What could I possibly say to that? I leaned against the doorframe, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited. Even though I knew she was ready to rip Lachlan a new asshole, I also knew that she would break when reality finally hit her, and I would make sure I was here to pick up the pieces.

With a hoot, she found her phone and waved it frantically at me like she had discovered gold. I pushed off the door and headed toward her before she could dial. My hand grabbed hers and halted her movements. She looked at up me, her wide eyes shimmering with indecision and contemplation.

“Let me do this, Josh,” she whispered. The fierceness in her had all but dissolved.

“I’m staying in here while you call him,” I stated, and took a seat on the edge of her bed.

Ashlyn began pacing as she held her phone to her ear. “He isn’t answering,” she hissed in frustration with a scowl etched firmly on her face. Even when she was beyond pissed, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world. “Why won’t he answer? See, that just pisses me off even more. Right, I’m leaving him a message.”

The caveman within me couldn’t wait to come face to face with him again. I’d enjoy every fucking part of destroying him. The fact that he had come into Ashlyn’s house without her knowing fucked with my head. What kind of asshole does that, and why? What did he honestly think he would achieve by putting fear in Ashlyn? He was an absolute mother fucker, and he would not be getting anywhere near her again. As soon as she was done with this call, we were heading to Lowe’s and getting new locks. That would be step one.

“Lachlan. This is Ashlyn. I would appreciate if you did not step foot in my apartment again. You do, and I will be calling the police. My brother, his best friend, and Josh’s uncle are all in the force, so think about that. Yes, this is a fucking threat. Do not come into my fucking apartment a-fucking-gain. Forget me, because I am quickly forgetting you.” She jammed her finger on the screen and then dropped her phone to the floor.

I shot up from the bed and wrapped my arms around her, and she didn’t fight me. There was no way Lachlan would have answered the call. He was playing with her. He was making sure he had the upper hand. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to absolutely, without a doubt, destroy him. First the engagement party debacle, and now this. I couldn’t let him have another opportunity at her. She was mine to protect and, although I would forever want to comfort her, I didn’t want to have to comfort her due to the fucked up mind games of Lachlan Johnson.

“Let’s take a trip to Lowe’s,” I said softly.

Her head lifted from its place on my chest. “Lowe’s?”

“You are about to see my handyman skills on display. I’m changing your locks and getting you a deadbolt. No one but me and you are getting into this apartment without an invitation.”

Her smile was a welcome sign. “It’s very confident of you to think I’d give you a key, Joshua.”

“Do you really want to get out of bed in the middle of the night to let me in? After a night out with Duke, I may want to come and spoon.”

“You want to spoon?” She laughed as we made our way to the door.

“Tonight we spoon and, if you’re lucky, tomorrow we might spoon again.”

“Josh, there are rules.”

“And I told you, I’m all about breaking your rules.”

“You are impossible,” she said with a shake of her head.

I counted that as a win.

An hour later, after one trip to Lowe’s, two arguments over the positives of spooning, and three new locks, I was back in Ashlyn’s apartment, changing the locks on her door while she was on the couch with her kindle. During our trip to Lowe’s, she never left my side. She fell into moments of silence before she’d offer me a small smile and come back to me. I told stupid jokes, which caused her to giggle and tell me I was an idiot. I had never been more thankful to be insulted in my life, because it meant that Lachlan and his fucked up actions weren’t winning and the carefree Ashlyn was still with me.

“Why do you think he is doing this?” Ashlyn’s voice sounded behind me.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, before I shoved the screwdriver in my back pocket and turned to face her. The feisty woman that held my heart in her hands now looked like a meek little girl, desperate for reassurance and answers. It pained me to no end.

I crossed the living room and sat on the couch beside her. She shifted slightly closer to me, then lifted the blanket that was covering her legs and offered some to me.

I covered my bare feet, and replied with the only answer I could come up with, “He is realizing the mistake he made of letting you go.”

“There are a billion better ways of saying sorry than breaking into someone’s house and giving them their most hated flowers.” She sighed in defeat. “What would you do? I mean to say sorry.”

I didn’t even need to consider my answer, because there was only one response. “If I had you, Ashlyn, there is no way in hell that I’d do anything to hurt you. I certainly wouldn’t be putting my dick anywhere near another chick. To have you would be the greatest gift.”

Stillness fell around us, and the air immediately felt thick. I knew I had touched on a subject that would make her uncomfortable, but it was a chance I had to take. If I had to show her my intentions every day I would, and I wouldn’t back down. She pulled her lip between her teeth, but never broke my gaze. I could practically hear her brain ticking over, and I was sure she’d be coming up with an excuse.

“We would never work, Josh.”

“Why wouldn’t we work?” I ran my hands through my hair and narrowed my gaze. My interest in her response was soaring to extremes. She was dismissing being with me before I had a chance to prove to her how serious I really was.

“Because there is only one of me, and you need a smorgasbord of women. I’ve been your friend for years, Josh, so I’ve seen how you work. I can’t be that girl. As you said yourself, I’m not a casual girl.”

“I don’t need a smorgasbord of women when all I want is you.”

Ashlyn broke our stare and looked down at her hands. I was done with hiding my thoughts, so she would have to get familiar with hearing me lay it on the line. Finally, she looked up and softly said, “You’d get bored, and then I’d lose you. I can’t risk that.”

I shifted on the couch until I was flush against her. “I’d never get bored of you, Ashlyn.” I cupped her cheek with my palm, and her eyes closed under the sensation. With the pad of my thumb, I traced her bottom lip. She opened her mouth and took a broken breath. Finally, her deep greens found my eyes before they fell to my lips.

“How do you know that? I’m afraid of not being enough for you.”

“Forget Lachlan, forget your parents, and think about me, about us, about what you want. You are beyond enough for me, Ashlyn. Don’t you get it?”

She was my future, my forever girl. I had been in love with her for years, and wanted her in every sense of the word, but I made a huge sacrifice long ago. Did I regret it? Yes and no. I had to do what I did, but what I did regret more than anything was that she could have been mine. I could have protected her from all of this. Lachlan would never have gotten to her, and neither would any other man. But what could I do? It was a choice between my brother, my blood, and the girl I would always love. It was a fucked up position to be in, but I had to live with the decision I made.

“You’re vibrating,” she whispered as her eyes rose from gazing at my mouth.

Oh, I was vibrating alright.

“Your phone.”

Fuck.

I shifted my body to grab my phone from my back pocket. I glanced at it, and groaned when I saw Duke’s name flash on the screen. Worst timing ever.

“Duke,” I said quickly after I answered.

“I’ll be at your place in an hour.”