Page 104 of Teasing You
“I think rushing is good the first time. But after that…”
He playfully tossed her onto the bed. “I’m on it.”
“Your sexy dinner turned out way better than mine.”
Reid preened from the praise. “Well…I had been planning it for days, so…”
“Although I don’t think we should make pasta-in-bed a thing. It has the potential to get very messy,” she said as she brushed grated parmesan cheese off the blanket.
“Totally worth it,” he replied around a mouthful of penne alla vodka. “And there are brownies for dessert.”
She groaned.
“What? I thought you’d like that.”
“I had one earlier and had to remind myself to stop getting so comfortable sitting home eating baked goods. It’s been too long since I’ve had a job to get up for every day and if I keep eating the way I have, it’s going to be exhausting to be on my feet all day every day once the salon opens.”
Leaning in, he gave her a quick kiss. “I promise to help you work it off.”
Her smile was beautifully impish. “Deal!”
They had made love twice before padding to the kitchen to make dinner together, all the while talking about Ashlynn’s plans for the salon. And while it was all very exciting, he was still concerned about everything else.
“So…not to bring up a bad subject, but…how are you doing with this whole Becky/Sandy thing? I mean, it had to be a complete shock to you.”
She shrugged and took another forkful of her dinner before responding. “I knew I was innocent, but I really think they put in a lot of effort to frame me.” She sighed. “Thank God they weren’t very good at it because I don’t know what would have happened if I got arrested.”
“I think Ryder’s attorney would have had you proven innocent in no time. Everyone is talking about how incredible he was. And intimidating. None of the local lawyers would have been a match for him.”
“True.”
“But I guess I’m concerned about how you’re feeling,” he went on. “I honestly can’t even imagine what was going through your mind when it all came out.”
“Finding out that Sandy was involved was definitely shocking, but with Becky…” She sighed. “I’m actually kind of sad. I gave so much of myself to that job and to her business and to think that she was that hateful that she’d not only try to frame me but then try to steal my business…”
“I’m sure everyone’s said it already, but greed makes people do crazy things. She had to see all the stuff new businesses were getting and resented not being part of it. Everything was new and shiny, while the salon was kind of old and outdated.”
“All I can say is that I hope she gets the maximum sentence for everything she did. I’m just glad it’s all over and I can put it behind me.” She smiled as she reached for her glass of wine. “Plus it helps that I have something to look forward to. And about the inspections…”
Reid held up a hand to stop her. “I totally wasn’t thinking, and again, I’m sorry. We really just thought it was a good excuse to make sure you were there and…”
“I have a confession to make,” she blurted out.
“Oh?”
“I really wasn’t that upset. For some reason, the whole situation had me freaking out—I mean…everyone was looking at you! At us! And for as much as I like to act like a badass, the truth is that I’m kind of a prude when it comes to stuff like that.”
“Public idiocy?” he teased, and thankfully she laughed.
“More like public nudity,” she murmured. “I hated that everyone was looking at you and laughing and I was afraid the shorts were going to go too. Sorry.”
Laughing softly, he put his plate on the bedside table before facing her. “Ash, you do realize why the boxers—those in particular—were symbolic, right? I was evening the playing field, so to speak. There was never a chance of me getting any more naked than what I did. Trust me.”
“Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“The next time you want to do a striptease, you do it in private and only for me.” Then she gave him a sexy pout and he was helpless to do anything but lean in and kiss her.