Chapter 18
Ash
Ash had not seen his woman in a whole month, and the first time had to be like this.
The freaking fishnets.
He found it difficult to think straight.
His heart felt like it might explode.
He was now waiting for her to change and come out into the lobby.
His parents and siblings had come too, along with Val's boyfriend.
They were all still with him in the lobby.
He didn't want to overwhelm Audrey by having so many people with him, but they wanted to go to dinner together, and they insisted on waiting to congratulate her about the show.
Josie was there, too, along with Luna and a few others.
Ash was still gathering his wits after what he had seen on stage. He was nervous for her, but it was for no reason. She was amazing—perfect out there. It was a good thing she didn't have a main role, because he wasn't sure his heart could take it.
He felt so engaged every second she was on stage.
Her voice was captivating. She was a beautiful dancer, and he could not take his eyes off of her the whole time.
Ash had watched with clenched fists, feeling this odd mix of pride and possessiveness.
He loved seeing her out there doing her thing.
But he hated that other men had seen her.
It was too much. He was in love with her.
He wanted to make a life with Audrey. He hadn't seen her in a month.
And his first vision of her was this beautiful spectacle.
Now he was about to see her again. It was packed in the lobby.
His family was there. Her family was there.
Ash was tightly wound, like a spring. His chest was tight, and he had to remind himself to breathe.
He could see his off-white sweater move as he took a deep breath and his chest rose and fell.
He was holding a bouquet of flowers, and he flexed his hand around the stems just to give himself something to do as he waited.
Conversations went on around him.
He was even a part of some of them.
But all he could think about was…
And then there she was.
Several people had come out before her, but this time it was Audrey.
She was walking with another young woman, and they were both smiling.
Her hair was still styled the same way it had been for the play—a huge mass of curls.
It was bigger and curlier than usual, and he wondered how she got it like that.
She looked beautiful in baggy, pleated dress slacks with her silky, button-down blouse that was tucked in.
She was perfect, and his heart felt like it might actually explode.
Ash took another deep breath.
He could hear his mom saying that she saw Audrey, but he didn't take his eyes off her.
He watched as Luna ran to her mom and they embraced.
The smiles and the love were so beautiful.
She hugged her daughter, and then they shared a short exchange.
Audrey wasn't preoccupied with greeting everyone else.
In those seconds, she stooped down and fully focused on Luna.
Ash was dying to see her. Selfishly, he wanted her to turn her attention to him.
But the sight of her, so sweetly attentive and devoted to her daughter, it was even better than getting what he wanted.
She stood, and Luna began pulling her toward the group.
She seemed excited and determined, and Audrey could do nothing but get pulled along by her daughter.
She glanced Ash's way, and with a smile and a finger in the air, she said, "One second," to him. They only held eye contact for a heartbeat, and she was pulled into the crowd.
Ash watched it all transpire.
He had no idea what he was seeing at first, but Luna pulled her to a lady Audrey didn't expect to see.
There was a huge moment of surprise, and Ash was about three seconds into it when he figured out that it was Audrey's mother from Colorado.
Luna was adorably jumping up and down with excitement, and Audrey hugged her mother, who handed her flowers.
Ash's family was standing to the side waiting for him, and he could hear them talking about what they wanted for dinner.
He wondered what having her mother in town meant for him.
Most of all, he just wanted to be next to her.
It was extremely difficult to wait when he was so anxious to see her and touch her.
Absence had made the heart grow fonder. His heart was entirely too fond. It ached with fondness.
Audrey talked to her mom and to Josie and Luna, and then she looked over at Ash.
She headed his way, glancing at Carly and saying something before turning back to Ash.
She walked toward him. He held out the flowers to offer them to her, and she shook her head, beaming.
She took the flowers from him, settling them next to the other ones she was carrying before reaching out to hug him.
Her cheeks were pink, and Ash felt like he could just die happy now that he was finally holding her.
They embraced for too short a time, and then she pulled back, smiling up at him. She kept a hold of his hand with her free hand.
"I can't believe you're here," she said, staring into his eyes. "I thought you were coming back on Wednesday."
She let go of his hand. It was casual, and he didn't expect her to hold it like that, but he missed the contact.
"Luke was really cool about me coming back early. I didn't even have to tell him why. Is your mom here?"
"Yes!" she said, her eyes widening. "That's what I was about to tell you."
"You did amazing, by the way. The show was awesome, and you were so good, Audrey."
"Thank you. Thank you for coming."
"We loved it."
"You brought your family?" she said, with a glance behind him.
"Yes, and we're going out to dinner. I was going to see if you wanted to come—you and your people. I guess you might need to make other plans now that your mom's here, but—"
"I don't want to leave you," she said. She tucked herself behind those flowers in the cutest way possible and said it so quietly that only Ash could hear.
