Page 11 of Phillip

She glared, searching for the anger that she used to keep her reaction to him at bay. It didn’t come. Desperate to extinguish her rapidly heating emotions, she snapped, “Why are you doing this? Let Brock clean up your mess.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not? I screwed up. I’ll fix it.”

His flippancy was just what she needed, and Ashley rolled her eyes. “As if it’s just that easy.”

“It is,” he countered.

“Ha.” She snorted. “Maybe you should do the heavy lifting and learn what responsibility really takes.”

He chuckled. “Nothing about you has ever been easy.” His gaze dropped to her lips and lingered. “Guess we’ll see what you can teach me.”

She shivered. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what, Ashley?” His eyes roamed down her neck to her dress, and when she thought she might melt, they drifted back up to her face again. “I haven’t done a thing. Except”—he extended his arms—“create a disaster… or a brilliant public relations move, depending on who you ask.”

His cocky bravado cooled her scorching reaction to how he studied her, serving as a reminder of who he was. A man that couldn’t be serious. Dangerously so. It’d been hard to walk away from him, but the future was now, and she knew breaking up had been the right decision.

“Nothing to say?” he quipped.

Ashley shifted, trying to keep her high heels from sinking into the grass, and ignored him. She waited for him to leave. The minutes crawled by, and Phillip didn’t move an inch. The longer he kept quiet and stayed close, the heavier the urge to run became. She needed distance, needed her sanity. If he didn’t leave, she might snap and had no idea what that would mean.

Her heartbeat ticked in her ears like the second hand of a clock she couldn’t avoid. Every single beat yelled for her to escape. Ashley spun away. “I can’t do this.”

“Hang on.”

Her quick departure was hamstrung by her high heels caught in the soft grass.

His hand clamped onto her right shoulder, and his fingers gently flexed. “Ashley, stop.”

Her pulse pounded, and inexplicably, tears clogged her throat. She couldn’t run, couldn’t stay, and her useless legs refused to help her flee. Defeated, she twisted to face the man she desperately wanted to hate. “What?”

He licked his bottom lip then rolled his mouth together. His nostrils slowly flared as he pulled a deep inhale, letting it out just as slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“Good,” she managed.

“About this.” He squeezed her arm before letting go. “And before.”

Before…There was so much he didn’t know about before.

Bitsy materialized next to their conversation. “I understand you two used to date.”

Phillip’s grin made Ashley so sad. “Used to.”

“Used to,” she needlessly added, hating to agree with the truth.

Bitsy glanced from Phillip to Ashley, eyes dancing as she studied their dynamic. “My, it’s already been an exciting day. I wonder what the future will bring.”

CHAPTER SIX

The blazing afternoon sun burned the back of Phillip’s neck. Or maybe that was the stain of the hot streak Ashley had singed from his neck to his chest. His and Brock’s golf clubs had been caddied to the Range Rover they’d borrowed from the Blackthorne estate, reaching the black SUV before them. They’d opted to walk. Both needed time to stretch their legs and let their minds roam.

Phillip knew as soon as they reached the safety of the Range Rover, Brock would break from the PR-perfect presence he’d maintained in public and ream his ass.

Phillip unlocked the vehicle, and they loaded their waiting bags and took their seats without a word. The tension grew in the tight space, making the hot air hard to breathe, but thankfully, the air-conditioning was as quick to cool.

Brock readjusted his glasses. “Do you think you can get us home without a problem?”

Phillip weighed his response. Usually, when he saw Brock wearing his glasses, Phillip took that as a sign his brother might relax—or at least try to. But he didn’t know which Brock sat beside him. The one concerned about the family brand, or the one who couldn’t think of his brother as anything other than a troublemaker. Phillip shifted the Range Rover into reverse. “Are you going to be a pain about this all day?”

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