Page 71 of Wish You Were Mine

Bailey and I nodded.

“She’s considering reaching out to them. Perhaps having them read the book to fact-check for her.”

“That would be awesome,” I exclaimed. “She should do it. I bet their descendants would be honored to see how she’s bringing their ancestor’s love story to life.”

Bailey cleared her throat. “Provided it’s a woman, because I can imagine men would get weird about the sexy scenes.”

“Good point,” I agreed. “Why do some men have to get strange about sex in books? It’s just like any other part of life.”

“Except hotter,” Kennedy added slyly.

I laughed. “True. Next time you see Grace, tell her that Bailey and I think she should do it.”

“I will.”

I glanced toward the window just in time to see Ashley try to take Asher’s hand. He slid his hands under the table to avoid her, presumably resting them on his lap.

My lips twitched. I shouldn’t take pleasure in his rejection of her and, honestly, if they were anyone else, I’d feel for her, but it was difficult to be sympathetic when she was trying to take my man. Asher seemed to think she had an inkling about us, which made her putting the moves on him pretty insensitive.

Eden brought them a tray of food. A hot drink each, a sweet chili and cream cheese pinwheel for him and a tiny bowl of salad for her. Asher got up and excused himself to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, Ashley’s gaze shifted directly over to me.

I stiffened. Oops, caught out.

She rose to her feet and stalked across the cafe, circling around the customers and full tables separating us. When she reached us, she folded her arms over her chest.

“You’re being clingy and weird,” she said flatly.

I frowned. “Excuse me?”

She made a sound of impatience. “Unless you and Asher are exclusively dating, then he can do whatever he likes without being spied on.”

My cheeks flamed. The thing was, she had a point.

“At least I’m not trying to force myself on him when he clearly isn’t interested,” I retorted, immediately ashamed of myself for stooping to her level.

She paled, and her mouth fell open. She blinked a few times.

“Hey, I’m sorry—”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence because she stomped away.

“Now you’ve done it,” Kennedy muttered. “What’s the bet that she’s going to tell tales on you to Asher?”

My stomach sank. “I really hope not.”

Asher returned and I watched, eating on autopilot, as they started a stilted conversation. I did notice that Ashley didn’t try to touch him again, and that satisfied the petty part of me that I couldn’t seem to bury.

I looked away. Ashley was right. I shouldn’t be spying on them. If anything long term were to happen between Asher and me, we needed to trust each other. But still, one thing did strike me as odd about her.

I shifted my chair closer to Bailey and gestured for Kennedy to do the same.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that Ashley turned up in town at the same time as Asher’s cat accidentally got poisoned?” I asked.

Bailey sighed. “I say this with love, but you’re reading way too much into it and making a connection that isn’t there because you’re jealous and you want her to be up to no good.”

I pressed my lips together. I could see the sense in what she’d said, but something about Ashley still felt…off…to me.

“What do you think?” I directed the question at Kennedy this time.

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