1 flinched and pulled my jacket tighter.
Why the hell is it this cold? I packed a coat, I wore the coat, and I was still freezing. We had been gone six days, not six months.
Ashton came up behind me and dropped a heavy wool coat over my shoulders..
It was dark grey, thick, and warm enough to deflect a snowball.
“You always forget how cold it gets here,” he said. “Just wear this until we get to the car.”
I pushed my arms into the sleeves.
As soon as we stepped out of the terminal, Ashton grabbed my hand and shoved it into the pocket of his coat.
His palm was warm, his fingers locked tightly around mine.
We walked out together, side by side, our breath fogging in the wind.
The cold hit sharper than before, the kind that cut through jeans and wool, straight to the bone.
We climbed into the car waiting at the curb.
Once back at the house, I went straight up to Ashton’s room without thinking.
I hadn’t talked to Geoffrey yet, but I already knew what kind of answer he would give if I asked him about the heating system repairs.
We had barely set foot inside when Dominic materialized on the doorstep.
He muttered something urgent, waved his phone in Ashton’s face, and dragged him back out before I could even take my boots off.
I watched them leave through the front window.
Ashton had spent the last few days stuck in Riverbend with me.
He could have left me to handle the show alone, but he didn’t.
Whatever was blowing up at HQ now had probably been building the whole time we were away.
That night, he called and said he wasn’t coming home for dinner, told me not to wait.
I went to bed early, falling asleep before ten
At some point, I felt something tugging at me.
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I pried my eyes open a crack.
Ashton. Shirtless, damp hair clinging to his forehead.
I groaned and let my eyes shut again.
“You’re back…” I mumbled, my voice muffled by the pillow.
He slipped into bed behind me and pulled me close.
His skin was warm, radiating heat, like he had just stepped out of the shower.
I slid back against him instinctively, already half–asleep again.
We hadn’t spent a night apart since Riverbend.
My body knew where it belonged before I did.
He smelled faintly of shampoo and something sharper underneath–vodka, maybe whiskey.
I pressed my nose into his chest and inhaled twice before wrinkling my nose and pulling back.
“You’ve been drinking?”
“Just a little. I showered. Smell’s gone.”
“Still there.”
He disagreed.
Then he pushed me onto my back and kissed me like he was trying to win the argument with
his mouth.
I looped my arm around his neck without opening my eyes.
The alcohol on his skin had faded.
Maybe I had imagined it.
His mouth moved against mine. Slow, teasing, familiar.
My thoughts dulled. My muscles loosened.
The weight of him anchored me.
I stopped noticing when I drifted off.
When I woke, the bed was empty.
Pale light leaked through a crack in the curtains, streaking across the duvet.
I lay there for a moment, my head sunk into his pillow.
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The sheets still smelled like his soap.
I reached up and touched the corner of my mouth
It felt faintly swollen.
I didn’t move for a few seconds.
I just lay there, remembering the press of his hands on my hips, his voice low in my ear.
My chest felt tight, but not in a bad way.
I stretched, groaning as my spine popped, and slid out of bed.
While brushing my teeth, I stared at myself in the mirror.
My hair was sticking up in the back.
My lips were definitely swollen.
I spat into the sink and rinsed.
Things between me and Ashton were starting to feel… off.
Not bad.
Just unlabelled.
We slept in the same bed.
We used the same bathroom to shower.
We cuddled. A lot.
But we hadn’t said anything real.
I glanced back at the bed.
The duvet was pushed to one side, pillows dented
Two sets of creases on the sheets.
The mess looked balanced. Like it belonged to both of us.
I had told myself I’d sort this out once we were back from Riverbend. Figure out what this was. What I wanted from him.
My mouth curved before I could stop it.
I had made up my mind.
***
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Chapter 187 Special Occasion
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At the studio, Priya congratulated me before handing me a tray lined with velvet.
“First sample’s ready. Want to nitpick now or after coffee?”
I tilted it towards the light. “Not bad. Edges need filing, and this clasp’s too stiff. But good job. Quick work.”
She scribbled something on her tablet and disappeared into the back room.
I hadn’t been in the studio for days, but everything was spotless.
Daniel and Priya had kept things together.
That left me free.
I grabbed my scarf and crossed the street to Sugar & Whim.
Yvaine hugged me the second I walked in.
“I knew you’d win. The comp blew up. Half the tags on my feed were about you. If I’d known Riverbend would be that fun, I’d have ditched the bakery and gone with you.”
When I told her about Dubois and the mysterious old man and the six hundred thousand, she clicked her tongue.
“Sounds like a mystery novel. Damn it, why did all the fun stuff happen when I wasn’t there? That’s it. Next time, wherever you go, I go.”
“Focus. I’m not here to gossip,” I said. “I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I want to order a small cake. I’ll pick it up before closing.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Whose birthday is it?”
“No one’s.” I cleared my throat. “I’m cooking dinner for Ashton tonight.”
I had left Carmen a note this morning to set out the ingredients.
I had planned the menu over breakfast.
Nothing complicated, but I was going to make it myself.
The cake was for dessert.
Yvaine narrowed her eyes. “You eat with him all the time. What’s the special occasion?”
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