Indefinite (Salvation #6)(40)

“So this is the Tiffany’s?”

“The very one.”

My plan was to let her pick out a few things, not giving a shit about how much money it costs me because she’s more than owed it, but now I want to be the one to choose. I want to show her that I know her. If she picks it out, then it’s less meaningful.

“Do you want to go in?”

Ashton shrugs. “Do you?”

Fuck, I’m screwing this up already. “Come on, let’s go look.”

Her smile brightens, and she nods. “I’ve never gotten a box.”

“Never?” I ask with a bit of smug pride building inside. I don’t want any other man to give her things. I want to be the one who does these things from now on. She will have whatever firsts I can provide.

I want to ruin her for any other man or the idea that there could be another man, just like she’s ruined me.





“You were tipped off!” She accuses as we enter Central Park.

“About what?”

“My love of this place, you sneaky asshole. You and my friends are dead to me.”

Her friends aren’t my only allies in this fight. I had a very long talk with her parents, explaining what my feelings and intentions are. She knows her dad is on my side, but she has no idea her mother has switched allegiances. While I may have won over the people in her life, I know I haven’t come close to getting her there.

“Go easy on them, fragolina, I can be very persuasive.”

Ashton huffs. “Yeah, I see that.”

I move to take her hand, but she surprises me by doing it first. Her fingers wrap around my arm as we move through the park. “Are you getting hungry?” I ask.

“A little, but it’s so nice out, so let’s enjoy the warmth and fresh air for a bit.”

“It’s much better than the dungeons of your lab, isn’t it?”

She laughs. “Yeah, it’s a bit dark there, but I love what I do.”

So much so that you’re going to do it to yourself.

I stop myself because fighting with her is the last damn thing I want. I need to be patient. The fucking idea of her pregnant with another man’s baby makes me absolutely out of my mind with rage, but I will not show my hand.

I lost that right when I let her walk out that door. At least that’s what Liam, Natalie, Catherine, Gretchen, and Ben have reminded me of. Each one has not so subtly explained that pushing her is the biggest mistake I could make.

And that if she does this, it’ll be something I have to accept.

Which isn’t going to happen because I have a few weeks to make her fall in love with me again.

“If you couldn’t be in the lab, what would you do?”

Ashton stares off as she purses her lips. “I don’t know. How sad is that?”

“I don’t think it’s sad,” I tell her with honesty. “I feel the same way. If I couldn’t be a SEAL, I don’t know what I’d do. Maybe I’d work for Jackson, which would be the closest I could be to actually doing what I love.”

She tilts her head. “I guess I would teach. I love that part of my job. When we have a small change that leads to a breakthrough. Having something exciting that I can share gives me this immense joy. I would want to help others like that, you know?”

I have no idea what she means, but the elation on her face makes my heart pound against my chest. “I could see every guy in your class needing extra help.”

“You’re stupid.”

“You’re gorgeous.”

She stops, and her smile widens. “Well, that was sweet.”

“Sweet enough to earn me dinner?”

Her lips press into a thin line as she tries to hide her grin, but her eyes? They give it away. “Well, at least lunch.”

“It’s a start.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”





21


Ashton





“And did you agree to dinner?” Clara asks before she pops a wonton into her mouth.

“No, I didn’t. Not this time. But there was a hot coffee sitting at my door when I left this morning, which was sweet.”

“Yeah.” She smiles. “He had to wake up early to go get it for you.”

“I know, it was . . . thoughtful.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Tell him about the baby?”

Clara throws a fortune cookie at me. “No, I figured you didn’t do that yet. I mean did you tell him you thought it was sweet. Guys need reassurance, and Lord knows you’re the worst at that.”

She’s not wrong, but I bristle in my seat anyway. “No, I’ll do that though.”

We both fall silent, and then she brings the conversation back around to what the purpose of this lunch is. The case isn’t complex, but there’s been multiple issues with the eggs before. This woman has undergone so much to try to conceive, and each time, there’s been a loss. I don’t know how Clara handles watching someone go from elation that she’s pregnant to utter devastation when something goes wrong.

“I think the last issue was with the actual embryo,” I tell her as I twist my fork around the Lo Mein. “It didn’t look bad under the microscope the first time, but there was a change right before we did the implantation.”