Chapter 13
Two weeks later
New Year's Eve
Kai's parents had always loved to buy a ton of fireworks.
They had enough property that they could shoot off whatever they wanted and not bother anyone.
Kai would have friends over to do it when he was growing up, and it became a family tradition.
Luna obviously loved it and looked forward to it, so we planned to spend New Year's Eve with them even though Kai wasn't with us.
Carly from the restaurant was close to her sister, Hannah, and Hannah had two young boys.
They all came as well, and Kai's parents loved it.
"Ash Adams came to see you at work today," she said, once the door was closed.
"I know," I said, since she knew I had talked to him. I had seen her after he came into the restaurant that morning, so I wasn't sure why she was bringing it up now.
"I just thought you might have plans with him tonight."
"No, uh, he, we're not quite to that point. I’m not really making obvious plans with him or anything—for Lu's sake. I'm just… I’m not ready for that with Ash."
"He was cute today. He brought you a flower."
"I know."
"That's so sweet. Did he ask you to do something with him tonight? I thought I heard that."
"Yeah, but he knew I had Lu."
"You've been hanging out with her since you got off work. Hannah and the boys are going back to her house after this, and I'm going home. Lu could hang out with me. She could spend the night, and I'll take her home in the morning."
"I couldn't."
"Why not? I’m not doing anything. I have to get back home to Jimmy as soon as I leave here. (She was talking about her dog.) Come on. It's been a while since Lu spent the night with me. Would you go see Ash if she came to stay with me?"
"I mean, yes, theoretically I could, but I wasn't expecting to do that. I am not dressed or anything. He's at a party."
"Don't you want to go with him to a party? He brought you a flower. What's wrong with you? Do you know what Ash Adams looks like?"
"Yes, I do. And he's about to get famous."
"Did he get that role?"
"Yes, and he leaves for L.A. next month. He'll be gone all of February."
"They're filming it already?" she asked.
"No, they're filming later in the year. This trip is Ash and Sam spending time with the director, getting to know him and what he wants. And also the characters they'll be playing and the songs and everything."
"It's the guys from Den of Thieves, right?"
I nodded because she knew about the role Ash had auditioned for.
Den of Thieves was a 90's grunge band whose tragic story rocked the country and made bigger headlines than Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.
The director was a young guy, the son of a famous director, and the movie was anticipated.
Sam was just getting notoriety as an actor, but he had been doing it for years and had a lot of experience.
Ash, however, was a nobody in Hollywood.
He wasn't even actively trying to be an actor.
He had done a few scenes in Alex's series, but it was nothing compared to the task that lay in front of him with this movie.
The director believed in him, though. Ash flew to L.A.
recently to spend the day with him, and he got the news the following day that he got the role.
He was nervous about it, and I had been hyping him up for the last few days since he found out.
That was another element of me getting feelings for him, but I didn't say as much to Carly right then.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Kai's mom said, coming into the kitchen with us.
"No, not at all," I said, smiling at her. "Are we ready for the finale?"
She shook her head. "Not quite yet. I just came in to get Hannah's little boy some more mittens. He won't stand by the heater."
"He won't stand still at all," Carly said, laughing. "Thanks for letting them come over."
"Oh, we love it," Nana said. "Ted's been talking about what kind of fireworks he's going to get for the last month." She paused and looked at me. "Would you and Lu both want to spend the night?"
It wasn't out of nowhere for her to ask, but I didn't think we would stay, and I shook my head.
"I was just asking her to let Lu come home with me," Carly said.
"Oh, I didn't know you already had plans."
"We were just mentioning it," I said. "I was thinking of going somewhere with a friend."
I clamped my mouth shut before I could say more. I had no idea why I would say that much.
Kai's mom became engaged, and she asked enough questions to realize that it was a young man with whom I had potential plans. Carly also chimed in. She said that he had brought me a flower today.
To my utter shock, Kai's mom cried.
She cried from happiness.
She said what a relief it was to hear me talking about another young man.
She said she was scared I would have a hard time trusting anyone again after what Kai did.
She shed silent tears while saying about five emotion-filled sentences to me.
I was so shocked and surprised that all I could do was stand there and stare at her while she spoke.
