity balls and opening nights of new clubs. VIP access to bars that only Hollywood elites frequented. Restaurants with their private parties and political figures wanting to schmooze him for his money.

But he ignored all of them.

That wasn’t the point of him being back.

There was one, however, he couldn’t ignore. Mostly because the invitation kept coming. Through the mail. Through his phone. Somehow, even through his email. An old college buddy of his—Jeremy—was literally begging him on his technological hands and knees to come to a new club that was opening. A club his friend held part ownership in. His friend was petrified that if the club didn’t give off the right vibe to the city, he would lose his investment.

And having Ashly Worthington at his club would give it the notoriety it needed.

Ash decided to do the guy a favor. After all, they were good friends back in college. Just because he had a falling out with his family didn’t mean he had to push all his friends away, so Ash pulled out his best suit and got ready. A navy suit with a crisp white shirt, matching shoes, and a vest that clung to his slim waist. He pulled out his best cuff links and made sure every hair was put in place.

The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass his family in their hometown.

Because that meant they would know he was home. And they’d descend on him like a herd of wild animals.

Ash tried to push Kallie from his mind. He hadn’t heard from her and he was growing anxious. He was so confident in the fact that she would call. Confident in the fact that the second she read that note, her number would have popped up on his phone. But two days have gone by and he had heard nothing. No phone call. No voice mail. No text message. Nothing. Ash was beginning to think that what they had on the island was fabricated. A product of the alcohol and the decadent foods and the beautiful, romantic landscape.

And a night out on the town would help Ash clear his mind.

Ash rode to the club and pulled up in his best town car. But when he approached the front doors, he saw the club was already packed to the gills. His friend found him immediately and shook his hand before bringing him in for a massive hug. He figured there was someone, somewhere taking pictures of the moment. Ready to blast it out to the magazines and get the name of the new club out there for everyone to see. But Ash was used to that kind of thing. Every friend of his, no matter how close, always needed to use his fame and prestige for something eventually. To forward their own agenda or create their own business. That was why Kallie had intrigued him so much. In some ways, it was why he liked her response to him having money.

Even though her response to him had driven a wedge between them.

After his friend talked with him for a little bit and thanked him for coming out to their opening night, Ash retired to the quiet VIP section of the club. It was glassed off from the rest of the place and the music wasn't as loud, which gave Ash somewhere to perch and think. But staring at the crowd through the glass quickly made him feel like a fish in a bowl, and he didn't like it. It reminded him of why he’d left New York in the first place. Even though the space was quiet, he didn't like the fact that someone had to be wealthy in order to have the experience. To shake hands with the owner of the club. To perch in a little glass house that was more comfortable than the rest of the floor below him. Ash hated the way the wealthy were treated as somehow more special than the rest of the community.

The rest of humanity.

The longer Ash sat in his seat, the more it reminded him of why he had pulled away from his family. His parents would have loved something like this. They would have loved the private butler that came up to Ash and offered him a drink he didn't even order. They would have loved being suspended in this small glass house, so they could look down their noses at everyone else grinding on the floor below them. Tease them. Ridicule them. Pick apart their outfits and laugh like it was a joke created for their pleasure alone. It was like the rich needed to be insulated from the crowd but still visible. So that the less fortunate had something to aspire to.

That was the ego rich people carried around. That was the ego his parents carried around. And it was the kind of ego Ash left behind when he took up his place on the island.

To him? It was all bullshit. Every last bit of it.

Ash took the cocktail from the man with the tray and figured he would have one drink. People could take their pictures and his friend could ride off the coattails of his name, then he could return to his apartment and the seclusion it provided for him. He didn't care for New York. He didn't care for its constant press of people. The crowded clubs and the paparazzi clamoring for pictures of the rich and famous. Clamoring for tidbits of his life they could sell to the front pages. St. Barts was quiet, even during the tourist months. And even when the tourists were on the island, there were plenty of secluded areas for him to go and enjoy himself. Enjoy the beauty and the solitude of the island.

New York didn't have those kinds of places. Everywhere he turned, there were people who wanted to know him. People who wanted to benefit from him. People who wanted to ask for his money and pitch him ideas for start-ups he could invest into, so they could go straight for his wallet.

Ash hated New York City.

He quickly downed the drink in his hand, not even pausing to figure out what he had been offered. Then he set the empty glass down on the table beside him and stood to leave. He scanned the dance floor one last time and took in the people below him. Grinding and drinking and having the best time surrounded by their friends.

But then, something caught his eye.

A familiar copper-colored head that bounced around in the crowd.

Was it possible? Could that be Kallie? Ash pressed his hand against the glass window and it made him hate the encasement even more. Yet another barrier between him and what he had to come to New York City for in the first place. He watched the copper hair bounce around in its braid as wisps of curls flew from its confines.

Then the head swiveled around and Ash got a glimpse of those bright-green eyes.

Seeing her face was like a punch to his chest. It left him breathless as he gazed down upon her from his perch. She looked so beautiful in her green and yellow dress as it fluttered with her moves on the dance floor. And she didn't even know it. Kallie was completely unaware of the men who were staring at her. Gathered around her. Watching her and some girl, who donned nothing but sweatpants and a tank top, as the two of them danced around with drinks in their hands.

Ash was rooted to his spot.

She was nothing like the usual females who fawned over him. Fell over themselves to introduce their names to him. She was nothing like the gold diggers and the tall, thin-legged women who tried to get in well with his mother before they even met him. Watching her dance on the floor, swiveling her hips and hugging her friend tightly, it made him miss her. He wanted to be the one dancing with her. He wanted to be the one pressed against her. He wanted to be the one she smiled at.

Like they had on the island.

He closed his eyes and relived the moment. Remembering the feel of her body against his.

Ash had been infuriated when he showed up at her apartment and saw another man at her place. He had hit his private gym for a few hours to work out his rage over that fun little surprise he was met with. He tried to place the face of the man. Tried to figure out who he was that night by searching his phone. But he couldn't come up with anything and he knew he didn't know the man, and for a brief second it reinforced his fears. That what he had with Kallie was nothing but a fantasy on the island. Holiday hookup for her like she had started out for him.

But she wasn't out with him tonight. She was out with a friend of hers.

Did that mean something? Was his anger misplaced?

Maybe this was the chance Ash had been waiting for. Maybe this was his chance to approach her again, since she hadn't called him. He didn't feel right showing up at her apartment after he dropped off those flowers. He wasn't going to beg her for a second chance. She was her own person and if she didn't believe in second chances—if she wanted to be with whoever that other guy was, or even if she just didn't want him—that was her choice. He had no right to force her into making any sort of decision. He had no right to corner her and make some sort of argument as to why he was good for her. If she couldn't see that with what they had already experienced together—couldn’t feel it in her bones like he did—then there was nothing he could do about that.

But there Kallie was, not with that man from her apartment, but with a friend. Out in public. Vulnerable. Accessible. It would be nothing to accidentally run into her and brush it off as a coincidence.

Maybe this was fate giving him a second chance.

Maybe fate was who he needed to ask for a second chance in the first place.

Ash left the quiet VIP lounge and headed down the stairs. He shook hands with his friend one last time and clapped his back, then set his eyes on Kallie’s body. He headed into the crowd, her copper hair in his vision as he slid between the rocking bodies of people bouncing on the dance floor. Men were gawking, and he didn't like that. People were staring, and he didn't like that. The last time a man had gawked at Kallie, she left the club with a bruise. And that wasn't happening again. Not on his watch.

Tonight, Kelly was going home with him.

No matter what it took.