We made quick work of painting the rest of the wall, though it was four a.m. when we stood back to observe our work.
“It’s gonna be great.” She grinned and the hope in her eyes reminded me so much of the passion my sister had for this place that it made me physically sick to my stomach.
“Night, Millie.” I put the cap on the paint and just left the ladder and tarp out. I’d deal with it in the morning, I couldn’t look at this girl anymore tonight. She was breaking down walls I didn’t even know I had.
With a frown, she nodded. “Night, Ashton.”
It was a long time before I could fall asleep.
Chapter 10
Millie
The next morning, I piled into his old powder-blue pick-up truck. There was rust on the hood and the door was dented.
I raised one eyebrow. “This thing runs?”
He glared at me from behind the wheel. “Do you want to walk?”
Dammit, he had a point.
“Touché.” I got in and shut the door.
“Buckle up,” he told me, eyes on me like a hawk. I clipped in and only then did he pull out of the parking garage.
We rolled through downtown and then out onto the interstate and I quickly realized the truck didn’t have A/C.
“We should have rented a car. I can’t breathe.” I rolled down the window, gasping for air.
He grinned, side-eyeing me. “Awe, princess needs her air conditioning?”
I flipped him the bird. We had this weird banter where we were constantly at each other’s throats while simultaneously checking each other out. His gaze was on my bare legs and mine was on his biceps.
Lord help me.
“What’s in that?” He pointed to the cupcakes I’d made his gran. I couldn’t sleep after all the weird sexual tension pinging through us last night as we painted the wall together. Him with his shirt off, me bending over a little too far to give him a view of my ass. What was I doing? Did I want that kind of attention from him? Was I ready for it?
Yes. The straight up answer was a big fucking yes. With all the guys I’d tried to date after Colin, it was a disaster. I compared every single one of them to him and was legit repulsed at the thought of kissing anyone but Colin. But with Ashton, he was so far from Colin there was no point in trying to compare them and he was so good looking I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
The only problem was … he had my dead husband’s heart in his chest. The first guy to make me come alive in a year and it had to be him.
I covered the cupcakes with my bare leg. “Nothing for you.”
“I’m hungry.”
“You eat all day long. I’m amazed you have that body.” I realized the moment it left my mouth what I’d said.
A slow smirk crawled up his face but he didn’t say a word. Fiddling with the radio, he turned on some country music.
Ugh. I hated country with a passion. It grated on my nerves like a dying cat, but I was determined not to show him my weakness, so I just balled my hands into fists and sang the ABC song in my head.
I lasted a whopping three songs before the dude belting a ballad about beer and shotguns made me snap. Reaching out, I flipped to a rock station.
Ashton side-eyed me and leaned forward, flipping it back to country.
Fuck my life. I couldn’t have less in common with this man if I tried.
“Oh come on, you don’t want to listen to country the entire way do you?” I gave a nervous laugh and reached for the dial. His hand snaked out and clasped mine. Something warm and tingly shot down my chest through to my belly and settled right between my legs. It took me a second to recognize it as desire. I hadn’t felt that feeling since Colin.
The thought shocked me and caused me to pull my hand back.
“My car. My music,” was all he said.
I crossed my arms. “Fine.”
Two more songs in and my eye began to twitch. I bopped my leg up and down wondering if I could just jump out of the car and take an Uber. Did Uber come all the way out here? We were officially leaving the city. Signs of the country started to come into view and it made me nervous when I could no longer see a Starbucks on every block.
Reaching out, I lowered the volume. “So, did you grow up around here?”
He grinned. “You would rather talk about my childhood than listen to country music?”
I nodded.
Busted.
He reached behind his head and grabbed his neck, rolling his head to the side. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll answer three questions about my life and no more country music, if you give me two cupcakes.”
“Two!” I guarded the cupcakes with my hands. “One. You’ll spoil your lunch.”
He side-eyed me. “I could eat all twelve of those cupcakes and still have a full plate of fried chicken with all the fixins.”
“Barf. You’re a garbage disposal.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Reaching out, he flicked on the country music, louder than before, and settled back into the seat.
Motherfucker!
“Fine!” I snapped. Smashing the power button, I reached down to pull out two cupcakes.
“They’re maple pecan and ba—” Before I’d finished, he plucked one from my hand and shoved it into his mouth, taking half of it down with one bite.
He moaned. “We should sell these.”
I crossed my arms. “Yeah, sure. I have time to cook and bake.”
“What’s the difference?” he spoke through muffled bites.
I just glared at him. I wasn’t
