Page 69 of When We Ignite

“I’m serious,” he insisted. “I know you’re not always honest with me about these things. I know why you and Henry spend so much time together, and I’ve let it go. But this…this is different. It’s always been us—you, me, and Henny. That’s our circle. But mine is expanding with Charlotte, and I need you not to cross this line.”

The weight of his words pressed heavily on my chest. Maybe I wouldn’t have let it go for my father or the company, but for Oliver, I had to.

“I’ll back off,” I said softly.

His shoulders relaxed slightly. “Thank you.”

“For the sake of honesty, you should know it’s already been happening, but I’ll put a stop to it,” I added, watching him tense again.

“Shit, I knew it,” he muttered, waving the server over for another drink.

“It hasn’t gone too far. Relax,” I said with a chuckle.

“What does ‘not too far’ mean, Ash?”

“We haven’t slept together. Just talked.”

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. “So that whole incident when he was drunk?”

“He was grappling with being attracted to me,” I explained. “I didn’t get him drunk. That was his doing. I got him out of my room. I wasn’t about to take advantage of him.”

He exhaled, rubbing his forehead. “For fuck’s sake.”

“I’m serious, Oli. I don’t manipulate men into sleeping with me. Ethan has been making the calls so far,” I said firmly.

“Right, so that bracelet he was wearing was purely coincidental?”

I chuckled into my drink. “I’ll put a stop to it,” I repeated simply.

“So did he come to terms with it?”

“Yes, he has.”

“So this is already going to be a mess.”

“It doesn’t have to be. I’ll talk to him. Ethan’s smart. He’ll understand,” I assured him, though he seemed doubtful.

“Do you promise, Ash? Promise you’ll stop?” he pressed.

“Yes, Oli. I promise,” I said, noticing his faint smile of relief.

“You owe me one,” I added, and he chuckled, the tension easing.

“Actually, Charlotte has a friend she’d like to introduce you to,” he said, grinning.

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on, how do you know you’re not interested if you don’t give it a chance?”

He kept trying to persuade me as I continued to refuse. I forced a smile throughout our conversation, but honestly, I was deeply disappointed. Kissing Ethan had been the highlight of my year so far—probably more than that.

And now I had to give it up.

For Oliver. For the family. For the company.

It still didn’t sound fair to me.

CHAPTER TWELVE