Page 54 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“Estelle called me.”

“I don’t know what is going on with my grandmother, but I’m not interested in reconciling,” I stated bluntly.

Her expression softened as she took a step toward me, closing the distance between us, and lifted her chin up so her eyes met mine. Her lips curled in a smile, and she tilted her head to the side coyly. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“No,” I answered honestly.

Serena lifted her hand and placed it on my chest. “Maybe we weren’t perfect, but we had something. And I know how you are. I know how particular you are about feeling comfortable with new people. You feel comfortable with me. Be honest, you haven’t been with anyone since we’ve broken up, have you?”

Serena may not have known the full extent of my conditions, but she knew I didn’t have casual sex. She knew it took a while for me to be attracted to someone. Honestly, I think that’s one of the reasons she was so attracted to me in the first place. I was one of the only men in the world who didn’t fall all over themselves to be with her or try to fuck her the first night they met her.

“Yes. I have.”

She tsked at me as if I was being silly. “No, you haven’t.”

“Yes. I have.”

I saw the moment she realized that I was telling the truth and the flash of pain in her eyes, indicating that it did hurt her. If she’d known that it happened the night after we broke up or that I hadn’t stopped thinking about the woman since and hadn’t given her another thought, it would really have stung.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You really have?”

“Yes.” I removed her hand from my chest. “I’m sorry you came all the way here. And I’m sorry that my grandmother gave you false hope, but I am not getting back together with you.”

I walked to the hotel room door and opened it.

“Declan, it didn’t mean anything.” She started to remove the belt of her trench coat. “Let’s just try and?—”

“Serena, don’t do this. It’s beneath you.”

The one thing about being with someone for so long was that you learned what their buttons were. Her ego was the size of the Grand Canyon but as fragile as a glass Christmas ornament. I knew what would get her to leave my room.

Her back straightened as the look in her eyes changed from sweet to furious. If looks could kill, I’d be on life support. As she marched past me, she seethed, “Youwillregret this.”

“No, I won’t. But you already do.” I shut the door and, for a brief moment, wondered if I should have let her down a little easier.

The problem with people like Serena or my brother was that if you showed them any sort of kindness or empathy, they saw it as weakness and tried to exploit it.

After getting hospitalized the day before I left to go to Japan, Derek went to rehab, but he was able to talk his way out for an early release. While he was still in the rehab facility, Harry, my grandfather’s lawyer, got his DUI and reckless driving charges reduced and was able to get him community service as long as he passed the drug tests. Not only did he falsify his documents by hiring someone else to show up as him to do his community service, but it was also discovered he cheated on the mandatory drug test. Now he was now in trouble with the law again and had charges pending.

I sat back down behind the desk and tried to call my grandmother back. There was no answer. I left her a message, but I knew she probably wasn’t going to talk to me until I was home. Once she set her mind to something, there was no changing it.

When I started to work again, the first thing I did was open Ashley's email. As I read through the report, I made a few corrections and sent it back, knowing that there was a good chance I would be receiving a snarky response.

For some reason, I’d actually begun to look forward to her replies. No one ever spoke to me the way she did—not in business or my personal life. It was clear she was not impressed by me or my position in the company. At first, it had bothered me, but over the months, I’d started to find it oddly refreshing.

She was funny, and I never knew what she was going to say. Whenever I thought her response was going to be one thing, she surprised me and said something else. Nine times out of ten, her replies were not-so-thinly-veiled insults disguised as follow-ups starting with: ‘to summarize’ or ‘circling back’ or ‘if I’m hearing you correctly,’ then she’d put her Ashley sarcastic, passive-aggressive spin on whatever slight that masterfully walked the tightrope between professionalism and insubordination. It was actually quite impressive.

In her new position, I would not be collaborating with her on a daily basis, and I had to admit I was going to miss our email battles. Even though, reading between the lines, most of hers were calling me an egotistical, arrogant asshole. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I was going to miss them.

19

ASHLEY

“Areyou ready to be an auntie to two?” Caroline Shaw, owner of the beauty salon Pretty in Peach, the gossip hub of Firefly Island, asked as I poured another two liters of 7up into a bowl of sherbet frozen dessert to replenish the punch.

“I can’t wait!” I was more than a little excited for my sister to make me an auntie of two.

“Seeing this reminds me of the baby shower birthday Hank threw for Miss Luna.” she reminisced as she picked up a clear cup of punch.

---