Page 49 of Blue Horizons

He cheek kisses Emma, Cora, Mona, and shakes Scott’s hand. My eyes roll at Scott’s apparent haughtiness, when he shouldn’t even be here.

“We’re happy to support this cause. Thank you for inviting us,” I say, taking a step back away from him.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to personally introduce you to a few of our top supporters this evening. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Of course, we’d love to meet them,” Emma says with her usual grace.

“Fantastic.” He claps his hands together, and leads us through the lobby and into the concert hall. The theater-style seating has been removed and in its place is a gorgeous hardwood floor. Round tables have been set up in the back half of the room, and along the walls. They’ve left the front near the stage open for dancing.

“Ah, here we go. Mr. Hale, I’d like to introduce you to Ms. Layne and her friends. They’ve kindly agreed to perform for us this evening.” Mr. Lang smiles at all of us.

“Hey, I’m Beau, it’s nice to meet you.” He reaches out to shake my hand, Emma’s, and Cora’s.

I’d recognize Beau Hale just about anywhere, Mr. Heartthrob Tennis Champion himself.

“This is my friend, Jude Jamison.” He tilts his head to the guy standing next to him.

Cora steps in a little closer to me and reaches out to shake his hand. Jude’s eyes widen and run over the length of her, clearly liking what he sees. Pinching my lips together, I hold in a laugh. She may be from the Upper East Side, but she has a thing for athletes over the suits of Wall Street, and she just might have found her next challenge.

Pulling the attention off of them, I face Beau. “So, why NO MORE?” I ask him.

“Why not?” he beams. It’s easy to see why he’s frequently found on the cover of magazines. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he smiles genuinely at me. “I have a vested interest in raising awareness for those who suffer from abuse, no matter what kind. People should be made to feel they have a way out that’s positive and not a dead end, if you catch my drift.”

He winks at me; I like this guy. The stories about him being sincerely nice seem pretty accurate.

“I do.” We smile at each other and share a knowing look.

“Thank you, Mr. Hale.” Mr. Lang reaches out to shake his hand again, alerting all of us that it’s time to move on.

“Of course.” He smiles at Mr. Lang and then winks at me again.

News of our arrival spreads pretty quickly. As we move around the room, people are now full-on staring, leaving me uncomfortable. Giving Mona a look that she recognizes, she nods her head understanding that it’s time for us to go.

“I just have one more person, and then I’ll let you be on your way. Last I heard, he was down front enjoying the music.” Mr. Lang waves his hand in the direction of the stage. A small ensemble of the Nashville Symphony is currently on the stage playing jazz.

Approaching a high top table set off to the side, the man’s back is to us, but his black cowboy hat immediately has the hairs standing up on my arms. With the heels of our shoes clicking on the floor, he feels us approach, turns, and my world stops.

“Ash.” His name slips from my lips just barely a whisper. The only person to hear me is Mona, and her head whips from looking at me to him.

He is even more attractive than I remember, and my eyes drift down the length of him. His face is smooth, stubble free, and he’s wearing a classic black tuxedo. He’s holding a highball glass with an amber liquid, and his other hand is tucked into his pants pocket. Add in the hat, and one word comes to mind: sexy. He’s so handsome, it should be a sin.

Blue eyes appraise me, and my body flushes under his perusal. I’m at a loss as to whether I should say something or not, but then again, I’m not even sure I could. Just being in his presence, he fills all of my senses. My mind is scattered, and as he pinches his lips together, I’m consumed with the few moments we’ve had together and what those lips feel like on me.

Mr. Lang leans over and places his hand on Ash’s shoulder.

“Will, I’d like to introduce you to Ms. Avery Layne. She and her friends have graciously agreed to perform for us this evening and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her here with us. Ms. Layne, this is Mr. Will Ashton. You may already know of him, but what most don’t know is that he is one of our largest supporters, and this evening we consider him to be a guest of honor.”

Wait!

What?

Did he just say Will Ashton?

Cora gasps next to me.

My eyes flip back to his and his face is expressionless. Seeing him now, here with the cowboy hat, how—just how—did I not recognize him? Apparently, Cora didn’t either.

My mind starts racing and several things hit me all at once.

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