The Promise of Paradise - By Allie Boniface Page 0,32
mind the extra responsibility. It had been nice, moving about the dining room, checking on customers, answering the phone, and organizing the kitchen in a way she didn’t dare when the manager hung over her shoulder. It made her feel like she wasn’t completely wasting her summer.
Part-time night manager at Blues and Booze? Not a bad way to spend the next few weeks. Maybe she’d talk to Marty about it after all.
* * *
The following night, Ash lay in the bathtub and ran a washcloth across her stomach. Bare toenails peeked at her from beneath the bubbles. She balanced her head on the edge of the tub and let her hair float on the water around her chin. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the waves of raspberry from the candles that flickered on the windowsill. Etta James sang to her from the living room. She hummed to the music and let herself float until the water began to cool.
She hadn’t seen Eddie at all today, but she guessed he’d probably agreed to a double shift at the shop, since he was taking tomorrow off for their party. She couldn’t wait to tell him about the manager position. She’d asked Marty about it earlier, and he’d nearly fallen over in agreement. The stingy guy had even agreed to pay her fifty cents more an hour. Ash smiled and wondered what her sisters, with their six-figure salaries, would say if they knew. She sank lower in the tub and decided she didn’t care. For the first time in her life, she’d chosen her own path, one that curved away from the Kirk family one. So what if it only lasted for a month or so? She still liked the way it felt.
The ring of her cell phone woke her. One wet hand emerged from the water and lifted it from the bathmat. Jen, probably. Ash didn’t bother to look at the screen. She’s probably checking to see what time she and Lucas should get here tomorrow. Or maybe it was Eddie, remembering one more thing he wanted to bring for food. Ash smiled.
“Hello?”
For a moment she heard nothing but silence on the other end of the line. Then a too-familiar voice spoke her name. Her real name. “Ashton?”
Colin. Oh my God. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up in the tub, shaking. Ash stared at the phone as if it had suddenly grown a mouth all its own. For a moment, she thought about hanging up. She didn’t owe Colin anything. He hadn’t called her in almost two months. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her voice.
But she couldn’t hang up. Instead she sat there, dripping, hand frozen to the phone.
“Ash, it’s me.”
As if she didn’t know. As if she could forget the voice that had broken her heart just a few months earlier.
“I know who it is.” She pulled the plug from the drain and reached for a towel, shivering as cool air brushed her damp skin.
“How’ve you been?” He sounded nervous, and she was glad.
What’s with the small talk? “I’m fine.”
“That’s good.” He cleared his throat. “How are your sisters?”
You should know, considering you talked to Jess a couple of weeks ago. “They’re fine too, I guess.” She paused. “What do you want?”
“I…” Colin hesitated. “I miss you.”
Ash dropped the towel and headed into her bedroom. Like hell you do. He wanted something. Or he needed something. He couldn’t have gotten tired of Callie already. She stuck her arms through the sleeves of her robe and sank onto the bed. Rubbing her temple with one hand, she tried to squelch the other thought that insisted on rearing its head.
I miss you too.
“What am I supposed to say to that? You made it pretty clear two months ago that you wanted time. Space. Callie Halliway.” She spoke the name without breaking and was proud of herself. “Besides, you were so embarrassed by everything that happened with my father that you couldn’t wait to get away from it all. Remember?”
“I made a mistake. Please. It’s over with me and Callie. It never was much of anything to begin with.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“Jess told me you took a summer place somewhere up north. Tell me where it is. I’ll come up. Tomorrow. Tonight. Or you come home. Please.” His words spilled out, anxious and awkward. “I want us to try again. I was wrong…I’m sorry.”
Ash closed her eyes. Don’t say that. She couldn’t bear