We stepped into the kitchen. I stood with my back to the kitchen island, and she stood opposite me.

“I am going to ask you again. Are you okay? And don’t give me a bullshit answer,” I stated, crossing my arms over my chest in a defensive stance. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t going to let her give me any of her ridiculous responses.

She huffed out a sigh, and the Ashlyn I knew started to slowly reappear. “I. Am. Fine,” she spat.

“The last time you crawled into my bed and cuddled up to me like that was two years and sixty-eight days ago.”

“You remember that?” she whispered, and her body swayed slightly in my direction.

“I remember everything, Ashlyn. Absolutely everything. And that’s why I won’t believe this bullshit that you’re fine.”

We remained in tense silence, glaring at one another, and putting our stubborn traits on show. Ashlyn and I had an intense friendship that started in the most unconventional way. One night led to an extraordinary bond, the likes of which I knew I’d never experience with anyone else, as well as a recurring case of blue balls, since I secretly wanted to get into her panties on more than one occasion.

I decided to be the bigger person and cease the standoff. “I know I’m not Ky, so I know you won’t talk to me, but please tell him whatever is going on with you,” I muttered softly and dropped my arms as rejection once again hit me.

“Josh, it’s not like that.” She took a step toward me and broke the distance.

“Yeah, it’s exactly like that, Ashlyn. Always has been.”

“Everything alright in here?” Ky’s voice questioned as he stepped into the kitchen and shattered the tension.

I glanced over his shoulder and my gaze met with Eden. She was standing in my living room, and nodded in acknowledgement. She knew exactly what I was thinking, and had witnessed Ky and Ashlyn’s unique friendship on more than one occasion since she arrived back in town.

“Yep, everything is great. I’m going to take Eden down to the diner. You two can talk.” I walked out of the kitchen and glanced at Eden. “Come on, pretty girl. We have a piece of chocolate cake waiting with our names all over it.” I grabbed Eden’s hand and we headed to the front door without a word. As I opened the door, I stopped and turned back at the exact moment Ky and Ashlyn started talking softly to each other.

Have you ever had one of those I-wish-that-were-me moments? A moment when you wished you could swap bodies with someone?

Yeah?

That’s exactly how I felt right at that moment.

IT HAD BEEN A week since my showdown with Josh. It had also been a week since I decided to give myself a slap across the face, a serious talking to, and a shopping trip to end all shopping trips. The horrendous trip to Australia was all but forgotten, and I had come to the decision that I would live my life as if it never happened. It was time to erase, forget, and move on.

Ridding my life and apartment of Lachlan felt like having a deep tissue massage and bringing the negative out and allowing it to disappear into nothingness. The biggest weight lifted from my shoulders, and I found myself believing that there was a new beginning within my grasp. It was all about me, and I freaking loved it.

I had never taken the opportunity to be so selfish. Maybe selfish wasn’t the right word, but everything I ever did was with someone else in mind, and now the feeling of doing something for myself was so unlike anything I could imagine. I felt like maybe I could start living the life I wanted. I could make decisions just for me. I could focus on just me.

It could possibly be life altering.

One thing that would never change was my love of books. There was no way I could say goodbye to my book boyfriends, because they would be the only men I’d be getting cock from for a very long time. For the past two hours, I had been curled up on my couch and wrapped in a blanket, with my attention firmly locked on my Kindle. My newest lover was a deliciously alpha man taking the heart of a woman who had been fighting his advances for years.

The door of my apartment swung open. My eyes shot wide and followed Josh as he stormed into my living room with a look of fury plastered on his face. Even though I had been doing everything possible to stay busy and keep my mind alert, I couldn’t deny that my body hadn’t stopped tingling from the feeling of Josh pressed against me.

Now as I watched fury come storming toward me, I had all but forgotten about his body and the way it felt against mine. The ability to breathe fled, and my mouth gaped wide. Clearly, saying I wasn’t shocked he was here would be a lie.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked when he reached the couch. His fists clenched at the side of his body, and the false calm of his voice was lost by the tightening of his jaw.

I rose to my feet to match his stance, and my defenses shot sky high. “Tell you what?”

“Why are you home, Ashlyn? Why did you climb into my bed the other night?” His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped so low that it was almost a growl.

How dare he walk into my apartment and start firing off demands like that. First, I didn’t want to have this conversation because I wanted to forget about the fuck up known as Lachlan Johnson, and second, I didn’t want Josh knowing I’d screwed up.

Miss Stubbornness decided it was time to rear her head, and I responded the only way I knew how. “Fine, if it’s that much of an issue, I won’t climb into your bed again.”

I took a step and tried to push past him. My facade was close to breaking, and I wouldn’t give him the benefit of seeing it crumble. His hand reached out and wrapped around my arm, gently halting my escape. My skin felt like it scorched under his touch.

“You can climb into my bed whenever you want. You know that.” His voice was laced with intent and a lingering promise, which shot warmth through every inch of my tension-filled body.

My heart hammered in my chest. I didn’t want to have this conversation. I stiffened as Josh’s large, masculine hands encased mine, and his warmth offered a comfort I didn’t know I needed.

“What do you want me to say?” I whispered. I didn’t dare look at him, so I focused on the peach-colored polish on my toes.

Josh’s heat caressed my body as he moved closer. All ability to breathe fled when his hands landed on my hips and shifted my body so that I was standing before him. “Ashy, look at me.”

I shook my head and kept my eyes firmly away from his.

“Ashlyn, fucking look at me and tell me what he did.”

He knew. How did he know? My eyes moved from the floor, up his legs, and over his chest until I met his gaze. Determination stared back at me, and I knew he wouldn’t leave until he knew the truth. I summoned every inch of strength I could, but anger reared her head. I hated Lachlan, and I was seething that he had put me in this position . . . again.

“He cheated, okay? The moment I arrived I found him fucking another girl. I got played. He said I had been confused with the messages and emails he sent me, and that I was just a bit of fun. I was the fool, Josh. I was the one who gave a second chance to someone who had broken my heart once before. Am I really that fucked up? What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Josh said softly. His fingers dug into my hips and the pressure encouraged me to really look at him. The intensity of his gaze shot through me like a bolt of lightning. “He is a fucking idiot, Ashlyn.”

“There must be, Josh. I’m done, though. I am completely done with the thought of giving my heart to someone. I am going to live like you. Random hookups, no commitments, and without cares.”