Page 74 of The Master

She rolled her eyes. “Let me rephrase. I’d forgotten what it was like to have a friend closer to my age. Someone who gets my references as more than just ‘old Mom’ pop culture.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Is it weird that my boyfriend and my dad were best friends before my dad knew I existed?”

“Ash, sweetie, there isn’t one normal part to our family, and that’s what makes it great.”

“Excellent point.”

“All right!” Finley announced as he came back inside. “The meat is ready. Let’s eat!”

And that ended the serious conversation for the rest of the day. Which was perfect, because I’d had enough serious to last me a while.

Forty-Nine

Nate

The other shoehadn’t dropped yet, and I was starting to think that it wouldn’t. It wasn’t that I thought things were going to be perfect, but they were moving in a positive direction. We’d spent hours at Roberta’s house, and there hadn’t been a single snide remark sent in my direction or even a hint at an argument. In fact, I’d spent the majority of my time getting to know my niece and nephew better, and no one had even suggested that perhaps I wasn’t the best role model for impressionable young minds.

“Today was a good day.” Ashlee’s words echoed my thoughts.

“It was,” I agreed. “Thank you.”

“What for?”

If I hadn’t known her well enough to know that her confusion was genuine, I might’ve thought she was fishing for a compliment.

“None of this would’ve happened without you.” I parked the car and turned in my seat so I could face her. “I never would have tried to patch things up with my family if you hadn’t encouraged me. Isti would still be going after other people, and I would be in one more dead-end relationship. I use that word loosely.”

“Then I need to thank you too,” she said. “Because I doubt I would’ve ever had the guts to tell Finley that he was my dad, and I definitely wouldn’t have talked to Mona.”

“That’s why we’re a perfect fit. We take care of each other.”

“Mom always said that the way a couple knows that they’re meant to be is if they’re better people together than they are apart.”

“Your mom is smart.”

“That she is.”

As we made our way to the penthouse, we shared the bits of news we’d each gotten and made what I was quickly learning was the general small talk that couples had when they weren’t focused on the latest disaster in their lives. Nothing about it was obligatory or strained, not like the conversations I’d had to force with other women.

I watched Ashlee putting leftovers in the fridge, moving things around to make room, and it struck me that this was what people meant when they referred to domestic situations. She was comfortable here, and I liked it. I liked having her here, seeing her things next to mine. I liked having someone to cook for and eat meals with.

“Nate, why are you staring at me?”

I took the few steps I needed to bring me close enough to put my arms around her. “I enjoy watching you.”

She went up on her tiptoes and lightly kissed my lips. “Why don’t we go to bed and I give you something else to watch?”

I slid my hands down to her ass and squeezed. “What do you have in mind?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m torn between having you watch me touch myself or having you watch me go down on you.”

I closed my eyes. “Fuck,le soleil,” I ground out. “Impossible choices.”

“Unless I go down on you first, and then you watch me until you’re hard again.”

She was going to kill me.

“I choose option C.”

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