“But Ash is your friend,” Josie said. “Aren’t you mad at me for breaking up with him?”
“You’re our friend,” Mia said. “Ash isn’t our only connection to you, Josie. And women have to close ranks and stick together! I’m sure whatever the problem is that it’s Ash’s fault.”
“Absolutely,” Bethany said loyally. “Gabe and Jace messed up plenty of times so it’s certainly par for the course that Ash would too. He is a man after all.”
Josie laughed even as tears welled in her eyes.” Oh God, I love you guys.”
“We love you too,” Mia said. “Now let’s get something yummy and fattening to eat and bitch about men.”
Ten minutes later, they were seated at a small pub not far from Josie’s apartment. They placed their orders and then Mia all but pounced on Josie.
“Okay, give us the dirt. All Gabe and Jace have said was that you broke up with Ash and moved out and that Ash got shitfaced drunk last night.”
Josie winced and put her face in her hands. “Oh God. I don’t know what to do. On one hand I’m pissed and hurt and a whole host of things. And on the other, I wonder if I’ve overreacted.”
“What happened?” Bethany asked softly.
Josie sighed and then recounted the entire story from beginning to end, leaving nothing out. Not the fact that Ash had her followed, him buying her mother’s jewelry and him insisting on her moving in with him after what happened with Michael, and then her discovery that he was the one who bought all her paintings.
“Wow,” Mia said, sitting back in her seat. “I would say I was surprised but that so sounds like something Ash would do.”
“Gabe and Jace too,” Bethany pointed out. “They’re very determined when they want something.”
“True,” Mia admitted. “They’re persistent if nothing else.”
Bethany nodded her agreement.
“Did I overreact?” Josie asked. “Part of me says yes while the other part of me is hurt. I mean I’m pissed too, but more than that I’m devastated.”
“You didn’t overreact, Josie,” Bethany said.
Mia sat forward again, her gaze earnest as she stared at Josie. “I understand why you’re upset. But listen to me, Josie, and I don’t say this to hurt you. I’m saying it to make a point. Ash could have any woman he wanted. There are literally thousands of women who’d line up to have a chance with him. But he wants you.”
Bethany nodded rapidly.
“I absolutely get what you’re saying about taking away your independence and how what he did negated a lot of what you’d worked very hard to achieve. But here’s the thing. Men are thick. Thick as a brick! Ash wanted to help you. Men like Ash only know one way. Their way. But, Josie, he was so proud of you. He bragged to Jace and Gabe and even to me and Bethany about how talented you are. I don’t think he ever in a million years meant to hurt you the way he has. He saw a way to help you, to provide for you and to give you a sense of accomplishment. He may not have done it in the best way, but his intentions were good. I absolutely believe that. Ash is just so intense. But he has a huge heart, evidenced by the fact that he helped his sister who was a bitch to him for years. And despite the fact that his family are huge assholes, he still can’t quite turn his back on them.”
“I had a lot of issues with the fact that Jace wanted me,” Bethany said quietly. “It baffled me that he turned the city over looking for me after that first night and that he went to such lengths to help me, to provide for me. He, like Ash, could have any woman he wanted. But he wanted me. Just like Ash wants you. We can sit here and analyze it and try to understand it, but at the end of the day, they want who they want and that happens to be us. And Jace made plenty of mistakes along the way, but we worked past those issues and I’m so glad we did because he makes me so happy. I’d never have this with another man. I wouldn’t want to.”