Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
CARTER
Ashley avoids me for the rest of the day and barely says a word to me at dinner, instead engaging in conversation with all the Santas seated around the table.
Every time they say something about me or the race, she changes the topic.
She leaves the table early to deliver Nick’s meal to him in bed, and I don’t see her for the rest of the night.
By the next morning, the wall I thought was falling has been rebuilt. She barely engages me in conversation, except to tell me what wedding items she’ll be working on this afternoon.
She can pretend that something didn’t pass between us in her en suite yesterday, but I was there too.
Something definitely did. And fuck if it didn’t surprise me.
I thought this woman could barely tolerate me, but I also thought I couldn’t be attracted to her, that I’d always see her and think of Steph, but that’s changing the more I’m around her.
If I didn’t think she’d slap me, I would have leaned in and kissed Ashley last night.
It just would’ve confused us both. Although I’m annoyed, it’s probably best that she’s giving me the cold shoulder and reestablishing our boundaries. Steph seemed to understand my dilemma when I explained my reasons to her, but I don’t think she’d let me off so easily if I did it a second time.
After breakfast, before I left the table, Ashley let me know that we have the tasting appointment this evening. She scheduled it after the guests’ dinner. Apparently, they’re all heading out tomorrow morning once the Santa Fest wraps up.
I spend the day catching up on work and knocking a couple of things off the list for the wedding. It mainly involves phone calls and emails confirming that one thing or another will be dropped off next week in time for the ceremony.
Because I’ll be eating with Ashley at the tasting, I skip dinner in the dining room, opting instead to stay in my room and stream some of the shows I’ve been watching.
I head downstairs about ten minutes before we’re due to show up at Anna’s place, and Ashley is waiting for me by the door, already dressed in her coat and gloves.
“All set?” she asks.
When I nod, she doesn’t say anything else, turns, and heads out of the house. I trail behind, wishing we could get back to that moment in time when things weren’t as tense between us.
Once I’m seated in the passenger seat, I decide to confront her about what happened yesterday. When we talked about our bad date from six months ago, it seemed to lighten things up, so maybe it will do the same this time around.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night.”
Her hands grip the steering wheel tighter. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine if you’re going to avoid me from now until I leave. I thought we were getting to a better place.”
“And how was that?”
I shrug as we turn onto Main Street and pass all the shops decorated with lights and holiday decor. “I don’t know. Friends?”
She glances at me with a slight tilt to her lips, and I realize I’ve tensed up, waiting for her reaction.
“I don’t know what that was yesterday, but I promise it won’t happen again,” I say.
“I don’t know what that was either,” she grumbles. She flicks the blinker on her truck and turns down a side street. “Let’s just forget it ever happened, okay? But from now on, you’re tending to your own wounds.”
A laugh erupts out of me, and she seems surprised by it. “Fair enough.”
Ashley turns the truck into the driveway of an older brick bungalow. The giant evergreen on the front lawn is draped in Christmas lights and could pass for the annual holiday tree downtown. We follow the large candy canes that line the path to the front door.
Ashley rings the doorbell as I try to stay a respectable distance away—a friend zone between us.
A woman in her forties opens the door. She’s dressed in jeans and a red sweater, hair pulled back, with a green apron that says Resting Grinch Face on it.
“Hey, Ashley, come on in. I was sorry to hear that your sister and her fiancé won’t be able to make it tonight.” Anna backs away from the door, and Ashley and I step inside.
“Their loss is our gain. This is the best part of being able to do all this wedding stuff for her.”
She smiles at Ashley and turns her attention to me. “And who do we have here?”
“I’m Carter. The best man.”
Anna takes my offered hand. “Good to meet you. Well, come on in, you guys. I’m just putting the final touches on the appetizers and salads.”
She leads us toward the back of her home. The house is decorated more for someone twenty years her senior, but it has a cozy, lived-in feeling.
I’d assumed we were heading to the kitchen, but we bypass it, and she leads us out the back door and into a small building behind her house.
Even from outside, I catch a scent of something cooking, and whatever it is smells delicious—my mouth waters.
Once we’re inside, I’m surprised to find a modern, somewhat industrial kitchen.
