Page 135 of Leave Me Broken

“No we don’t.”

“Pay.” Ash grabs my chin on my way to the paper towels. He watches me with caution. “Yes we do. I want to explain what she meant—”

“Ash.” I sigh. “I fully understand what she said, but I am in no mood to discuss it. If you can’t see I’m dealing with a bit of my own thing right now.”

“You need to know I wasn’t hiding that from you. I truly forgot, and before you ask how does someone forget about something like that, she did it without me. Then she told me after, and if you’re wondering if I was upset, no. I was only upset that it was necessary in the first place, but I never told her to do that because I didn’t even know she was pregnant. That is what she was talking about the day you caught me throwing her out of my office.”

I can’t even comprehend what he said. I cup his face and offer my most reassuring smile. “Everything is fine. We can talk when we get home, but I promise, Ash, we are good.”

I let go of him and he lets go of me so I’m able to dry my hands. He’s holding the shirt I need and passes it to me. “A guy gave me his shirt because mine was covered in blood.” His jaw ticks but he doesn’t say anything, just nods.

I switch shirts and Ash pulls the guy’s from me, claiming he will return it to it’s owner. Guilt rests deep in his stormy eyes but I ignore it.

“We should not cut anymore during the season.”

“Okay.”

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “We will discuss things—”

“Okay.” I roll my eyes before Ash and I freeze with my snapping. “Okay. . .” I try again, less aggressive this time. “Sorry, I, I just don’t want to deal with this right now, okay?”

“Okay.”

I can’t leave him looking a mixture of upset and angry, so I press my front into his and hook the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”

“It is fine.”

“Luca offered to bandage me.”

He scoffs. “I will do it. Meet me at our benches.”

I can’t stop the giggle from tumbling from my lips. Ash scowls more. “How are you feeling with Luca right now?”

The muscle in his jaw pops. “I want to rip his tongue out his mouth and shove it down his throat.”

“Oh . . . so no round two?”

“You’ll be after him, little girl. Now go, before I send you out there with a bruised arse as well.”

I laugh and kiss his cheek. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Oh. My. God.”

I shove a finger into Janelle’s lips. We are out to dinner, but we had to pee and what happened this morning just spilled from my lips out of nowhere. I shouldn’t have taken that second pill, but my knee, and arms, everything—was throbbing before I did. Now I can’t even remember which is my hurt knee.

“You can’t tell, um . . .”

“Ronni?” Janelle asks with a laugh.

“Yeah, no, she will not get it.”

“No, shit, I don’t even get it, P.” She turns to look in the mirror. I back out of the way of the other mirror. I don’t want to see myself right now. “I mean, I get it. But I don’t get it, ya know? Ash is . . . next-level obsessed with you. It doesn’t make sense for him to let Luca do that.”

You’re telling me. “I know.”

“So”—she spins and crosses her arms over her chest—“did the happy couple just become a throuple?”

A rushed laugh spills from my lips. “Ash would kill you for even saying that.”

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