Page 53 of How to Break My Heart 1

I roll my eyes to get a reaction from him. “And what makes you think I’ll let you come inside me, huh?”

Aston observes me with a mischievous grin. “Sweetheart, you’ll be begging me to come inside you. Mark my words.”

A vibration sounds in the quiet room. With his stare still dominating me, he reaches into his pocket and retrieves his phone to answer it. “Beaumont,” he greets coldly.

I sit in awkward silence while the person on the other end of the line is clearly having a good old rant. Bowing my head, I focus on the floor, thinking of ways to get myself out of here before my clothes come off. This phone call is the splash of cold water we both needed.

“The meeting isn’t for another twenty minutes,” Aston informs the person sternly. “I’ll fix it, trust me.”

I twist my body to release myself from his entrapment, then hop off the counter. As I press my hands on my skirt to flatten it, Aston ends his call.

He takes a step closer. “This isn’t over, Everleigh.”

Just as I’m about to tell him nothing started, a knock on the door distracts me. I glance at the clock, noting the time.

“It’s our delivery guy,” I tell him, thankful for the interruption. “You should probably go. Your meeting sounds important.”

Aston tucks his hand in his pocket, cocking his head.

Quickly, I leave the kitchen to let Jeremiah into the store. He waits patiently outside with boxes of soda and other supplies I ordered late last week.

“Hey there, Jeremiah. You’re early.”

He tips his head with a grin. “For you, I like to come on time.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I tease.

With my hand holding the door open so Jeremiah can wheel his cart full of boxes inside, Aston exits the kitchen with a less-than-pleased expression.

Jeremiah is cute. We flirt, but that’s where it ends. If I’m being honest, most girls in town think he’s cute and friendly. There is nothing I can fault him on. Perhaps he is vanilla—universally liked.

“Mr. Beaumont was just leaving,” I announce, shooting Aston a glare sharp enough to cut through steel. “Your meeting?”

“Yes,” he responds, keeping his tone arctic. “I have business to take care of.”

Aston walks to the door but stops just shy of where I am standing. Jeremiah continues to unload the boxes as Aston inches closer. “Another one wanting to get you into bed. My, my… aren’t we popular in town?”

I have half a mind to slap him in the face. “That’s an asshole thing to say. Go, Aston.”

And with his shoulders back, radiating superiority, he turns and walks toward his car.

Maddy has spoken for a solid thirty minutes about veils. She’s still undecided if she wants one.

However, being her best friend, I listen and give advice occasionally when I can get a word in, even though my head is elsewhere.

“The veil is supposed to symbolize purity, innocence, andmodesty,” Maddy sputters in a panicked tone. “Am I any of those things?”

My phone vibrates, alerting me to a text message. My lips press together firmly as I read the message with anticipation.

Marco

The Mountain Lounge just called me. Apparently, there is some electrical problem and they’re closed for the night. Any suggestions of where we should meet? I’m more than happy to cook dinner for you if you’re up for staying in. I promise to behave

The truth is, I haven’t responded to his earlier text because I completely forgot. After Jeremiah left, I locked the shop, came home to lie on the couch, and stared into nothing. I needed time to process what happened earlier with Aston and cool myself down because finishing what he started was too tempting.

Then Maddy called, leaving me no time to think about anything else.

I quickly respond.