Page 137 of Chasing Sparks

“What part of what I said isn’t true? It’salltrue. What am I supposed to do?”

Her voice softens. “What did Ash say?”

“I haven’t told him.” I hold up a hand to cut off her response. “Don’t give me that look, Mina. I will tell him, but I need time to figure out my approach and what I’m doing.”

“Are you keeping the baby?”

I nod, my hand resting instinctively on my stomach. “Yes. Even if Ash wants nothing to do with us, we’ll be okay.”

“Why don’t you think he’ll be happy?”

“We’ve gone over this,” I say, exasperated.

“Hear me out. He’s sent you over a dozen bouquets and called you a ton of times. He’s pretty damn determined to see you. Maybe you should spend some time with him. It’s obvious how he feels about you.”

But it’s not. Despite everyone—his baby mama included—telling me how much Ash cares, I’ve never heard the man utter a word.

Well, that’s not true. He spouted a bunch of shit when he was drunk. Lucky for him, I’m not holding him to it.

“I’m not hanging out with him again. I tried that once last week, and it didn’t end well.”

“What happened?”

“Lucille happened,” I bite out. “She walked in and asked Ash to drive her home.Theirhome.”

“What did Ash say?”

“Begged me to stay. Said he wanted to spend the night … you know.”

Mina’s eyebrows shoot up. “Ooh, give me all the juicy details.”

“Sorry to disappoint but all I did was kiss him and that was a dumb decision based on heartache and hormones. It won’t happen again.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, it can’t. This situation is already so murky and muddy.”

“Is it, though? Look, I get that this baby mama drama is no fun, but Ash swore to me he’s not with Lucille. They don’t seem like they’re intimate.”

I groan, the thought making my stomach churn. “Can you not put that image in my head?”

“And all those notes with the flowers? So desperate to hang onto you.”

“So desperate he said a bunch of things he doesn’t mean.”

“How do you know?”

“He was drinking.”

“So? People tell the truth when they’re drunk. What did he say?”

I wave a hand dismissively. “Nothing.”

Mina shoots a narrowed glare at me. “What. Did. He. Say.”

Rolling my eyes, I relent. “He mentioned us having a family. Some crap about fairytale endings. Told me he’d only adored one woman in his life, and it wasn’t Lucille. But then he proceeded to go home with Lucille. So, yeah, I’m thinking he was full of shit. Oh, and copious amounts of whiskey.”

Mina crosses her arms. “I think he meant it.”

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