Page 10 of Trustfall

Shit. I didn't see that coming. Maybe I misread our friendly conversation. Has he been flirting with me this whole time? The easy feeling I had slowly gives way to panic.

“Listen, Ashton. It has been surprisingly fun talking to you, but I’m just not in the right headspace for dating right now.”

“I understand. I'm not either. But if I go out with you, it'll get my mom off my back for a bit. Just dinner, no pressure. It'll be over before you know it.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

He chuckles. “Come on. Don’t make me beg.”

It’s just a phrase, one that people say all the time. I’ve probably said it to Allie a hundred times. But when Ashton says it—I’m thrust back six years. Six years. Six words. I was hesitant to go on a date with Jaxon at first. He asked me out every single day for a week before he uttered those words.

“Come on. Don’t make me beg. I will if I have to. I’m not above it,” Jaxon says with a wink, easy confidence radiating off him like steam in a hot shower. I want to say yes. I’m in college. On my own for the first time ever. Finally free to make my own decisions about my life, romantic or otherwise. Nothing is holding me back. Except this nagging feeling that this is too good to be true. Jaxon is too perfect. Too gorgeous. Too smart. Too sweet. But I guess I’ll never know if I don’t try…

“Okay, fine, but only if you take me to get Mediterranean food. It’s my favorite."

“You got it, Princess,” he says with a wink.

“Emory?” Ashton’s voice snaps me out of the past. “Are you okay?” Concern flickers in his eyes, and it stings a little. He’s a stranger. He shouldn't feel this way. Why should he care? I’m broken and numb, a shell of the girl I once was. I swallow hard, trying to push down the lump in my throat. Jaxon can’t keep holding this power over me. It's been three long years. I need to get a grip.

Maybe this is what I need to finally move on from him and get over my silly crush on Luke. Two birds, one stone.

“Okay, I’m in,” I finally say.

Ashton lets out a breath. “Shit. You sure know how to keep a guy on his toes,” he teases. “I have a pretty hectic week. Any chance you're available tomorrow night?”

“I work late on Sundays. How about next Saturday?”

“I’ll be in Boston for our new hotel opening.”

“Damn.”

He thinks for a second. “How about tonight?”

“Tonight? Lunch date and dinner date in one day? Are you trying to impregnate me, Ashton Tyler?” I playfully backhand his chest.

Ashton spits out the champagne in his mouth. He grabs a napkin and blots his shirt, looking panicky. I laugh and mop up the rest of the bubbly liquid from the table with my napkin. “Relax. I’m joking.”

“Oh, thank God.”

I giggle. “Hey, can I ask you a personal question?”

“You’re my new partner in crime. Of course you can.”

“Do you want to get married? Or have kids?”

“Honestly, no. I mean, I don’t think so. I guess I don’t know in the long run. But I definitely don’t want that right now.”

“I’m sorry you feel that you have to.”

“It’s part of the life we were born into, right? I know I can’t change my fate, but I can hold it off for a little longer.”

Ashton’s words make me even sadder than when he was worried about me earlier. He's trapped, just like me. But he's accepted his fate, while I refuse to give in. I don’t believe that marrying someone for my dad's business is the best I can do. But I can help Ashton delay the inevitable and let him enjoy his freedom a little longer.

Abandoning the marriage conversation for our earlier one, I pull my phone out and hold up a finger to him. “Let me check on something, but I should be able to make tonight work.” I shoot off a text to Allie.

Did you cancel your date yet?

Allie: Not yet. Why?

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