Tripp wiped the back of his hand over his eyes and took a deep breath to settle his nerves. “I love you, woman, and I want to date you,” he breathed. “Is that asking too much?” And there he was again, stressing Ashley out, making the desire of his heart sound like an accusation instead of a promise.
“Date? Just date?” she asked. But when she leaned into him and placed both palms on his chest, he knew she’d forgiven him for being a man.
Tripp trapped her lush, warm body against his, his arms crossed behind her back, his hands in her hair, and his fingertips unraveling that damned tight braid. “Yes, date. You’re right. It has been a rough couple days, and I am emotional. But that’s who I am. I cuss too much, and I can be one hell of an ass. I don’t think things through, and sometimes, I follow my heart instead of my brain. But I finally know what I want. At least, I know what I can’t live without, and it’s you, Ashley. It’s you. I love you and I’m keeping you.”
There. He’d said it, and somehow, that heartfelt declaration smoothed over the troubles of the day, like water poured over dying plants in the desert. At last, the crimped wonder of all that ebony silk cascaded over his hands and tumbled through his fingers and back into his life. Tripp could breathe again. Cherries and Ashley, his life blood.
He got it then. He knew. Somehow, between him and his mom, and, God bless him, Alex, things would work out. Trish would be okay. Well, as okay as she ever could be. Tripp knew he could look his boss in the eye tomorrow morning and not feel like a poor relative or a charity case. All because Ashley believed in Alex’s kindness.
But she needed to know what she was getting into. He took her head between his hands, tipped her chin up with his thumbs, and told her, “I’m not an easy man to live with. Nearly every penny I make goes to my mom and Trish. I never knew my dad, and there are days I wish I didn’t know my sister. She’s a vampire, a drain on my mom and everyone who comes into her life, and she’ll suck the life out of you, too. She’s a user in every sense of the word. Not just booze and drugs, but people, Ashley. Men especially. You don’t need someone like me and my family dragging you down. I come with a shitload of crap and—”
“How do you know what I need? What I want?”
“Look at me, for Christ’s sake, just look at me.” He bent his knees to peer into her eyes. “What do you see?”
Ashley lifted her hands to his face, her fingers stretched into his hair and her thumbs on his cheeks. “I see your mother’s gorgeous green eyes and her blonde hair. I see her strength and her devotion to you and Trish. I see her love.” Ashley inhaled a deep breath. “It’s written all over you, Tripp. I see the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, and he comes with a wicked sense of honor and pride, which he got from his mom. I see a man who spends most of his days and nights helping people who can’t help themselves.”
“I do love my mom,” Tripp admitted, wishing he didn’t sound like such a crybaby loser.
“And you love your sister. Even Driscoll could see that. That’s why he wanted you to suffer. You have everything he didn’t. Why are you so angry with Trish if you don’t care about her? Why’d you send money home when you were in the Army?”
She had him there. “She’s my twin,” Tripp answered quietly, the truth, as hard as it was, finally faced. “She’s a pain in my ass, but, yeah. She’s my sister.”
“And you love her.”
“I do.” Tripp took a deep breath of the luscious sweetness that was Ashley to her core. “I want you beside me for the rest of my life. I know it’s too damned soon, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve changed your mind about me, but I love you and—”
She lifted onto the tips of her toes and swallowed every last one of his fears.
Chapter Forty-Two
Ashley leaned into Tripp’s side on the short drive back to the hotel. After they’d walked Andy to her room and made sure she was settled in for the night, Tripp had all but dragged Ashley out of the hospital to his truck. He had to be as exhausted as she was. The minute she got into their room, she intended to find a phone number for Tate Higgins, to ask how Peewee was. Poor bird was probably scared—or not. Funny. She hadn’t worried about her baby until now. What kind of bird mother was she?
Tripp cranked the wheel into the hotel parking lot. At this time of night, all the close parking stalls were taken; he had to park in the rear lot. But there was plenty of overhead lighting, so Ashley didn’t think twice about their quick walk to the secure side door, not with the grip he had on her hand. Opening the door, he bent over and scooped her over his shoulder.
“Tripp!” she exclaimed from her upside-down view of the hallway and lobby. “Put me down.”
“No, ma’am,” he answered, his fingers splayed over her backside, holding her in place, and her hair flouncing over the backs of his long, lean legs. “You wanted a guardian angel, you’ve got one.”
“What will people think?”
That earned her a gentle smack on her ass. “You should know by now that I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Only you, Ashley. You’re all that matters to me.”
At least no one was in the elevator on the way up. He didn’t put her down. Just tapped his fingers on her butt
