Her smile lit up the room, and that seductive laughed warmed him from the inside out. How he had managed to stay away from her for so long was beyond him. Other than the random company party that Ashleigh would attend, or an impromptu invite to Xavier’s house, Alex had managed to keep Ashleigh off his mind. But the moment he saw her again, no matter how much time had passed, he’d spend days trying to get her out of his head.
That had all been up until he had kissed her. Since then, there was no erasing her from his mind. She was a permanent fixture at this point.
“Dylan tells me CISS is branching out.”
Alex took the opportunity for what it was.
“That’s the plan. XTX is still our biggest client, but we’ve seen an abundance of interest lately. Cole Ackerley attended a vendor’s conference in Vegas earlier in the month which seemed to have drummed up some business.”
“How’s Dylan doing with all of this?”
It was no secret that Ashleigh and her brother were close. Alex also knew she was concerned about Dylan and the way he’d been coping with his wife’s death eight years prior. He wasn’t normally one to share personal information about the people he knew, but he knew Ashleigh only wanted to know because she was loved Dylan.
“He’s coming around.” Alex told her as he placed his fork on his plate and reached for his wine glass. “I think now that he’s close to Stacey, and Nate is doing better, it’ll get easier for him.”
“He’s had a hard time since Meghan died.” Ashleigh admitted, a sudden sadness etched into her beautiful features.
“It’s been a long time.” Eight years to be exact. And though they had all given him a wide berth, it hadn’t been easy. Being his friend, Alex had considered interfering on more than one occasion, but thought better of it. Dylan had been devastated after losing his wife and Alex figured it wasn’t his place to determine when he should put the past behind him and move on.
“He’s been cooped up for years, running that ranch and essentially living in total seclusion. I don’t see how he could get out from under the memories even if he wanted to.”
Ashleigh watched him, her brown eyes full of emotion. “When he tried to talk me into moving back,” she began, “I told him that the only way I would come back was if he did. That resulted in a couple of long discussions, but I think in the end, it all worked out.”
“How does it feel to be back?”
Ashleigh picked at the food on her plate before turning her attention to him. “I didn’t think I would ever want to, but I’ll be the first to say it’s been good for me.”
“How so?” Or better yet, why hadn’t she wanted to come back? That wasn’t a question he was willing to ask her yet.
“Dylan isn’t the only one who’s been isolated. And just like my brother, I brought it on myself.” She told him, sipping her wine. “Last night’s party? That’s the first time I’ve been out for anything other than book signings or one of my author groups.”
Alex could totally relate. “Don’t feel bad. Other than work, I don’t venture out much. Logan’s always trying to get me to hang out, but now that he’s married, it isn’t the same.” Alex and Logan had been known to tie one on every now and then, but since the man up and got married, Alex hardly saw him.
Other than the party Ashleigh was referring to, Alex hadn’t gone out much lately either. Not even on a date.
Ever since the word had gotten out that Ashleigh was thinking about moving home, Alex hadn’t found much interest in dating. What that said about him, he didn’t know.
“So, tell me about this book writing business.” Alex said, encouraging her to open up more.
~~*~~
Ashleigh had to hand it to Alex; he was trying hard to make this as uncomfortable as possible. It wasn’t working.
From the moment she pulled into his driveway, she wondered what brought her to this point. Not to dinner specifically, but to Alex in general. For years Ashleigh worked to avoid him and he’d returned the favor.
If only she had forgotten about that one night the same way he had, she might just be able to sit at the dinner table, carry on mundane conversation and not feel as though she were not supposed to be there.
She could go on and on about writing, or any other topic he seemed to be interested in, but in the end, where would it leave them?
“What are we doing?” Ashleigh finally asked, sitting her fork down and pushing her plate away.
“Last I checked, this was called dinner.” Alex commented slyly, but the concerned look in his eye told Ashleigh that he was thinking the same thing she was.