Page 64 of Trapped
My growl was a visceral response.
“Did you just fucking growl?”
More than anything, I wanted to lie, but she’d obviously heard it.
“And if I did?” I asked instead of answering.
She rolled her eyes. “Men.”
Ashley sounded disgusted with my gender, but she had a spark in her eyes and a grin on her face.
Seeing her reaction to my jealousy gave me hope we could be more than friends.
Having watched the rearview mirror the entire ride, I knew we weren’t being followed, so I parked near the park. A crowd gathered at a kid’s baseball game, and others strolled through the park, but everyone was busy doing their own thing, which meant we could walk and talk with a modicum of privacy.
“Ashley, can I ask you a question?”
“You just did.” She laughed. “Sorry. Ask away.”
“Do you think you can forgive me for ghosting you?” I had a feeling she had, but I still needed to hear her say it.
She stopped, taking her sweet time to think about it while I waited in agony.
“I forgive you.”
Oh,thank fuck. The breath I’d been holding whooshed out.
We walked in silence while I gathered the courage to ask my next question. I was pushing my luck by asking, and if she said no, I’d work on building our friendship instead.
“Do you think you can give me a second chance?” My voice sounded like it came out of a small child, not a six-foot-two battle-hardened Navy SEAL.
Again, she took her time answering. When she put her hand on her belly, I figured it was to steady her nerves.
“I don’t know.” Her voice sounded as foreign as my own. “I. I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now.” She turned around and walked towards my truck. “Can you take me home?”
Recognizing the deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face, I agreed.
“Of course.”
My gut screamed,you’re missing something.Luckily, I had a ton of resources at my disposal, andI’d figure it out, one way or another.
Chapter 21
Ashley
Iwanted to say yes when Nathan asked if I’d give him a second chance. But how could I? My life was a disaster, and I was fucking pregnant.
The drive back to Grannie’s was eerily quiet. Like graveyard-at-night quiet. Like I’d just laid to rest the last chance I had with Nathan.
“Thanks,” I said when he parked near my car.
“Wait.” He got out and walked around to open my door. “Careful,” he said, helping me down. His big black truck suited him, but wasn’t so big that I couldn’t get in and out on my own.
Usually I’d have a snarky comment about being able to open my door but, not wanting to add to the tension between us, I held it back.
I wasn’t sure we could be friends, given our history, but maybe we could manage a friendly acquaintanceship. My best friends’ husbands were his bosses, so it was inevitable we’d see each other. We’d need to co-exist, tolerate the awkwardness, or skip group events.
“Thank you.”
