Page 70 of Chasing Sparks

No. Just no.

Some things are better left unsaid, and this is one of them.

Hell, for all I know, this past month was one giant ploy to ensure the speakeasy project moved ahead without a hitch.

You know that’s not true, Oriana.

But honestly, I’m not on speaking terms with my heart right now. Following its dumb lead is exactly what landed me here in the first place.

Heart, at this point, I hold your estimations in very low regard. If you were a sullen employee, I’d fire your ass for being so very far off the mark.

But none of it matters. Whether our time together was a ruse or a passing fancy, it’s all water under the bridge.

We’re friends—just like Ash said last night.

I only wish I’d gotten the memo before his newest flavor of the month.

Although, to be fair, Casey is certainly a better fit—definitely his type of woman. Me? I’m an outlier. One of those, dare I say, exotic fruits you try once and decide doesn’t pack quite the flavor you’d hoped for.

I’m breadfruit.

Yep. I’m going to need way more whiskey to shut my mind off tonight.

“You need to stop being mad,” Ash says, his voice low as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I need a lot of things.” I jerk away from his grasp, hating how right it feels when he touches me.

Even though everything else is so, so wrong.

Ash tugs gently at my sleeve, persistent. Seems the more I want him to stop touching me, the more determined he is to do the opposite. “Let’s go home.”

“I don’t want to go home. I’m sick of my apartment.”

“Fine. Let’s go to my place. We barely spend any time at the farm.”

“As inany?”

“Come on, we have privacy at your place. It’s also two minutes from our shops. It’s not like I have women stacked up in my bedroom waiting for my return.”

His piss-poor attempt at levity earns him a scowl, but Ash is undeterred by my stringent stance.

“Why would I leave with you, anyway?” I ask.

That sensual smirk—the one that undoes all the ladies in Sparkwood—stretches across his face. Too bad for him because it no longer works on me.

“Because I’m asking nicely, and I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

“And I’m telling you no nicely. Besides, I don’t fuck my friends.”

“God damn it, Ori,” Ash mutters, scrubbing his face with his hands, frustration etched across his features.

“It’s cool, Ash. Just go.” Do I want to dally in this dark pub that reeks of stale beer? Not at all, but I refuse to cave to Ash’s whims simply because his dance card has an opening.

“I’m not leaving without you,” Ash states as he pushes himself to his feet. “So, stop arguing.”

“I’m capable of sitting in a bar by myself.”

Ash leans over me, pointing toward a darkened table. “See those guys? They’ve been drooling over you since I walked in, and they’re not subtle about it. Then there’s that guy who’s stripped you naked in his mind at least a dozen times in the last minute.”

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