Page 127 of Get A Fix

“He called my manager, said he wanted to talk to me about a song for your new movie, Emerald Dreams.”

Ash looked stunned. “You’re writing a song for my movie?”

Nick smiled. “I figured for an Ashford Lennox movie, I had to say yes. Plus, I love the Jim Morrison quote, so I’m basing it off that.”

Ash could only nod.

“I’ll play what I have for you later, but right now, I’m starving. How ’bout you guys?”

“Yes,” was all Ash could get out.

Nick gave him a gentle pat on his arm to get him moving back to the house. “I know you both just came from Maine, and it’s much colder there, but it’s brisk out here this morning.”

Ash did a slow pan to me, and I rolled my eyes.

“You will pass out from the cold in Chicago,” Locryn told both California boys.

“He always says that,” Nick told Ash, “but I don’t believe it. Not that I’ve been, but I was in Reykjavík for a concert. It gets cold there too.”

Locryn was shaking his head as we went inside.

Nick explained that from where they were in Santa Barbara, it would be a very short ride to Montecito for Kit Riggs’s funeral the following day.

“Thank you, that’s so thoughtful.”

“Cliff Connelly, another of my bodyguards, is on duty tomorrow, so he’ll drive you and keep you safe while you’re there. Locryn was going to do that, but I forbid him to be in bodyguard mode anymore, and more importantly, he’s working.”

Ash said again how much he appreciated everything and then excused himself to call Danika Howard, who had left her number with Owen, who had in turn given it to Locryn.

I went for a walk around the property just to move around, and after a bit, Ash joined me.

“I had no idea the funeral would be tomorrow,” he said, taking hold of my hand. “I wanted this time just for us, and now my house is destroyed, and⁠—”

“It’s not destroyed, just slightly banged up. And your new assistant, Danika—tell me you hired her.”

“Of course I hired her and thanked her for everything. She’ll be joining me in Turks and Caicos because I want her to confer with my new bodyguard, whom I’ll be meeting as well.”

“Two powerful women in your life. You’re very lucky.”

“I know,” he agreed, stepping in front of me, putting his hands on my hips, looking into my eyes. “Listen, I⁠—”

“Wait, what I was going to say was that this is life. You wanted to spend time just the two of us, but things are never going to go exactly as we want. We both have demands on us and priorities, but as long as we’re together, and committed, we’ll carve out the time we need.”

“Realizing that I have to leave in three days, and you’ll fly home…that’s hard to think about, but also, I’m not worried.”

“Good.”

“I still wish you were going with me,” he grumbled.

“Oh, I dunno, Turks and Caicos or Chicago…it’s a hard choice.”

He stepped into me then, lifted just a bit, and kissed me.

I enjoyed kissing this man and hoped he would be doing it for the rest of my life. And with that thought came the truth of what I had to do.

Peeling my lips from his, I met his gaze.

“What?” he asked, needing to catch his breath.