Part 11 (2/2)
”I couldn't reconcile you with the man my sister had such animosity toward. I couldn't figure out how it was possible that I was so drawn to you when she dislikes you so intensely.”
He winced and then sighed. ”She has good reason to dislike me.”
Jill hadn't expected him to say that either. ”What do you mean?”
Ashton looked away from her, focusing on the view of the ocean. ”When I found out about her and my dad, I called your dad. Not one of my finer moments.”
”It must've been a big shock to find out about your dad and Kate.”
”It was... That was a bad day, especially because not long before that he'd looked me in the eye and lied about not knowing who she was involved with. That hurt more than anything, and I'm not proud of the way I behaved.”
She reached for his hand, which seemed to surprise him.
”For a long time after it ended between them, I wondered if he'd ever be the same. He was so sad. I hated that I'd caused that to a certain extent.”
”You didn't cause their breakup.”
”I know, but I didn't help anything. I was very unforgiving and intolerant.”
”You'd also been lied to by the most important person in your life.”
”Yeah. Still...”
”It was a long time ago. We've all done things we regret.”
”I can't picture you doing anything stupid,” he said with a grin, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
”I did my share of stupid things.”
”Like what? Name one stupid thing you did-and don't forget, I came clean with you.”
After a brief pause to consider which of her stupid things she would share, she decided on the stupidest of all stupid things. ”After my mom got hurt, my dad was a mess for a long time. It was really hard to watch.” Jill could still remember the pain of those early days like it was only yesterday rather than thirteen years ago. ”It took him a long time to accept that her condition was likely permanent. He was out of work for a year, and when he went back, he met someone else through a job his company was managing for a Chicago-based hotel company. They dated long-distance for several months, and then they decided Andi and her son Eric should move to Rhode Island to live with us, and I...I was less than welcoming to her.”
”I bet they understood how hard it was for you to see someone taking your mom's place.”
”It wasn't like that, though. Andi never tried to take my mom's place. She was very considerate of my sisters and me and what we'd been through. I, on the other hand, was a monster.”
”You were a kid, and you were hurting.”
”We all have regrets, Ashton.”
”I suppose.”
”I have to tell you something, and it might upset you, but after knowing how hurt you were when your dad lied to you, I don't want to do the same thing.”
Taken aback, he said, ”Okay...”
”Kate is in St. Kitts.”
”Oh. Huh.” He rubbed a hand over the stubble on his face. ”So someone told her where he is.”
”Buddy did.”
Ashton got up from the bed and walked over to look out the window. ”He's with someone else now. Mari. They've been together for more than six months.”
”That must be why she said it didn't go as she'd hoped at first, but later, she said he came over and they talked. She said it seemed like there might be hope for them.” Jill hesitated, but only briefly, before she got up to join him, sliding an arm around his waist. ”You're upset. I'm sorry.”
”No.” He turned and put his arms around her, drawing her in close to him.
Her hands landed on his chest, molding to sculpted pectorals. ”Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking.”
”I'm thinking that I went to an awful lot of trouble to get you here, and the last thing I want to talk about is my dad and your sister and what may or may not be happening between them-again.”
”You're not mad that she's there?”
”No.” Ashton looked down at her. ”He was a mess after things went bad with her. In some ways he was never the same. If she's what he wants, I'm not getting in the way of it this time. It's his life.”
”And hers.”
”Yes, hers, too.”
”If she and your dad were together, you might have to start being civil to her.”
His face twisted into an expression of sheer horror. ”I would? Really?”
Jill play punched his belly. ”Be careful. That's my sister you're talking about.”
”Which is the number one reason I promise to be civil to her from here on out.”
”You'd do that for me?”
”Yes,” he said softly, his lips hovering just above hers. ”I'd do it for you-and only for you.”
”And not your dad?” she asked in a teasing tone.
”Something tells me he won't care much whether or not I approve this time around.”
”You're probably right.”
”Are you going to kiss me or tease me?”
”I thought you were going to kiss me.”
”We need to work on our nonverbal communication.” He closed the small s.p.a.ce between them, resting his lips lightly against hers in an undemanding kiss that made all her most important parts tingle. Right when things were starting to get interesting, he pulled back. ”Do you want to go to the beach?”
”I was sort of liking that.”
His face lifted into a sultry, s.e.xy grin that made her want to purr. ”There'll be much more where that came from-after we have some fun.”