10. Ashley
Chapter ten
Ashley
If Ashley had to spend one more second enclosed within the walls of this hellish nightmare, she was going to lose her mind.
She needed to get out of Winterridge, far away from the estate and Carter.
At least enough distance to clear her head.
Which was why she convinced Taylor and Tori to go into town with her.
The minute she threw shopping in their direction, she knew it was a done deal.
Neither girl could turn down a trip to Greenwich Avenue.
Ashley met her cousins in the vestibule.
Tori yanked on the belt of her chestnut peacoat, highlighting her tall and willowy frame.
She then adjusted the gold chain of her purse.
With her long limbs and simple grace, she had that effortless class like her mother.
Taylor was softer, but no less striking.
Her dark hair framed her face, and her amber eyes held a youthful glow that Ashley had lost a long time ago.
They’d kept in touch over the years with random ‘how are you’ texts and birthday wishes posted on social media.
Looking at them now, Ashley couldn’t help but see them as the seventeen- and nineteen-year-old girls she’d last spent any real amount of time with.
But they weren’t those young girls anymore.
They had become adults who were making a name for themselves in their respective industries.
Tori in finance and Taylor in fashion. She’d sent Tori flowers when she was promoted and Taylor’s favorite chocolates when she’d landed her first major fashion feature.
Ashley had tried to celebrate the moments that mattered, clinging to whatever pieces of family they had left.
Even when the moments were quiet, she silently rooted for them.
A slight vibration broke through the sounds of adjusting coats and scarves. Tori slipped out her phone and sighed.
“Problem?” Ashley asked.
“Isn’t there always?” she said as she tapped the screen with another sigh. “One of my clients is panicking because the market dipped half a percent. Apparently, the world is ending.”
“I’m sure it’ll be back up in a few days.”
Tori glanced up from her phone. “Exactly. People make the biggest mistakes when they panic.”
Ashley nodded. “I learned the market isn’t nearly as volatile as people make it out to be. Given enough time, it recovers.”
Tori laughed, but it lacked actual humor. “Try telling that to people who make a sport out of watching their retirement accounts.”
Taylor snorted. “To be fair, you finance people are the ones who talk about numbers like the apocalypse is five minutes away at any given time.”
“That’s because it’s my job to keep people from making terrible decisions based on irrational emotions. We look at numbers and trends. If you want to gamble based on a feeling, buy a lottery ticket.”
“Every Tuesday and Friday for thirty years. Still waiting for the big one.”
All three turned to the familiar voice. It had been years, but that smooth and controlled tone with its dryly amused cadence was unmistakable. Though there was a slight raspy texture to it now.
“Luca!” Taylor exclaimed and hugged the man who had chauffeured them around Connecticut since they were babies. Silver threaded through his dark hair, but it hadn’t dimmed the sparkle in his eyes or the flair with which he swept into a room.
With a laugh, he returned her embrace while Hawthorne let out a disapproving sigh. He firmly believed the help and the family should keep a professional distance, but Luca was just as much a part of the family as everyone else in this house.
“Please tell me you’re driving us to Greenwich,” Taylor said as he released her and gave a quick hug to Tori, then Ashley.
“At your service, Miss Taylor.” Luca offered a theatrical bow. “I have years of gossip to catch up on after all.”
“As do we,” Ashley said.
Tori’s phone rang, and she answered while Taylor spun toward the stairs.
Ashley headed out the front door. She almost glanced over her shoulder to see if Carter had appeared; she could almost feel his presence, but she held her ground and continued on.
She wasn’t in the mood for niceties after their last encounter.
Nor the unexpected realization that she hadn’t fully come to terms with how they had left things.
She was still angry with him, but more than that, she was confused.
Carter was always an open book to her, able to know exactly what he was thinking or feeling.
Yet after all this time, she couldn’t figure out why he never came after her. Even if just for one last goodbye.
Their relationship had ended abruptly. If they could even call it a relationship.
Funny how one kiss had rewritten ten years of friendship.
The moment Carter’s hands had cupped her face, she’d known.
It wasn’t infatuation or teenage hormones.
It was every holiday and summer they’d spent together finally finding their way to the surface.
And then he walked away from her...
With a sigh, she reached for the car door, but Luca beat her to it, yanking the black door open with practiced grace.
