Page 123 of Chasing Sparks

“We both know that isn’t true.”

“You want your fairytale. Your happy-ever-after. The ring, the wedding, the baby. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Ash, please.” Tears stream down my face.

“You think you know how I feel about you? You have no idea. I’m crazy about you. You’re my true north—the only thing that makes sense in this messed-up world. So yes, I’ll make it happen. Everything you want, I’ll give you.”

I tremble in his arms, but not from fear. There’s such intensity in his words, such raw conviction.

I believe he’s terrified of many things, losing me among them. But despite sharing his fear, I can’t relegate myself to second best. Not with Ash.

Although his words are the closest he’s ever come to a declaration of love, they don’t negate the fact that he’s having a child with Lucille—which will solidify a lifetime bond between them. It’s one thing to date a single father and quite another to date someone whose baby mama is actively pregnant.

That’s not just a different ballpark; it’s a totally different league.

Some women can handle it, and more power to them, but I’m struggling to come to terms with his new reality. Our new reality, if we even have one at all.

“I would do anything to keep you safe, even if it breaks me into a million pieces.” Ash’s words emerge in a hoarse whisper.

“I’m safe, Ash. My heart is broken, but the rest of me will survive.”

His hands slide along my jaw, his fingers gentle, but his eyes are anything but. A turbulent mix of emotions swirls in them, and I can’t look away.

“Yours isn’t the only heart broken. Please don’t give up on us. I swear on my life, I’ll give you a fairytale ending.”

I cover his hands with mine and force a smile, even though my heart feels like it’s splintering. Finally, I dare to speak the words that have haunted me for weeks.

“I’m afraid of this new normal. Afraid of being second best. Afraid of you falling back in love with Lucille and leaving me shit out of luck.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“How do you know?”

“All the spots in my heart are already filled. By you.”

Damn him. The man said nothing remotely over-the-top romantic in all the months we dated, but now he’s a regular Shakespeare.

“Ori, I’d tear this whole damn world apart and build it back just to give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Tears stream down my face as I run my fingertips over his bearded jaw. “Why couldn’t it have been you? I wanted it to be you so badly.”

“Mark my words, it’s going to be me. You’re mine, Oriana Thorne.You’remine.”

Ash captures my mouth in a fiery kiss. Shockwaves shoot through me as my knees threaten to buckle beneath me. His tongue glides against mine, low moans rising from his chest as he reclaims my body as his own.

He knits his fingers in my hair, edging closer, his length flush against me. Daring me to run from the only thing I know is true: I’m forever in love with Asher Hammond.

And I don’t know what to do about it.

I slide my hands along his chest, breaking out of the kiss. “Ash?—”

But Ash doesn’t want to hear my arguments. His hands slip around the nape of my neck, drawing me back into the moment.

Releasing a heated groan, he lifts me onto the bar, his fingers fumbling with the buttons of my blouse as his tongue dances along every inch of my exposed skin. All the while, he murmurs my name like a prayer, soft and reverent.

“Ash? Are you down here?”

A woman’s voice calls from the basement stairs, and I rip away from him, covering my mouth with my hand.

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