The smile brought on by excitement for the day slides right off my face when I see Ashley standing there, and she looks pissed.
“I deserve a better explanation than what you gave me last night,” she demands with her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping a hundred miles an hour on the wooden porch.
I sigh heavily, because after Eden went to bed stuffed on pancakes, I did indeed call Ashley last night to end things between us. “I thought I was pretty clear when we talked.”
“You canceled our date we’d set for tonight,” she snaps. “And when I asked you when we could reschedule, you said we couldn’t.”
I shove one hand into my pocket and hold the doorknob with my other, effectively communicating that there’s no invite to come in. “Ashley, we talked for a long time last night. The first fifteen minutes you were pissed. The second fifteen minutes, you were crying. But when we hung up after another fifteen minutes, you told me you understood that our time together was over.”
This was all true. While I might have not one ounce of heartburn over cutting Ashley loose because I just wasn’t invested in her emotionally, I knew that wasn’t the case with her. Even though I’d been clear from the start about my feelings, I knew she cared about me, so I gave her whatever time she wanted to take to work it out on the phone. I was trying to be a decent guy.
Granted, I could have gone to her house and told her face-to-face, but I’m not perfect.
“I don’t get it,” she whines as she uncrosses her arms. She reaches out, puts her hands on my hips. “We’re good together.”
“In bed.”
“Huh?” she asks dumbfounded.
“We’re good together in bed,” I reiterate. “But that’s all it was, and you know it. We’ve talked about this. I’ve not promised you one thing.”
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs hits my ears, and I brace when I hear Eden call out, “I cannot wait to get out there and start fishing.”
Ashley’s hands fall from my hips and she steps to the side to look past my shoulder. I turn and look too, trying to make myself not slobber over how fucking good Eden looks coming down in clothes as ratty as mine, her wet hair in a ponytail and not an ounce of makeup on.
“Oh, I get it,” Ashley snarls as she leans past me to lock eyes with Eden. “You cut it off with me last night so you could fuck her, right?”
“That is not the reason—” I start to say, but she’s having none of it.
“Get a fucking clue, Coop,” Ashley hisses as she turns back to face me. “She’s bad news. She doesn’t want anything but to use you for a fun time while she’s here because we all know how selfish she is. You’re nothing more than a rebound to her.”
“Now wait a minute,” Eden says coming to her own defense as she comes to a stop right behind me.
But I need to tell Ashley something I didn’t last night in an effort to keep things civil and spare her feelings. My voice booms so I get her attention. “For the record, I did not break up with you last night so I could fuck Eden.”
Ashley blinks at me in stunned surprise and I hear a choking sound from Eden behind me, but I don’t dare look at her. So I give it straight to Ashley so she understands fully. “I decided to call it quits with you the minute I heard the things you were saying to Eden at Tilley’s. I don’t care what you or this town thinks of her, but it was snide, petty, and juvenile, and about the least attractive thing I’ve ever seen a woman do. That’s why I broke up with you.”
If I expected that to put Ashley in her place, I’ve already forgotten the spectacle she made of herself at Tilley’s last night. She sucks in a lungful of air, points a finger at me, and says, “I’ll have you know, Cooper Mayfield…”
I shut the door in her face.
I do it softly—not a slam—and turn the dead bolt.
Ashley shrieks on the other side and bangs her fist against the door. I lean back against it and close my eyes briefly as I let out a pent-up breath of agitation.
“This isn’t the last of it,” Ashley yells through the door, and then there’s a loud thump, which I’m betting is a kick, followed by the sound of her storming off the porch.
When I open my eyes, they lock with Eden’s, which are sparkling with amusement. Her lips are tilted upward but are practically quivering to go higher.
“Don’t even laugh,” I warn her.
She makes a choking sound again, and then finally she just lets out a huge bark of a laugh. And she keeps laughing.
I can’t help it, my lips quirk upward too and I chuckle over the whole nasty confrontation that just went down.
“Oh God, Coop,” Eden says as she sucks in breath through those full lips that are the sexiest thing about her. “I cannot believe you seriously attached yourself to Ashley Barton. She was a hot mess in high school and she hasn’t changed much that I can see.”
I push off the door and smirk at her. “I have only two words to say to that. Brad. Wright.”
Eden’s face goes slack, her eyes sort of deaden, and her laugh goes silent. I realize I’ve made a terrible mistake to joke about this man who cheated on her.
But then Eden’s snorts, her eyes crinkle before welling with tears, and she starts laughing even harder, her body bending at the waist as she holds her stomach. I start laughing again too.
Eden takes one step toward me at the same time I push off the door, and she places one hand on my chest, the other still holding her stomach as she continues to laugh.
“God that was a shit show earlier this week with Brad,” she wheezes as she pats my chest in a friendly manner. “And it was broadcast for the entire world to see.”
“Guess my issues with Ashley are kind of lame in comparison,” I mutter with a smile.
Eden shakes her head, wipes the tears from her eyes, and tries to get herself under control. “Well, she did kick your door very violently.”
“Still lame,” I have to admit.
I get a slight giggle, and then Eden’s hand starts to drop from my chest. I’m not sure why my instinct is to grab it to hold it there, but that’s exactly what I do. Her smile fades only slightly as she looks at me with curiosity.
“That shit you just saw with Ashley,” I tell her, jerking my other thumb over my shoulder. “That really is nothing compared to what you went through. You were engaged, then cheated on, and then publicly humiliated.”
“Well, gee,” Eden says dryly, but I hear the humor in her voice. “I’d almost forgotten all about that until you brought it back up.”
I give her hand a squeeze. “I’m just saying…I know you’re going through a shitty time and I’m sorry.”