"Me neither," he returned instantly, staring at her adorable face. "Let's all go out to eat."
She glanced at him and nodded. "What about Carly?"
He nodded. "Whoever you want. Let's all just go."
"Where are we going?"
"Tony's," Ash said, without hesitating. He had heard his family mention it, and he knew it would be easy.
Audrey nodded. "I'll tell them."
They all went in several vehicles to the Italian restaurant where Ash had run into Audrey a few months ago.
She had been about to audition for the musical, and now she had just performed in the final show.
It was a full circle moment, but Ash hadn't mentioned as much to Audrey because they hadn't had the time.
They rode in separate vehicles to the restaurant.
He was already seated when Audrey came in.
Her mom, Josie, and Luna were with her. Ash had no idea what Audrey had told her mom, but she was checking him out like she knew they were more than friends.
It had probably been a dead giveaway that he gave her an expensive bouquet of roses and couldn't take his eyes off her.
Ash was used to waiting, though. Everything about this relationship was going slower than he wished it would, but he was good at pretending to be unaffected.
He thought of her on that stage with the legs and the stockings and high heels, and he really, really wanted to rush things along.
He wanted to cover her with a long fur coat and a sign around her neck that said 'property of Ashton Adams'.
He smiled at the silly chain of thoughts.
"What's your favorite color of horse?"
He heard Luna ask the question in his direction, and he turned to see that she was looking at his brother, who was sitting next to him. Everyone was sitting at one large table at Tony's, and Luna was entertaining them all with questions.
"Me?" Mason said. "My favorite color horse? Brown, I guess. Maybe brown with white spots."
"Brown is Ash's favorite," Luna said, with wide eyes and an expression full of certainty. She glanced at Ash, who smiled and tilted his head at her. He didn't want to contradict her, but he had never even thought about his favorite color horse.
"I do like brown ones," he said. "How did you know that?"
"Because Sunday is your favorite horse to ride at the ranch."
"Oh, you're so right. She is my favorite horse. Brown is my favorite."
"What's your favorite color horse?" Luna went on to ask Val.
"Tan," she said. "Like the blonde ones."
Luna nodded. "I know those. That's like Sugar Cube."
"Sugar Cube is her Aunt's horse," Audrey explained.
Val went on to say something about blonde horses, but Ash got stuck on the fact that Lu knew Sunday was his favorite when he had never told her that.
He never had a conversation with Luna about horses at all.
He glanced at Audrey, who gave him a smile.
They were sitting next to each other this time.
It was their first time to see each other in a month, and it was extremely difficult to keep his hands to himself. He felt such love for her.
He just kept remembering her on stage.
He could hear the song replaying in his mind.
"He had it comin'!"
He could just hear them on the stage and see them swinging around that rolling door. She had spun around on that door like a figure skater, and now she was there, sitting next to him. He was close but not close enough. Their families were sharing dinner, so that meant something.
"What's your favorite food?" Luna asked.
"Mine's steak," Mason said. "I like a big old juicy steak."
Luna made a face at that, which made Mason laugh.
"What about you?" Mason asked her.
"Macaroni and cheese."
"That's a good one," Mason said. "That's in my top five.
"My favorite food is tacos," Val said. "Hard-shell tacos with cold lettuce and shredded cheese."
"I don't like lettuce," Luna said. "I only like it a little," she added.
That made Val laugh. "Ash's favorite is fried chicken," Val said.
"That boy can put away some fried chicken," their mother, Jamie, agreed, making others laugh.
"I have a new favorite food, though," Ash said.
"More than fried chicken?" Val asked, looking confused.
Ash nodded. "I guess my taste buds have changed.
"What's your new favorite?" Their mom asked, making a doubtful face and leaning over to look at Ash.
"French toast."
"French toast?" said his mom, along with at least one other person.
"French toast?" Luna said. "My mom can make French toast.
"Your mom can make most things," Josie said.
Audrey gave a humble smile.
Her mother being there was a surprise. Ash being there was a surprise. He had no idea how Audrey was handling it so well. She had just performed a show, and now she was smiling and easygoing with unexpected guests. Ash kept his feelings inside and his hands to himself. He just sat next to her.
Everything was great, cordial, and wonderful with dinner. He was glad the families got to know each other and that they got along. But goodness, he was actually aching to hold Audrey.
That didn't get to happen. Their relationship hadn't been made official, and therefore wasn't acknowledged by these people.
They acted nonchalant, and after dinner, they all said goodbye.
Ash would have insisted that they hang out that evening, but Audrey's mom and sister were in town, and that complicated things. He would have to be patient.
Audrey had made a regretful face when she said goodbye to him at the restaurant. "I'll text you in a little bit, and we'll figure out a way to connect," she had said.
It was an hour later when he heard from her.