Page 26 of Inevitable

This is why we could never work. She deserves more than a man who never knows when he will be able to make it home, if at all. She deserves more than days locked in a house like a princess in a castle. I should let her go. I have already begun to be too comfortable with her in my life. But we haven’t heard a peep from William since I took her and that makes me incredibly nervous. He is not a man to take something lying down and I cannot help but think he may be plotting.

One day I come home early and am surprised to not find Ashlynn in the kitchen. I check the fridge and there are no leftovers. Maybe she got tired of cooking for me every night, I cannot blame her. That is why I have a personal chef.

I try to ignore the disappointment I feel that our routine has been broken. I head up to her room telling myself I am going to make sure she is okay, when I really know I just want to see her. I make it to her door and knock. No answer. I try not to let the panic rise that something might be wrong and knock once more. Nothing.

Ever since her first couple of days here I have removed a guard from her door. She knows she is here for her own good and I want every man except for me as far away from her as possible. Unfortunately, now that means no one is there to tell me when the last time they saw her was.

I barge in the room and am caught off guard by what I see. Ashlynn is sprawled out taking up the entire king-sized bed, I didn’t even know that was possible. Used tissues litter the bed and at her bedside are a bag of cough drops and a bottle of cold medicine.

She is knocked out and I breathe a sigh of relief before I start laughing. How can she be so damn adorable even in this state? I walk closer to her bed and sit on the only part of the bed that is not taken up by her. Her skin is pale except for her bright red nose and she is snoring ever so slightly. I gently brush away a piece of hair away from her face causing her to stir.

“Hey,” I say softly with a smile on my face. “Are you sick?”

She blinks a couple of times and looks around trying to get her bearings before she nods with a miserable look on her face. Poor woman looks like death warmed over. I remember how pathetic she gets when she is sick. One memory in particular comes to me, reminding me what always got her better.

“Are you hungry?” I ask. She nods her head and grimaces as she tries to sit up.

“I will be right back,” I say as I stand up.

Before I can second guess myself, I lean over and softly kiss her forehead. Then I am striding out as quickly as possible like the devil himself is on my heels. As I make my way down to the kitchen, I reminisce in the memory that has brought me down here.

9 years ago

I am helping out my mama in the kitchen today. She has been furiously preparing for a big dinner the Adams are having tonight. My mama is a fantastic cook, but man does she make a mess when she gets down to it. She also has to finish the preparations in the dining hall before the guests arrive. I told her I would do the dishes and wipe down the counters. She thanked me profusely before hustling out of the kitchen.

As I am rinsing a bowl, I hear a sneeze and a miserable groan. When I turn around, I see Ashlynn sitting in one of the chairs at the island, her head is buried into her arms and she looks downright pitiful. My heart skips a beat at the sight of her and I try to steady my breathing before I speak.

“Ashlynn, are you okay?”

She pop’s her head up quickly in surprise like she didn’t realize I was the one that was in here. Her stunning crystal blue eyes meet mine and she relaxes before laying her head back in to her arms.

“No,” she mumbles. “I am sick and can’t think of anything worse than sitting through another boring dinner with stuffy politicians and socialites. We are probably eating some expensive ostentatious meal to flash how much money we have. All I want is comfort food and sleep.” Her tone is bordering on pathetic, and I can't help but feel sympathy for her.

“I could make you something different and you can take it up to your room. If your parents ask, I will let them know you are not feeling well. You shouldn’t be up and about when you feel like this.”

She gives me a sweet appreciative smile before she bites her lower lip and ducks her head. “You would do that for me?” She whispers under her breath.

“And more,” I reply quickly before I can stop myself. She blushes furiously and buries her head in her arms once again. Great job Luca, way to make things awkward. “Any requests?” I ask, adding on quickly hoping to change the subject.

“Surprise me,” she says with a weak smile.

I return a smile and go to the cabinets thinking of what I would want if I felt like crap. Only then I remember what a shit cook I am. Why would I offer to make her something? I doubt I could even make anything edible. I guess this just proves I would do anything for this girl. She could smile at me and walk me right off of a cliff and I would die a happy man.

As quickly as I can manage, I finish her food. I place a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich in front of her. She looks at the food and me and visibly perks up after the first bite. She practically inhales the food, and I cannot help but watch her with fascination, a small smile playing at my lips.

When she finishes, she stands up straighter and takes her dishes to the sink. She is only a few feet away from me and her scent mingles in the air, she always smells like sweet cherry blossoms, her perfume, I think. She takes two quick strides towards me and leans up on her toes and places a quick kiss on my cheek before scurrying out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

I stand there in shock. The place where her lips met my skin feels like it is on fire. I keep replaying it in my mind trying to convince myself that it really did just happen. I go to bed that night dreaming up other ways I can get Ashlynn’s lips on me again.

I shake myself out of the memory and whip up my only specialty. 10 minutes later I am pushing through her door with the tray of food in my hands. She has brushed her hair and it looks like she might have even put on some make up. She doesn’t understand how unconditionally beautiful she is naturally. I set the tray down on her bedside table and sit at the edge again. She looks at it confused.

“I thought Luis went home for the day?” She asks as she sits up.

“He did,” I nod. “I made this.”

Something flashes across her face and her eyes begin to swim with emotion. I remember all of the nights I would stare at her getting lost in those shimmering blue eyes. She continues to just stare at me, and I begin to feel uncomfortable. I keep pushing her away and then I do stuff like this, maybe I have overstepped. I am just giving her false hope. I am not the same guy, I can’t be. I shouldn’t be giving her the impression that she can have him again. He has been gone for a long time.

“Sorry, it was stupid.” I go to grab the tray. “You probably don’t even-”

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