Page 23 of One Night Rendezvous

Her lips curl into a small thin line. “Fine. I’ll mind my business … literally and figuratively. You do the same.”

When Gina disappears into the back, I feel a moment of guilt. She’s making overtures of friendship and I’m swatting them away like pesky mosquitoes. And I’m not the only one who needs a friend right now. She does too.

“Hey, Ashley!”

I look up to see Nikki walking into the store and my guilt about Gina’s departure fades instantly. I’m suddenly very relieved that she’s no longer standing at the counter with me. She never comes in here. For obvious reasons, but also because she’s always acted like she’s too good to shop in a place like this.

“Nikki,” I acknowledge.

“We’re in a real pickle, aren’t we?” she asks, dropping a bottle of water on the counter. “Me on the verge of unemployment and you on the verge of indictment … or well, you will be after your Daddy tells the county prosecutor everything you did to make his business profitable. Clearly, you were the mastermind behind all of it.”

My gut clenches. I know she’s full of shit. Cam and Troy have both already talked to the County Prosecutor and pretty much assured me that as long as I’m willing to testify against Doogie on other charges than the hit and run, then I’m good. And I will shout it from the rooftops if need be. She’s just here to try and intimidate me. I pick up the bottle of water, scan it, and set it down in front of her with a little more force than necessary. “A dollar eighty-seven.”

Nikki smirks. “Put your head in the sand, little girl. You’ll see.”

Gina walks out of the office then and looks straight at Nikki. “Get out.”

“This is a place of business. Do you really want to treat customers that way?” Nikki asks, her voice all saccharine sweet.

“I want to treat you that way. Take your water, get the hell out of my store, and don’t come back. Not for any reason. You’re banned from here … permanently. And tell my husband not to bother coming home for dinner. Or coming home at all. You wanted him so bad, you can keep the cheating son of a bitch.” And with that Gina turns and walks back into the office leaving every single person in the store standing there with their mouths hanging open.

It’s not exactly how I wanted it to happen, but I’m suddenly no longer the biggest story in Bellehaven’s gossip mill.

Hours later, I’m sitting in my car parked in front of my trailer. But I’m not ready to go in yet. Instead, I’m sitting there watching. Waiting. Waiting for Ford to get home. I know he won’t have Felicity with him. She’s with Mabel. He always walks over to get her once he gets home.

When he rolls up, I get out of my car. I’m leaning against the door when he climbs out of his. “Hey.”

He looks puzzled. “Hey yourself. Something up?”

“Do you have a minute?”

He shoves his hands in his pocket, his shoulders hunching like he’s expecting the worst. Hell, maybe it is the worst. I don’t know. I don’t have a clue what Ford wants. I’m not even sure what I want. But I know what I don’t want—and that’s to lose him. I can’t be so afraid of it not working that I never even make the effort. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta shoot your shot.

“We can’t just keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them,” I say.

His expression is locked up, unreadable. But he nods. “I figured.”

“No. You don’t get it. I’m not saying I don’t want to see you, Ford. I’m saying I don’t want to see you without it meaning something … I can’t be just your neighborhood fuckbuddy. I want more than that. I want to be part of your life and I want to be part of Felicity’s life. Not a dirty little secret or a pastime after you put your kid to bed. So you need to figure out what you want, and if?—”

He takes two steps toward me and then his hands are in my hair, tugging my head back, and he’s kissing me as if he’s starved for me. And he’s doing it where anybody and everybody can see us. I guess that’s my answer.

TWENTY

Ford

"Are you okay with it?" I ask Felicity. "You understand what I'm saying about Ashley, right? She and I are dating one another. We might be together forever, we may not. If we're not, that's on her and me. It has nothing to do with you," I say the words again that I told her earlier. "We both love you."

"I know." She nods, carefully. "She might be my new mom, she might not."

I inhale deeply, counting to ten in my head. That's not what I've said, really, but it's what she's hearing, and I'm more than cognizant I have to explain things in a way she understands. "Right, but you don't call her mom until you ask. Remember?"

She nods again, throwing her small arms around me. "I'm glad she's going to be around."

"I am too, kiddo. You wanna go get some pizza?"

"Is Ashley coming with us?"

"As long as it's okay with you." I want her to know that while I care a lot about Ashley, Felicity is going to be my top priority. She's never been anyone's top priority, but she's mine.

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