Page 175 of Still Bruised
“I thought we could talk before you left,” she said, a bit winded.
Foster eyed Jude. They exchanged a look before Jude said, “I’ll wait inside the car.”
He nodded before turning to fully face Ashley. “I’m not really in the mood for an argument tonight.”
“I don’t plan to have an argument,” Ashley said. “I, ah…” She took a deep breath. “I wanted to apologize.”
Foster frowned. “For?”
“Everything,” she said, a shine coming to her eyes. She paused a moment, rubbing her arms before crossing them in front of her chest. “I think there was a little part of me that always knew you weren’t straight.” She winced. “Yeah, finding the porn was a shock, but more because I’d buried all your red flags and I didn’t want to be faced with proof.”
“Red flags?”Foster sighed. “Was I reallythatbad?”
“Well, rainbow ones, hmm?” Ashley offered. “All the little signs I wanted to ignore.”
Foster scoffed, shaking his head.
“We were the it-couple in high school. I wanted to be the it-couple in life.” Ashley sighed. “You were handsome and bright. You had your degree and a solid future ahead of you. You had all of the things I thought I was looking for in a husband. And then when daddy dangled that job in front of you and kept watering that seed he’d planted about us getting married, I started seeing the image he was painting. The big house, a couple of kids. Me, the society wife and you, running the brokerage with my father—and maybe one day running it all.” She sighed. “Daddy always told me to look for a partner, not a lover. Someone who will build a life with you. He had me convinced that was you. I knew theromance wasn’t really there for us, but we could be partners and build an amazing life.”
She eyed him for a few seconds. “I ended up lonely. I was greedy. I wanted a loveranda partner—and I was angry at you for not being both. That was unfair to you, especially when I held it in and never communicated my needs. Maybe if I had, we would’ve realized we’d made a mistake much sooner than we did.”
“I wanted the big life, too—or so I thought. I went into our marriage a willing partner, but I think it was because I was too scared to own up to my truth. And I never talked to you about anything I was feeling either, so I’m just as much to blame.”
Ashley smiled, the expression on her face bittersweet. “I’m sorry we took this tangent with one another and wasted so many years. I’m sorry I cheated on you. I’m sorry I lashed out in anger and told Imogene about you and Vic. I knew full well she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth closed, so there’s a very good chance I did that on purpose.”
“I’m sorry I was never honest with you about who I was—although, I wasn’t honest with myself, either. Had I been braver, maybe it would’ve saved us from all this,” Foster said.
“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life regretting us,” Ashley said. “I know we might never be close again, but I’d like to still consider you a friend.”
“I think we can do that,” Foster said.
Ashley offered him her hand.
Foster took it and drew her into a hug.
Ashley squeezed him tight. “I hope you find happiness, Foster. If it’s with Jude, I wish you both the best.”
“Thank you,” Foster said before taking a step back. “Are you and the guy I saw on Instagram still together?”
“Which one?”
Foster’s eyes widened. “The guy on the beach. You were in a bikini. It was maybe six, seven months ago?”
“If it’s who I think it was—that was just a bit of fun. I’ve been sowing some wild oats since us.” Ashley smiled. “There’s no one in particular right now, and that’s perfectly fine. I’m trying to learn to be happy with me before I get into anything serious.”
“When did you get so wise?”
“Wise? I’m anything but wise,” Ashley said, chuckling. Her smile faded some. “I took stock of some things after we split—and realized I didn’t like what I saw. Either I fixed what I didn’t like, or I was just going to face a lot more unhappiness in the future.”
“Sounds pretty wise to me.”
Ashley sighed. “Maybe. We’ll see.” She smiled. “Well, you were the only person I really wanted to see here. Now that I’ve said my piece, I think I’m getting the hell out of here. Especially since my wingwoman was a no-show.”
“Imogene?”
“Yep. Well, who could blame her?” Ashley said. She leaned closer. “You did hear about Rick and Coach, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Foster said, lifting a brow. “I’m stunned.”
