What the hell? I had asked her to join us. I was going to leave them to get reacquainted, and I certainly hadn’t been planning on taking any chicks out. What the hell kind of girls was Josh getting involved with?

She didn’t say another word. She spun on her heal, stormed through crowd, and disappeared. Josh and I looked at each other, completely rattled and confused as to what was happening.

“What just happened?” I asked.

The casual night had completely shifted. We went from talking about sex and vibrators, to me being told that he had been looking at me like I was the only girl in the room. Talk about a complete 360. Being the only girl that Josh saw was something that I’d wanted for years. I yearned for it, and begged the universe to gift me that one experience. Louise was crazy if she thought that after almost five years it had finally happened. I shook my head at the thought and turned to Josh.

“I better get you out of here before you start taking out all the women looking at me.” He winked and held out his hand to me.

I burst out laughing and looked at his hand. I didn’t hesitate for a second, before I placed my hand in his. I only thought of one thing as he led me through the crowd and out to the sidewalk, and it was a thought that made my heart sink for a split second.

Oh, how I wished things could have been so different, but some things were never meant to be.

IT WAS A WEIRD experience walking into my apartment and finding it completely lit up and smelling of garlic. I dropped my keys onto the coffee table, removed my wallet and phone from my pocket, and stopped in the middle of the living room. There was no sign of Ashlyn, but I knew she was here. I could feel that she was here.

The sound of water splashing halted my steps as I walked down the hall toward my bedroom. The thought of Ashlyn naked, wet, and in my tub shot straight to my cock. Clearly, my cock knew that he hadn’t gotten any action lately and needed to make himself known. I adjusted myself, then knocked softly on the slightly-opened door and waited.

“You can come in, I’m decent,” Ashlyn said softly.

I cursed under my breath, gave myself a silent stern talking to, and stepped into the bathroom. I was immediately hit with the scent of strawberry and vanilla. Ashlyn was lying in the tub, covered by bubbles, with her hair piled on top of her head. Her head rolled to the side and she offered me a smile that reached her eyes.

“Hey, Tarzan,” she said in a teasing tone.

“Is that really going to stick?” I laughed, with a shake of my head.

“I’ve always wanted to give you a nickname, and this one you brought on yourself.”

“Something smells good out there.” I decided to change the subject and focus on something other than the ridiculous nickname I had apparently brought on myself. I leaned against the vanity, crossing my legs at the ankles, and gazed down at her.

“I’m making my grandma’s famous garlic prawns in white wine sauce. It’s nice having someone to cook for, so I hope that’s okay?”

“That sounds great.” My stomach rumbled at just the sound of it.

A faint smile hit her lips and her eyes closed. Ashlyn didn’t talk about her extended family. She spoke about Austin religiously, but I had never heard her speak of her parents, and definitely not her grandma. It was a subject that I’d tried to broach on numerous occasions, but she always came up with an excuse to change it.

“You never talk about your family.”

Her eyes shot open at the mere mention of them, and she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “You know a lot about Austin,” she finally said.

“That was the first time you’ve mentioned your grandma.”

Her face flashed with softness, and the slightest of smiles spread across her lips. “She died when I was seventeen.”

Fuck. Nice one, Josh. “I’m sorry, Ashy.”

“It’s okay. I have great memories of her.”

“What about your parents? Are they still in Monroe? I can’t believe I’ve never met them.”

The earlier gentleness of her face fled, and her eyes darted away from mine. Immediately, I knew I’d hit a raw nerve and she was retreating. It was only there in the silence of the bathroom that it hit me. Did she even have parents? After being in my life constantly for the past five years, it was only now that I was considering that her parents might not even be alive and that’s why she never mentioned them.

I crossed the bathroom and crouched down beside the bath. “Ashy, are your parents still . . . ?” I whispered.

Finally she looked back at me. “Yes, they are alive. I just choose not to talk about them. To be honest, they don’t deserve the time it takes to talk about them.”

A blanket of awkwardness covered us, and the tone in her voice told me she had no desire for this conversation to continue. I buried the need to press further, but only for now. This was a conversation we would be having, just maybe not while she was lazing in the bathtub with bubbles barely covering the curves that could destroy me on sight.

“What are your plans for the night?” Ashlyn asked, swiftly changing the subject and pulling me away from thoughts of losing control on her curves. When her green eyes flashed to mine, they begged me to accept her change of topic.

“Eating garlic prawns, drinking beer, and sitting on the couch with my roomie.”

“Roomie makes it sound so formal. I’d prefer to be called the most awesome, fantastic, incredible house guest.”

“You call me Tarzan, and I’ll call you Roomie.” I shot her a wink, rose to my feet, and headed for the door.

She chuckled softly. “Well played, Mr. Crawford, well played.”

After forcing myself out of the bathroom, I stepped into my room and changed into sweats. There was no need to go out, no thought of random pussy, and absolutely no desire to do anything but stay in and sit on the couch with her.

Twenty minutes later, Ashlyn appeared dressed very similarly to me, and then disappeared into the kitchen. This whole scene was so domestic; me getting home from visiting my parents, a gorgeous woman cooking dinner, general chit-chat, and spending the night in.

“Do you realize we’re turning into Ky and Eden?” I asked from the couch, with amusement.

“Huh?” she asked with a quirked brow as she walked into the living room carrying two bowls filled with garlic prawns and rice. After placing them on the coffee table, she returned to the kitchen to grab wine and two glasses, and then came back to the living room.

“I get home, you have dinner cooked, we talk while you’re in the tub, and now we’re about to spend the night on the couch with wine. That screams Ky and Eden.”

Ashlyn abruptly stood from the couch and grabbed the bottle of wine and glasses, then returned to the kitchen and disappeared from sight. What the hell was she doing? I gazed at the entry of the kitchen with fascination, and waited for her to return. The clink of glass sounded, and then she reappeared. Ashlyn strutted back into the living room carrying two beers with a cheeky grin spreading over her face. She handed me one, before dropping to the couch beside me.

“Kyden wouldn’t drink beer with amazingly delicious garlic prawns,” she stated with a smirk before holding her bottle up.

I clinked my bottle against hers in cheers before asking, “Kyden?”

“Yep, you know those Hollywood names? Like Brangelina? Well, we have Kyden.”

“Please tell me you didn’t just combine their names?”

“Oh, you better believe that I did.” She winked before digging into her dinner.

We sat in silence as we both ate. It was incredible.

“Is that what you want? The type of relationship where you come up with a cutesy name?”