Page 15 of Shattering Nash

Nash tightened his lips. Rules had changed since Elodie’s pregnancy. Smoking of any kind in her presence was forbidden.

“Again, Charley, I’m so sorry.” Elodie placed her hand on her stomach. “Baby brain is kicking my ass, and he’s not even here yet. Do you have time for the inventory, or do you want to set up something else? It’s your call.”

Her response was immediate without an ounce of hesitation. A true people pleaser.

“I can stay.”

Elodie brushed her hand over Charley’s arm and passed. “Great, c’mon. And thanks for keeping her company, Nash.”

Charley glanced up at him, and her lips parted. Her chest rose in a steady pace, but the crimson still shaded her cheeks. She scanned his face, and when her gaze dropped to his lips, Nash couldn’t resist.

“My pleasure.”

Charley jerked her head and swiftly followed behind Elodie, heading to the corner table on the balcony.

Interesting.

Chapter Three

For the next hour, they worked on sorting out the inventory. It was a harder task basing it off lists rather than the actual physical product. Charley had made sure she’d double-checked all the stock when they were packing up for the storage unit. But no one was perfect.Especially me.

Elodie pulled up the winter line on her laptop. There wasn’t much for Charley to do while she filled in the order. It gave her a small reprieve and a chance to survey her surroundings.Hewas still on the balcony. In fact, Nash never left. He spent the majority of time at the bar in the corner speaking with Caine and Ridge. Every once in a while, she’d sneak a peek. Charley did her best to be inconspicuous.

She rested her elbow on the table, lay her chin in her palm, and casually looked across the room. She darted her gaze between the elevator hall and the bar.

Her entire interaction with Nash had been longer than she’d spoken to any man in the past few years. A while back she’d mentioned to Elodie that she didn’t have much experience with men. It was true but not purposely. She’d dated briefly when life was good. However, when it had gotten chaotic with her brother, she’d broken things off. It wasn’t fair to ask someone to take on her responsibilities.

Charley slyly glanced over to the bar. Nash had one hand in his pocket and the other wrapped around a glass. He lifted it to his mouth, taking a sip. She wasn’t well-versed in alcohol and didn’t know what he was drinking. But she assumed it was something of a grain alcohol. A gin or a vodka, and he drank itwithout a mixer or ice. When he licked his lips, he didn’t even flinch. Charley would’ve been gagging, for sure.

Nash slowly nodded at whatever Ridge was saying. Then he lifted his brow, and before she could look away, he turned his head toward her. She was locked in his stare for a brief moment before she dropped her gaze to the table in front of her. As if this night hadn’t been bad enough, now she was caught creepily staring at him. She was like a middle-schooler gawking at her crush.

What am I, thirteen?

“He’s single.”

Charley quickly lifted her head to find Elodie staring back at her with a smile.

“What?”

She gestured toward the bar. “I said, he’s single.”

“Oh, I don’t” —She cleared her throat, stalling to form her words— “I wasn’t looking at Nash.”

Elodie chuckled, covering her mouth. She quickly glanced over to the bar then back to Charley.

What?

“There are three men over there. How do you know I was talking about Nash?”

Oh damn.She’d just exposed herself. She felt the heat rise from her chest to her cheeks in record time.

“Charley.” Elodie’s amused tone did nothing to batten down Charley’s embarrassment. Elodie tapped her hand. “I’m teasing you, but I was talking about Nash. He’s single, obviously good-looking, with a great job. And most importantly, he’s a good man.”

Charley had no doubt everything Elodie claimed was the truth. Not that it mattered. They lived in two different worlds.

“Yeah, well, I don’t have much to offer, so...” Charley didn’t bother finishing her sentence.

Elodie scoffed, dropped her pen on the table, and folded her arms. She settled into her seat, inspecting Charley. “You’re serious?”

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