“Wow, I feel like I just walked into a five-star restaurant’s kitchen.”
Anna turns and smiles at me with pride gleaming.
“I added this onto the house about five years ago. It lets me get things done more efficiently and gives me room to hire a few people to help with prep when I have a big event booked. Plus…” She gestures behind where Ashley and I stand side by side.
“It allows me to host potential clients without making them feel awkward because they’re sitting at my kitchen table, watching me run around prepping their food. ”
I turn and see a doorway, so I walk toward it.
It’s a decent-sized room with pictures on the wall of different meals I’m assuming Anna has created.
There’s a table in the center of the room and big windows along one wall that look out over the backyard.
The darkness outside prohibits me from seeing much, but I can make out a forest in the not-too-far distance, so I’m sure the view is killer in the daylight.
“You two can hang your coats on the hooks on the wall. Have a seat, and I’ll bring the first course out shortly.”
Ashley and I do as instructed and take seats across from each other at the table.
I struggle to strip my gaze away from her thin gray sweater and the way it hugs the curves of her chest. I tell myself it’s just because I’m a man, and she’s a woman. I’d notice it regardless of who was sitting across from me. It’s only an observation. It doesn’t mean I like it.
Liar.
I lean over the table a bit and keep my voice down. “I don’t know what she’s making, but it smells good. I feel like Steph and Doug did us a favor putting this one on our plates.” I realize what I just said and chuckle. “No pun intended.”
She smiles with an amused expression. I’m relieved to find that we seem to be back in the space we were in before things got weird again. I hope we can stay here this time.
“I told Steph that a tasting wasn’t necessary, but she insisted.”
“Do you think we’re going to be able to get everything done?” I lean back in my seat.
“I don’t see why not. Have you heard from either of them?”
I shake my head. “Doug isn’t much of a phone talker. I figured you might have heard from Steph.”
“Steph’s probably just busy on set.” Her words don’t match her tone. “I’m starting to wonder if the most challenging part of having this wedding is going to be getting the bride and groom here.”
Without thinking, I reach to take her hand to reassure her, but I stop myself, pulling my hand back and resting it on my thigh. “Don’t worry, they’ll be here. There’s no way they’re going to miss their own wedding.”
Anna walks in carrying our first course, and although I want to continue having Ashley to myself, whatever Anna is bringing smells so good, so I’ll forgive her.
“All right, you two, we’re going to start with the three appetizers and salad that the bride and groom picked.
If there’s something you don’t like, or you don’t think is working, let me know.
We can either scrap the dish altogether and pick something else, or I can make some adjustments to the recipe. ”
“It all looks and smells wonderful,” Ashley says when Anna sets the tray on the table.
“Anna, I have a feeling I’m going to be asking you to marry me by the time the night is through.” I sit up straighter, starving since I skipped dinner.
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, Carter, I’ve been happily married for twenty years.”
“The good ones are always taken.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She winks at Ashley and walks toward the door. “I’ll be back to take the plates and bring out the main course.”
There are two white plates on the end of the tray, so I hand one to Ashley and set the other in front of me.
“Ladies first.” I gesture toward the food.
“Such a gentleman.” Ashley takes one of each appetizer and sets it on her plate.
“Only outside of the bedroom.” I wink, and despite her eye roll, a quiet giggle escapes her. It feels like a small victory, and I like it, but I’m not going to examine why.
“Should we try the same ones at the same time?” she asks after I plate my own.
“Sure, you pick first.”
There are little label cards on the tray, and she leans forward to read one of them. “I’m going to try the bacon-wrapped dates first.”
I pick up the date. “On the count of…three, two, one…”
We both shove the small app into our mouths and chew. The savory flavor of the bacon mixes perfectly with the sweetness of the date, and we hum in approval.
“Oh my gosh, that’s so good.” Another sound of pleasure slips out of Ashley, and this time, my dick takes notice, straining against the zipper.
I clear my throat and shift in my seat. “So good.”
We eat the other two apps—which are just as delicious as the first—and start on the salad.
“Nick was saying all the Santas are leaving tomorrow. Your B&B is going to feel empty without them. Do you have more guests checking in tomorrow?” I spear my salad with my fork.