He stood, one hand on the door, the other behind him. “After you, Miss Ashley.” He leaned in as she ducked to get in. “Rumor has it you and Carter got into it yesterday. Glad to see the lovebirds are back on track.”
She pushed to a standing position and met Luca’s warm brown eyes. “Lovebirds?”
A laugh escaped with no decorum. “That boy has loved you at every stage of your lives, even that awkward stage between twelve and thirteen.” He clenched his teeth, and his lips parted in horror.
“You make one slip with the scissors.”
Luca’s head tilted, sympathy shining in his eyes. “Sweetie, the short bangs were the least of your problems. The zebra-print leggings under a denim skirt? Or what about the skinny sequin scarves?”
“I wanted to be Hannah Montana.”
“Because you were living a double life?”
Her head tilted as she narrowed her gaze. “Now you’re just creating gossip. You’re better than that, Luca.”
“Am I?”
Ashley laughed at his raised eyebrows. “Where are Tori and Taylor?”
“Tori had to take a call from a client, and Taylor ran to her room to grab a pair of gloves.”
“In other words, we have time to kill.”
He rested his elbow on the door, his chin on his open palm. “Yes, so tell me about this fight with Carter.”
“I’d rather talk about you. How has your love life been?”
“I met someone.”
“Oh!” Ashley exclaimed. “Do tell.”
“Not much to tell. We dated for two years. I was head over heels in love, and then his mother got sick, and he left me for Miami.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Surely you could have. You loved him, no?”
“More than anything, but your grandfather needed me.”
“Not saying you aren’t the best, but he could have found another driver.”
“Everyone had abandoned him. I couldn’t be another name on that list. Not after everything he has done for me over the years.”
Luca had a record after nearly killing a man who attacked his friend outside a bar.
It wasn’t a secret among the Wetherbys, though Luca never spoke about it.
The incident had divided his small hometown.
Some called him a hero for stopping a hate crime against his friend, while others believed he’d gone too far.
In the end, he took a plea deal and served a year in jail for aggravated assault.
“He was abandoned because of his own actions.”
“Yes, which is exactly why I stayed. He could have easily abandoned me after the background check, but he didn’t.
He told me people mess up every day, and some let that define their entire lives; those people are weak.
The strong. They accept they did wrong, learn from it, and use every day to do better than the last. And that’s what I’ve done. ”
“Maybe he needed to take his own advice.”
“He was grieving.”
“We all were.” The words lashed out with more hurt and anger than she had meant. “Didn’t make it right.”
“No, and he knows that.”
“Does he?”
“I think he knew within the first year, but he was too embarrassed to fix what he had broken. Besides, he wasn’t the only one to cause damage that day. Everyone did and said things they shouldn’t have.”
She met his gaze, and he didn’t have to say a word. “If Aunt Marilyn kept her mouth shut.”
“Sweetie. Whether she did or not, your mother and the pool boy were front-page news. All anyone had to do was check their notifications or open their browser, and they would have seen it.”
“Aunt Marilyn turned it into a spectacle. It could have been handled quietly. Respectfully.”
“I say this with all the love in my heart for you: nothing about the situation was respectful, and that was your mother’s cross to bear.” He adjusted the cuffs of his coat, tugging at the expensive material. “And you forgave her.”
Silence spread between them as Luca’s words settled in her mind. He made a valid point. Then again, Camille Wetherby would not be ignored. She had called Ashley five times a day for a week before showing up at her place. She didn’t let a week pass, let alone eight years.
“Are we ready?” Tori asked as she and Taylor hurried across the heated cobblestone. Snow lined the driveway and covered the lawn, but the driveway and pathways were all cleared. Taylor tugged on a pair of leather gloves as Tori shoved her phone in her bag.
“Is everything okay with your client?” Ashley asked.
“For now. I have put my out of office up on email and have turned my ringer and notifications off. For the next two hours, I want to catch up and shop until we can’t walk another step.”
The ride took no time as Ashley, Tori, and Taylor caught each other up with their lives as best they could.
As Luca turned the car onto Greenwich Avenue, Taylor sighed, sinking into the leather seat.
“I still can’t believe he lied about dying,” she said the thing that no one else would say but had been hanging over their heads like a black cloud.