Page 46 of All I've Waited For

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and by the time his Jeep pulled up to the front, the clock read eight-thirty-two. All Ashley wanted to do was tell him to turn around and take her home instead, but a stack of work a digital mile long called her name. She’d never be able to sleep after that swim anyway—after all the ways it had awakened something in her, something she’d been trying to tamp down since the day Derek had returned.

She turned to him. “Thanks for the ride.”

Unsnapping his seatbelt, he reached for his door handle. “Let me walk you in.”

“You really don’t need to do that.”

“I’ll make sure no one is inside who shouldn’t be.” At her quirked eyebrow and what she hoped was a dubious look, he shrugged. “That’s what a friend would do, right?”

Why fight it? When Derek got his mind on something, half the time it was better to just go with it. “Okay.”

They both climbed out of the SUV and walked up the sidewalk toward the darkened Whimsical Weddings storefront. Ashley snagged her keys from her purse, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

“You walking ahead of me kind of defeats the purpose of my offer.” Derek followed her, then shut the door behind them.

“Sorry to spoil the fun, Rambo, but I don’t think there are any bad guys here.” Her eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, and she maneuvered to the back where her office was located. Pushing open her door, she flicked on the light.

Ashley turned to invite him back, but ran into his chest instead. “Oomph!” Despite their damp clothing, heat radiated from him.

“Sorry.” She pulled away, fleeing to the safety of her desk chair.

“No worries.” He stood in the doorway, half in the room, half out. “I guess everything is okay here. I’ll just go.”

“Okay.” Her heart ached with fullness—so much she wanted to say but couldn’t. “Thanks again.”

“Anytime.” There was that word again, but it wasn’t true. In just under two weeks, he’d marry Claire, and then there would be no more “anytimes.” At least not for Ashley.

“I’ll see you later.” As if on autopilot, her fingers moved to her mouse and she forced her attention onto her computer screen. Several emails sat unread. One caught her eye, and she clicked it open, scanning it quickly. “Wait a second. Can you come to take a look at this?”

Derek rounded the desk and leaned down just over her shoulder to look at the screen. He smelled like fresh breezes and salt and … danger. “What is it?”

“This is the music setlist the DJ just sent over. Would you mind making sure there’s nothing you want to ax or add?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Great.” She waited a split second, then eased out of the chair. “Here. Sit.”

They exchanged places, and she paced while he looked over the Excel document. After a few seconds, he looked up. “I don’t know half of these songs.”

“Really?” Made sense, actually. Derek had always been a classic rock kind of guy. “Like what?”

“I don’t know.” He pointed to the screen. “Like this one. ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams? Sounds kind of childish.”

“Oh, that one’s fun. It was on the radio all the time when it came out.”

His lost look and shrug made her giggle. She pulled her phone from her purse and navigated to one of her music apps. “Here, I’m sure you’ve heard it.” After she found the song and hit Play, the peppy beat pumped throughout the small room. Ashley lifted her hands in the air and swayed her hips to the music. “Ringing any bells?”

“Nope. Sorry.” But he didn’t look sorry. He looked amused, his lips twisted in a grin, eyes laughing at her.

“You’re hopeless.” Ashley kept moving. “How can you sit there when this fun song is playing?”

“I’m having a lot of fun just watching you.”

With a laugh, she yanked him out of the chair. “Too bad. Come on. Show me your best moves.”

“Ash, you’re crazy. I don’t dance.”

She pretended to hold a fake microphone and sang into it, still bouncing, one arm lifted in the air like she was a gospel singer. “Dude, you’re getting married soon and there will be dancing. You’ve got to figure it out.”

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