It was only silent for a few seconds afterward because the door slid open.
"We're about to do it!" Luna called.
"Hey, Lu, do you want to come spend the night with me and see Jimmy? I'll make you chocolate chip pancakes in the morning."
Luna looked at me. "Can I?"
I nodded.
***
And the next thing I knew, it was an hour later, and I was on my way to the private home of one Byron Adams. He was Ash's second cousin, and I pulled up at his house, gawking with amazement.
I had no idea there were even homes like this in Billings.
It was a mansion, and there were what must have been a hundred cars in a line down his driveway.
I almost parked, but I saw a flashing light ahead.
I knew it to be a man with a flashlight, so I drove toward it.
"Welcome, happy new year. We're happy to park your car for you, ma'am. Do you have your invitation? You'll need it for parking and entrance."
"Uh, no, I, my friend's in there, and he told me I could meet him here."
"Are you Audrey?" he asked, softening a little.
"Yes," I said, with a relieved smile.
"Ash called. There's a spot open on the other side of that white SUV. You can park there. Talk to Ross at the door. She'll let you in."
I thanked him, parked by the white SUV, and made my way to the door of the grand lodge-like home.
There was a fountain outside at the entryway, and three people dressed in black were there to greet me.
I was wearing my old faithful little black dress.
With a light black cardigan. It was a little too cold out for this, but I didn't have a coat that felt nice enough for the occasion, and I knew I would be indoors.
I was wearing a dress I had bought five or six years ago in Paris. I wore it quite a bit when I had something nice to go to. It was comfortable, and I was as confident as I could be, but my self-esteem was volatile since I was walking into such an unexpectedly upscale circumstance.
I talked to Ross at the door, and she showed me inside, past the table with two ladies in sequins who were taking tickets.
There was a gorgeous walk-in closet near the door with a man in a suit who asked for my coat.
I took off my little sweater and handed it to the guy, even though I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to have it with me or not.
I wasn't sure of anything at the moment.
It felt good to have Kai's mom's support, but there were so many other hurdles between Ash and me that I doubted even being there.
It was fine, though. I had traveled the world and been in situations where I knew no one else in a room.
I knew how to pretend I was comfortable when I wasn't.
I smiled and scanned the living room, looking for Ash.
There were at least fifty people in plain sight, all of them talking to each other in groups.
There was music playing over the stereo, but it wasn't Ash.
I knew he was playing music here tonight, but I didn't know any details.
I had made it inside, and I figured I would find him by wandering around.
I had checked in with him from Kai's parents' house to make sure he was still okay with me coming.
I knew he was expecting me and that he was happy to have me come.
I was absentmindedly thinking of these things as I looked all around the room.
"Audrey?" It was a guy's voice, but I knew it wasn't Ash.
"My breakfast queen!"
It was Brad Hall, owner of Hall Homes. He was a customer of mine.
He was a big man who was in his sixties and owned a big development and construction company.
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, so Carly usually knew our customers better than I did.
She was the one who would always see people from the restaurant while we were in public.
But Brad had been placing big orders with me from the beginning, and I knew him personally.
I hugged him and his wife and started talking to them.
While I was in the middle of conversing with them, Mason came up to us.
I would recognize Ash's brother from a mile away.
He looked a lot like Ash, and his face was ingrained in my mind since I saw him the night at Tony's when I reconnected with Ash.
He was suddenly standing next to me, and I introduced him to Brad and his wife.
I could tell they assumed we were there together, and I didn't take the time to explain.
Mason seemed like he wanted me to follow him. I told Brad and his wife that it was great seeing them, and then I walked off with him. "Where's Ash?" I asked.
He turned to me with a smile as we walked. "Hello and happy New Year to you, too."
"Happy New Year. Sorry. I didn't expect this to be such a production. Ash said he was playing a party at his cousin's. This is so formal."
"You look great, he said, looking me over. "You look like you were expecting this."
"The dress was more prepared than I was," I assured him, causing him to laugh. "Where are we going?" I asked after we made our way past a large group of people in the kitchen.
"There's a set of stairs over here," he said. "Ash is in the basement."