Shrugging, he looked away. “Willy’s been a good influence on Gavin. I knew he would be. He’s got a gift for helping screwed up kids.”
“He’s awesome. He told me that Gavin can’t stop talking about riding on your motorcycle. He really looks up to you,” Ashley said.
“Yeah. I see the look in his eyes. It was the same one I had whenever Willy would take me on his bike. I’ll bet Gavin ends up prospecting for the MC. It’d be the best thing for him.”
“Is his mom still in rehab?”
“It’s a damn revolving door for her.”
She smiled. “I’m glad he has you and Willy in his life.”
“He’s a good kid. Who’ll never guess who I bumped into today.”
“Who?”
Smokey took a long pull of his beer. “AJ. The fucker almost shit his pants when I came up to him. I wanted to know if he was the one who tried to attack you in your garage.”
“I’d be surprised if he was.”
“He wasn’t. He admitted to flattening your tires, egging your car, following you a couple of times, and, of course, throwing the rocks against your window. I still can’t believe that fucker did that shit.”
“People do a lot of crazy things for love.”
“Yeah, well he’s not with the bitch anymore. I guess he figured out she was using him. Anyway, all the rest of the shit was on Jared or Tanner, or whatever the asshole’s name was.”
“I still can’t believe it. And I was so wrong about Mark.”
Smokey laughed. “You went from thinking he was an axe murder to having me put him on the construction crew to build our house.”
She giggled. “I know. I’m grateful to him. But, I have to admit, I still think he’s an oddball.”
He laughed then cupped her chin in his palm and kissed her deep and slow. “I love you.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
Smokey was the last man she ever thought she’d be in a relationship with, but he swept her off her feet when she least expected it, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
For a second only their heavy breathing filled the air, and they were frozen in the moment, suspended in reality, existing only in each other’s gazes. Then Ashley traced her finger over his brows, down his nose, over his cheeks, and across his lips until he caught it in his mouth and sucked it lightly.
“You’re my heart and my life,” she murmured.
“And you’ve stolen my heart and blew my world apart in the best fuckin’ way. I need to ask you something. Are you one hundred percent okay about walking away from the partnership?”
Without any hesitation, she replied, “Absolutely. I know Zach’s angry at me, and probably kicking himself that he didn’t send Tyler to do the marketing campaign for your company, but I’m happy with my decision.”
“But your whole focus was on making partner. It’s what you’ve been working for all these years.”
Ashley raked her fingers through his hair. “You’re my focus. Before I met you, I thought being a partner of the firm was everything I wanted, but I was wrong.”
“I just wanna be sure you won’t regret it.”
“I won’t. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own marketing company. There are a lot of companies in the county that could use my expertise.”
A wide smile spread across his face. “That’s a damn good idea. You need to do it. I’ll help. You can keep your office at the company and work from there. I’ll have Pearl and the rest of the staff help you out. This is perfect, darlin’.”
The excitement in his voice and the sparkle in his eyes were all the proof she needed to
confirm that she’d made the right decision in turning down the partnership.
“You’re my forever,” he whispered.
A small smile danced across her lips. “I like the sound of that.”
He kissed her again then pulled back. “I want you to wear my patch—be my old lady.”
Tears sprang into her eyes as she looked into his love-filled ones. “I’m so damn happy right now. I’d love to be your old lady even though I’m not really sure what that means.”
Smokey let out a loud guffaw. “You’re so fuckin’ cute.” He wrapped his arm around her and tenderly squeezed her shoulder. “Being my old lady is a serious thing. It means you belong to me and I belong to you.”
“Is it like an engagement?”
“More than that—we’re fused together. We’re each other’s forever, and there’s nothing we can’t love