Page 217 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“I missed you, too,” River said once they extracted their arms from each other. “Even you,” he teased Dylan.

“Come here,” Dylan said, and tugged River in for a hug as well.

“You don’t even hugme,” Cameron pointed out, which only prompted Dylan to release River and turn that affection in his direction.

Cameron guessed Dylan’s scent wasn’t too bad this close up. He could see why Ashley liked it so much.

“Ready to go home?” Ashley asked, and jingled a set of keys.

Cameron sighed and grabbed River’s hand as Dylan prepared to lead.

“Yeah, we are,” Cam said, and River squeezed his hand.

It was time they got their happily ever after, too.

50. ALPHA’S TASK

ASHLEY

When filming finally wrapped, Cameron surprised River with an arrangement of sunflowers.

She knew, because River walked in the door holding the bouquet and beaming like the sun himself, Cameron following sheepishly behind.

“These mean progress and growth and determination—which is different, if you remember, from the ones he got me in?—”

She smiled as they gushed about the last day and made plans for the wrap party, where River would be accompanying Cameron.

Lastly, Dylan followed in behind them, giving her a sarcastic salute before he came to greet her with a kiss.

She was still tired from her busy day of remodeling. She’d saved the worst for last: pulling carpet. The DIY videos certainly forgot to mention how much it would strain her back, and she melted into Dylan.

“I need yoga,” she whined into Dylan’s shoulder.

The next week, the boys surprised her with a spa day, complete with a full-body massage.

The month after that, Lyric contacted her, begging for her to return to the gym or, “I don’t know—train me privately!”

With Cameron feeding the press so many good bits of him and River, the paparazzi had eased up, and while it was safe to return to the gym, Ashley felt so different when she walked through the doors once more.

She let Nic keep her other clients, exclusively training Lyric until she went on her next tour, and then… went freelance.

In the meantime, her mom’s house came together, and with every room she completed, it was like she was healing a part of herself, reliving the memories and appreciating them for what they were: in the past.

She cried at the finishing touches.

Dylan was there, and he suggested they keep it, wiping the tears from Ashley’s cheeks.

“We can’t,” she whined. “In no world is it big enough, and I donotneed two damned houses.”

“What if we added onto it?” he asked. “You’re so sad. Are you sure this is the right move?”

Ashley glanced up the stairs, which lead to the only two bedrooms and a bathroom. There’s no way the four of them would fit, and while the house was now updated—and, if Ashley said so herself,gorgeous—there wasn’t enough land to expand as much as they’d need. She’d already checked, and done the math. Multiple times.

On the upside, she’d found a downright magical listing with a nest she thought suited Cam perfectly.

“I love this place. What it symbolizes for us, the memories it held. It was our start,” she said, throat tightening. “But I’m looking forward to our future.”

She buried her face in Dylan’s chest as her tears fell, and it was cathartic. He cried with her, and then they said goodbye.

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