Chapter Ten
Ashton
I was going to kiss her. I had her in my arms; my lips were on her neck. And then they showed up.
Never in my life had I been so disappointed to see my friends.
And with their arrival, and their eyes on us, our great teamwork in the kitchen came to an end. It was a fiasco with them watching us. I dropped the eggs, Nina overfilled the waffle maker, making a huge mess on the countertop that Julia told us not to worry about.
All I really wanted was for them to leave us alone.
And as we placed the burnt bacon, the chewy waffles, and the unsweetened cream that tasted like crap on the buffet table, I knew Nina could be the one for me.
Well, the other one for me.
I had found true love once, and now it seemed I was being offered a second chance.
As we sat at the breakfast table, barely eating the meal we’d had such great hopes for until it all went awry, Nina took all the ridicule right along with me. “Yeah, yeah,” she said to them all. “It was going well until you four showed up. That’s all I can tell you. Right, Ashton?”
With a nod, I agreed. “It was going well.” I cut my eyes to look at Nina, who was suddenly blushing.
I knew she was remembering the near-kiss we’d almost shared. I knew she would’ve kissed me right back. There was a tablecloth hiding us from the waist down, so I moved my hand over her knee and felt goosebumps pepper her satin-smooth skin. It made my dick hard, simply touching her like that.
Nina made me feel like a whole man again. I’d lost that man. But she had found him, somehow.
I had no idea how she had managed to punch through all the armor that surrounded my heart to set it free again, but she had. And I was ready to let it all down.
Artimus had planned out all of our time for our last day. “We’ve got shopping at the local markets next on our itinerary. And don’t even think about saying you don’t have any extra money to spend.”
Nina was quick to say, “I really don’t, Artimus. I can just stay here while you guys go. Or I can go and just window shop, I guess. I don’t really like window shopping, though. It’s like, when I have money, I can’t find anything I want. When I don’t have any, I find so much that I want.”
“I’ll stay here with her. I don’t need anything, and I hate to buy things I don’t need.” I was just making any excuse I could to get to be alone with her again.
Julia had brought a bag with her, and it was near her feet under the table. “We’ve gotten you all some little gifts to say thank you for being our guests for the weekend.” She put a small pink bag in front of the ladies and small black bags in front of Duke and myself. “Go ahead. See what we’ve given you guys. You know you’re our very best friends in the whole world.”
Lila whined, “I feel bad now, you guys. We didn’t give you anything. We would’ve brought wine and a cheeseboard, but you have much better wine than we could buy anyway.”
“And cheese,” Duke added.
Artimus stepped in. “Don’t even think about that. You gave us the pleasure of your company for the entire weekend. You could’ve done anything you wanted to, and you chose to spend it with us. Now enjoy what we’ve given you and stop making a fuss.”
Nina nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. “Thank you, guys. This is an unexpected and very nice surprise.”
“Yeah, thanks, Artimus, Julia.” I gave them my thanks, with Nina’s urging, even though I didn’t think they needed to give us anything. “Just being your friend is enough for me, but the present is appreciated.”
Lila peeked into her bag. “What’s in here?”
Duke reached into his bag then pulled out a bottle of 80-year-old scotch. “Whoa!”
“Keep digging,” Artimus coached him.
I watched as Nina and Lila each pulled out bottles of rare and very expensive bottles of wine. And when I pulled out the largest gift of mine, I found the most expensive bourbon money could buy.
The girls got some jewelry; Lila, emeralds, Nina, sapphires. Duke and I got watches. And at the very bottom of the bag were prepaid Visa cards. The holders they came in told us there was 5000 dollars on each card.
“Shut up!” I shouted as I stood up.
I didn’t bother holding back; I went to Artimus and hugged him, then picked Julia up and swung her around as she yelped, “Ashton Lange!”
Everyone followed suit, hugging and thanking our hosts for everything, including the fun-filled weekend. And we all told them how they didn’t have to do that every time we came for a visit.
So, with money in hand, how could we not go along with our hosts to the markets?
That meant that alone time with Nina would have to wait once again, and that I’d have to keep my hands more or less to myself. It didn’t feel right to make any move, other than holding her hand as we walked around the shops.
Her hand moved over a gorgeous silk wrap. There were blues and greens woven through it, and it would look great on her. She pulled up the price tag. “Oh, no.” She quickly put it back.
I picked it up to see what the issue was. She’d just gotten a nice little bit cash, after all. “Nina. It’s just five hundred dollars. You can afford that.”
“No way!” She looked at me as if I was nuts. “Are you crazy? That’s way too much for anything like that.”
