Page 77 of When We Ignite
“He doesn’t want a relationship, and honestly, I can’t blame him. We make no sense. If he wanted to get serious with someone, I wouldn’t exactly be the best candidate, would I?”
Henry shrugged, but his expression was sympathetic. “I told you he wasn’t the right guy for that, E.”
I took another sip. “I know. I just got caught up.”
We were still in view of the table, and I noticed Sebastian glancing back at us a couple of times.
“It’s not like Ash is into him, that’s for sure,” Henry said suddenly.
“What? Into whom?” My neck snapped around so fast it cracked.
“The guy he’s sitting next to. Your sister and Oli are trying to set him up. See? You didn’t even notice—that’s how not into it he is.”
I hadn’t noticed. Now, looking over, I saw the guy—a blond, lean man around Charlotte’s age—all smiles. Sebastian still wore his sunglasses, so I couldn’t tell if he was really paying attention, but he didn’t seem particularly interested.
“I didn’t notice,” I muttered. My stomach twisted when Sebastian smiled and chuckled at something the guy said. Even if subdued, it looked flirty. Anger and annoyance bubbled up in my chest.
“Now that you’re properly jealous, want to hear my advice?” Henry asked, his smirk infuriating.
“You did that on purpose,” I accused.
“Of course I did that on purpose. It’s like you chose to ignore Sebastian’s my brother.”
“What’s your advice, then?”
He leaned in, smirking. “Give him a time frame.”
“Huh?”
“Ash is still very much into you. If you want to push him over the edge, give him a deadline. It’s like setting a clause for his rule. You’ll move on, but you’ll give it a month. Sebastian’s a sucker for rules. He won’t be able to say no.”
Funny thing was, it made sense. I could see it working.
“Like until the wedding?”
He shrugged. “Sure, that’s almost two months.”
I thought it over. “But that’s not going to change his mind about me.”
Henry shrugged. “No, changing his mind is on you. Maybe you can do it before time runs out.”
“But you don’t think he will.”
“Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t think Ash is capable of change. He’s an uptight control freak, and when something’s out of his comfort zone, he freaks out.”
“Sebastian’s uptight?” I asked skeptically.
“He’s losing his shit because you cut your hair. Yeah, he’s an uptight control freak.” Henry’s gaze flicked toward my hair for emphasis. “That said, I’ve never seen Ash do half the things he does with you. So who knows? Maybe I’m wrong.”
“Like what?”
“Like not fooling around. He’s public property—always has a rotation. Yet he’s taken himself off the market for you. That slip-up in the Hamptons? Ash never loses control. And he’s jealous about you. That’s not normal for him.”
“He’s not jealous at all,” I argued.
Henry shot me a knowing look. “Believe me, he is. But you’re right—it’s not common.”
I tried to think of an example but came up empty. “He’s not jealous.”
