Page 100 of Ashley & the A-Listers

Once Dylan returned, they ordered dinner. Crab rangoons were calling Ashley’s name, and she shamelessly enjoyed them while Cam looked on sadly.

“I cannot wait until filming is over,” he mused, turning to River. “I expect an extra large cheese pizza with extra-extracheese and every topping imaginable waiting for me. And a milkshake.”

River chuckled, his mouth full of rice and orange chicken. “Consider it done,” he murmured with a soft smile.

Their takeout containers littered the coffee table, and Ashley melted into the beanbag as she finished her food.

“One more thing,” Dylan said, dusting his hands off. He stood from his seat on the floor and trailed into the kitchen before she heard the suction of the fridge opening. Then the rattle of plastic, and… the familiarsnickof a lighter.

Ashley cocked her head to the side, eying Cam and River, who looked pleased.

Finally, Dylan rounded the corner again and… her mouth dropped open.

She sat up as Dylan walked back toward them, holding a little cheesecake with a single lit candle. The flame flickered dangerously and he had to slow down.

“Happy birthday,” he said, catching her gaze. His face was cast in soft yellow light, and her heart seized.

This fucking alpha…

“Happy birthday to you,” Cam began singing, and River and Dylan joined in.

It was the best birthday song she’d ever had to endure.

Her throat was tight as their voices trailed off, and she cleared it before drawing in a breath.

“Don’t forget to make a wish!” Cam said.

I want a happily ever after,she wished, and opened her eyes to blow out the candle. A pack, the white picket fence. She wanted it all. It went out with a puff, and her lips curled like the smoke through the air.

“What flavor is it?” Ashley asked.

“Well, they didn’t have anything weird, so I got a swirl—the best of both worlds,” Dylan said with a wink.

A wink!

God. She was done for.

Ten years of holding a grudge, only for it to evaporate into thin air from a little kindness, a little communication. Kenzie and Jordan might give her a hard time about it, in that loving best-friend way, but Ashley felt… content. It felt right, to let Dylan back in again. To be here, with all three of them.

“What constitutes ‘weird’?” River asked.

“I don’t know. Something besides chocolate and vanilla. What’s that green stuff you used to like?” Dylan asked, waving a hand over his shoulder as he trailed to the kitchen for small plates.

“Matcha?” she guessed, absolutely floored that Dylan remembered such a small detail.

“That’s it,” he called out. “Matcha and cherry.”

Cam and River shared a smile, and she narrowed her gaze.What are you so happy about?she wanted to ask.

Her stomach and chest were a whirl of too many feelings. Confusion danced with the excitement of a crush that had never faded, and she wanted to give into it.

As he returned with the plates, a knife, and forks, she realized it was a futile game.

She’d already forgiven this alpha.

She’d folded so quickly for him. Which is what she knew would happen, even all these years later.

She was weak for this alpha, and not even ten years of bitterness could contend with the past few weeks she’d spent with him.

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