The way the saleslady looked at her made me cringe. We were shopping in the Hamptons. People around this place didn’t balk at prices if the item was worth it.
The woman waddled up to us, her nose turned up. “I can assure you that the wrap you’re looking at is an item that you could use with many other articles of clothing. It could work with everything, from adding a little splash to a black cocktail dress, to wearing it around your waist when you’re in a bikini. It serves many purposes and would add to your wardrobe, I can assure you.”
Nina looked at me over her shoulder. “Something this pricey wouldn’t quite match the rest of my wardrobe. Thank you, though.”
Nina walked away, and I leaned in to whispered to the saleslady. “Put it on hold, and I’ll be back for it in a little while.”
With a smile, she took it off the rack. “Thank you, sir.”
With a nod, I left to catch up to Nina, who had already made it to the next shop. I bumped her shoulder with mine. “You know, if your wardrobe needs some punching up, now is the time to do that. You’ve got more than enough money to do that right now.”
She looked around. “These prices are all outrageous.”
I had to agree, but she needed to get some things for herself. She deserved to treat herself. “Okay, how about the main things a woman needs in her closet?”
“Like?” she asked, with a shake of her head.
“You tell me. I’m not a woman.”
Tapping her chin, she thought about it. “I like to have a good pair of boots for the winter. Those things can be very expensive if you want good quality that will last.”
“And what about that little black dress that lady back there talked about?” I reminded her. “An expensive one would see you through many years. And each time you wore it, you could change up the look with an accent piece.” I knew I was making progress when her head started swiveling around.
“Yes, you’re right about that.” She went to a rack of stylish dresses and began looking through them. But then her eyes went to me. “And what about you? What are some things that you need and haven’t bought for yourself in a while?”
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I had no idea where to start. “My apartment could use some homey touches.”
That was no joke. I had one sofa. I had bought that brand new, though. It was nice, a dark leather piece. My windows had miniblinds on them, but I had never bought curtains to make it look homey.
My apartment wasn’t my sanctuary. It was the place I lived, and that was about it.
It was in a nice building. And the small two-bedroom, one bath, was very nice. All hardwood floors, tile in the kitchen and bathroom, granite countertops throughout the kitchen and bathroom, all the bells and whistles. But it didn’t feel like home. Mostly because I hadn’t ever made it into a real home.
Natalia would’ve made it a home.
I shook my head to clear it. I couldn’t be thinking about that. My life was changing, moving forward.
Julia and Lila showed up with their husbands, and the girls went crazy over all the clothing. We men were put on the back burner, and Artimus told them that we would be doing some shopping on our own. All they needed to do was give him a call, and we would meet back up.
I left with my friends and found Artimus taking us to a small Irish pub to grab a drink. We all sat at a small round table in the dimly lit place, which smelled of dark beer and salty bread. “Did this weekend earn you Nina’s favor, Ashton?” Artimus asked me with what I could only guess was his attempt at an Irish accent.
Duke jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow, joining Artimus in the running for the world’s worst Irish accent. “Did you get her where ya wanted her?”
“This weekend wasn’t exactly about getting her into bed. I think more of her than that.” I took the beer the waiter handed to me and took a drink of it. It was a stout beer, with lots of hops and barley. The foam was thick and creamy, and I took another drink. “This is good.”
Duke raised his mug, and so did Artimus. “Here’s to you and Nina. It’s about time.”
I clinked my mug to theirs before we all took a drink.
It was about time. I knew that. I had lived far too long in this limbo-like state.
Sure, I hadn’t fallen behind in my career. I hadn’t become some drunk who couldn’t function. But I had lost myself when I lost Natalia. And now I was ready for what lay ahead of me.
A future with Nina.
And I could tell she wanted that too. She wasn’t playing with me. She was laying down the brickwork to make sure we would have a solid foundation to build on.
“How did I get so lucky to have a woman like Nina Kramer care about me?” I asked my friends.
Duke, always the joker, said, “No one knows for sure, you old dog. Just be thankful, and don’t drag your feet much longer. Hell, you’ve already made the girl wait two years for you.”
He was right, on all fronts. And just as I was about to make another toast, the bartender turned up the television and the broadcast took my attention as the reporter on screen gave us the date and the local weather.
Duke and Artimus looked only at me as I watched the television. “I forgot what day it is.” I looked back at them. “Today’s the anniversary of Natalia’s death. I have lived for this day each and every year since she died. And now I’ve forgotten it. Nina made me forget about her. I promised I’d never forget about her.”
I can’t let this happen.