Page 29 of Phillip

“I meantAshley.”

“And I thought we’d meet at an office, a boardroom.”

“Ah.” He eased into the chair and leaned back, unable to help himself. “I thought you didn’t want to be alone with me.”

She glared. “Stop.”

“Even if I could read your mind, it’d be a mix of U-turns and—”

“Stop,” she repeated. Her nostrils flared as she gave a quick headshake. “Wait. Can we start over? Please?”

Phillip folded his arms. “You can’t call for a new take if you didn’t like the first round.”

The server arrived, greeting him by name and bringing him his usual—Blackthorne Gold. A tense beat passed, and he stared at the whisky.

Ashley’s sigh shattered his lost thoughts. He lifted his chin, catching her lips squeezed together. “I walked in here, telling myself not to act like a jackass.”

“Why are we fighting?”

There were a lot of answers he could give, but instead, he sipped the whisky and took his time setting down the glass. “The easiest answer is because you ran off from the beach.”

“What’s the hardest answer?” she asked.

Phillip rolled his bottom lip into his mouth and struggled to keep the truth to himself. They were fighting because, if they didn’t, he would kiss her. If he kissed her, he would touch her. Things would move quickly. He would have to have her. Fighting was the only way he’d figured out how to take things slow.

But after thinking of what would happen, when one thing would lead to the next and the next, until he had her naked in his arms… Phillip grumbled. “You’re right. We should start over.”

She grinned. “Thank you.”

He snickered, silently admitting that agreeing with Ashley hadn’t cleared his thoughts, and hoped a good-natured joke would ease his tension. “Where do we start?” He leaned off the chair. “Should I walk in again? Just say hello?”

“We can pick it up from here,” she said, thankfully not taking him for an ass. “But no small talk.”

He settled back into his seat. “I can do that. Jump right into the car show.”

“I mean, I’m not a dictator. It doesn’t all have to be about work.” She fidgeted. “I just meant that we shouldn’t bother with those dumb questions that people feel they need to ask after…”

“Days at the beach,” he volunteered.

“Exactly!”

He shrugged. “But you can have a pass. Ask any dumb questions.”

She faltered. “My questions aren’t dumb.”

He cocked his head with a laugh. “I’m glad one of us knows. I have a lot of questions, about a lot of things, and hell if I know which ones are dumb.”

Ashley waved hello to someone over Phillip’s shoulder, and he turned to see Devlin.

His cousin greeted him with a back slap. “What is it? Three days in a row?”

“Something like that.” Phillip glanced at Ashley. “I understand you two know each other?”

“No introductions are needed,” Devlin offered. “It’s lovely to see you.”

“Likewise.”

Devlin turned to Phillip. “Ashley singlehandedly saved the holiday dinner we hosted for our boat owners.”

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