Page 40 of Sloane

Ashley

I took a deep breath as we approached O’Malley’s doors—something Sloane noticed.

He let go of my hand he was holding and wrapped an arm around my waist so he could murmur in my ear.

“Say the word, sweetness, and we’ll turn right back around.”

I flashed him an uneasy smile.

“I’m just nervous. I’m not very good with crowds.”

“Just stick by me. I promise I’ll take care of you.”

I knew he meant it.

Leaning against him for a brief second, I reveled in his body heat and woodsy cologne and how safe I felt next to him.

“My best friend, Tammy, should be here soon, so don’t feel like you have to babysit me.”

He planted a kiss against my temple then reached for my hand and kissed my knuckles.

“Angel, keeping you close to me is no hardship.”

He opened the heavy wooden door, and when I walked in, I was met with warm air, which felt good coming after walking through the parking lot in the chilly fall evening.

It took my eyes a second to adjust to the dark bar, but I’d been to O’Malley’s enough to know the layout, so I didn’t hesitate to follow Sloane as he held my hand. We walked past the pool tables toward a corner booth that had been extended by several tables.

I knew the minute he was recognized because a chorus of “Heyyyy!” went up before people started clapping. His face seemed to grow red at the attention, and he waved his free hand at the crowd, as if telling them to stop. Everyone grew quiet when he began to speak.

“Thank you all for coming out. I really appreciate it.” Then he surprised me when he drew me closer to him and announced, “Everyone, this is Ashley. Ashley, this is… everyone!”

The people closest to us greeted me warmly, but I couldn’t help but notice some of the girls on the fringe gave me a blatant once-over before turning away with a scowl.

It was funny—I almost considered their disdain a badge of honor. The mean girls in high school had never felt threatened by me, so they’d never had a reason to be mean. If anything, I’d just been nonexistent.

At least tonight I existed. Even if was only because of who I was with.

As throngs of people came forward to welcome Sloane home, Ryan approached and gave me a side hug. “Hey, Ashley.”

Sloane gave him a head nod, so he extended his fist as he told Sloane, “Right on time.”

Sloane looked around at the crowd of people.

“Yeah, what time did you tell everyone else?”

“Six. I wanted to give everyone a chance to get here before the guest of honor.”

Craig and Maddie appeared with Craig holding a Pacifico beer bottle, and Maddie had something clear in her glass with a lime.

“Thanks for coming, guys,” Sloane said before he leaned down to hug Maddie.

Craig held his hand out for Sloane to shake. “We wouldn’t have missed it.”

Sloane drew me next to him, making me feel warm and fuzzy. “You remember Ashley.”

“Of course,” Maddie declared with a bright smile. “Good to see you, again, Ashley.”

“What can I get you two to drink?” Craig asked.

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