Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss (Pregnancy & Passion #3)(14)

Besides, William pointed out that as disinterested in the family business as Ashley was, the chances of her actually putting it all together were slim. William’s advice to Devon? Keep her busy and happy.

Suddenly in the midst of Ryan’s report, a sound jangled over the room. There was a series of starts as his employees looked down and then around. Devon frowned. What the hell was it? It sounded like a ring tone, but it wasn’t one he’d ever heard before.

Then slowly everyone’s gaze turned to him and it was then he realized it was his phone going off in his pocket.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

Cam snickered.

Devon yanked his phone out of his pocket to see Ashley’s name on the LCD. He nearly groaned aloud.

“Excuse me a moment,” he said as he rose. “I’ll take this outside.”

He hurried out the door, irritated by Cam’s look of amusement. He knew damn well who was calling Devon.

As soon as he was outside the conference room he punched the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. “Carter,” he said tersely.

Ashley wasn’t even remotely put off by his greeting. Or lack of one.

“Oh, hi, Dev! How’s your day going?”

“Uh, it’s good. Look, was there something you needed? I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

“Oh, nothing important,” she said cheerfully. “I just wanted to call and tell you I love you.”

An uncomfortable knot formed in his stomach. What was he supposed to say to that? He cleared his throat. “Ash, did you change the ring tone on my phone?”

“Oh, yeah. I did. I downloaded one so you’d know when I’m calling. Neat, huh?”

Devon closed his eyes. The cheerful cascade of noise that sounded like a cross between Tinker Bell sneezing fairy dust and a waltz at some damn princess ball would make him the laughingstock of the office in short order. Not to mention that Cam would never, ever let him live this down.

“Neat,” he lamely agreed. “Look, I’ll see you tonight, okay? We still on for dinner at nine?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. I’m at the shelter until eight so if it’s okay I’ll just meet you at the restaurant.”

He frowned. “Do you have a ride?”

“I’ll get a cab.”

He shook his head. “I’ll send a car for you. Stay put at the shelter until it arrives. I’ll arrange it for eight.”

She sighed but didn’t argue further. “Have a good day, Dev. Can’t wait until tonight!”

“Thanks. You, too,” Devon said but she’d already hung up.

He stared at his phone for a long moment and then punched a series of buttons. How did you even change the ring tone? He’d never designated a special ring tone for a person. His phone rang, the contact showed up, and if he wanted to answer he did. If he didn’t, he let it go to voice mail. No way he wanted sparkly Tinker Bell music to play every time Ashley called him. What if she made a regular habit of it?

To his never-ending grief, she called him every single day. It baffled him that her timing was utterly impeccable. She always managed to catch him right in the middle of a meeting or when he was with a group of people.

After the second instance, he began silencing his phone and putting it on vibrate, but on two occasions, he simply forgot and his entire meeting was treated to Tinker Bell on crack.

After two weeks, he began to get amused, indulgent looks from some. Sympathy from others. Delighted grins from the women personnel. And Cam laughed his fool head off.

Ashley simply called whenever the mood struck, and unfortunately for him, he could never be sure when she would be moved to call him. Sometimes she wanted advice on wedding details. Like flowers. How the hell did he know what the difference between a tulip and a gardenia was? And invitations. Elopement to Vegas had never looked so enticing as it did right now.

Rafael and Ryan hadn’t gone through all of this for their weddings. They’d both had exceedingly simple affairs. Devon was in hell. A wedding that was being planned by the entire Copeland clan.

He was ready to throw his cell in the Hudson.

Six

“Dev?”

Devon stuck his head out of the bathroom then proceeded toward the bed, rubbing his hair with a towel. She was laying stomach down on the bed, feet dangling in the air as her jaw rested in her palm.

There was a slight frown marring her delicate features, which told him she was thinking about something. He almost didn’t want to ask because he’d quickly learned that Ashley’s thoughts ran the gamut.

He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hand over her back. “What’s up?”

She turned slightly so she could stare up at him. “Where are we going to live? I mean after we get married. We haven’t really talked about it.”

“I assumed we’d live here.”

Her lips turned down just a bit and her brow wrinkled. “Oh.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good ‘oh.’ Do you not like the apartment? It’s bigger than yours so I naturally thought it would accommodate us better.”

She scrambled up and sat cross-legged beside him. “I do like it. This is a great apartment. It’s a little manly-looking. More like a bachelor pad. It’s not really appropriate for children or pets.”