Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (41 page)

Queen of Hearts

“RY, I’M SHOCKED. Did you have any
idea they were gonna do that?” Ashley rotated the shiny, new key between her
fingers.

“No, babe, I was just as shocked as you were.”

They were on their way home from the Marcus’ house and were
both still taken aback by the overture that Danny and Julie had made. They
wanted each person in the group to be a partner in the bar—silent or otherwise.
Danny explained that they didn’t need the financial backing to re-open, but he
wanted to make the bar a family owned and operated establishment. And they were
family. He and Julie had given each person a key—more a symbolic gesture as
there wasn’t actually a door yet—to not just the building, but to the operation
itself. If they wanted in, they would love to have them. If not? No hard feelings.

“I want in, Ry.” From the moment the offer was placed on the
table, Ashley knew that she wanted—needed—to be part of rebuilding her home,
her life.

“Of course we’re in, Princess.” The complete certainty in
his voice was just another reason why she loved the man sitting to her left
with all of her heart.

“Ryan,” her voice got smaller as she pulled in a breath.
They pulled into their driveway and Ryan turned off the ignition before
shifting to face Ashley. Even though he had no clue as to what she was going to
say, the concern was evident on his handsome face.

“Princess, let’s discuss whatever’s on your mind inside.
It’s freezing out here and while it would be my pleasure to warm you up, I’d
rather look you in the eyes while we talk about what’s bothering you.”

“Okay, Romeo, let’s go inside.”

Hearing the click of the coffee machine, Ashley poked her
head into the kitchen and saw Ryan as he stood at the Keurig, staring intently
at the clock on the microwave and muttering to himself. “It’s 11:15
,
I
still have plenty of time. So long
as whatever
she’s worried
about
isn’t horrible
…”

“What, honey?” Ashley slipped behind him, skating her hands
up his abdomen and over his broad chest.

“Nothing, Princess, here’s your coffee.” He had put the
cream and sugar in her cup exactly how she liked it and by the time he’d done
that, his own coffee had finished brewing. “Now, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Ashley sipped the hot liquid but her nerves kept her from
really tasting it. Over the years they had discussed many things and in the
weeks since they had been an official couple they had discussed many more, but
other than the time they’d renovated the kitchen, they’d never discussed their
financial situations. However, if they both wanted to buy into the bar, then it
was time they did.

The problem was, how did she discuss this with Ryan without
making him feel inferior? She was a bartender at the same bar and while they
made good money, they certainly wouldn’t have the kind of money they’d need in
order to keep their house and invest in
Danny’s on Main
. In addition she
needed
to invest in her future—in
their
future.

Unless…

When she left home, her father had given her access to Leo’s
college money. She had been using that money along with donations to fund
Leo’s
Lights
. However, her father had also been putting money in trust for her as
well but Ashley had sworn she’d never use it. She swore her life held no value
without her brother, but she was finally
reaching for the light.
It was
time to start building a future, and she wanted to share it with Ryan.

“Ash?” The concern in his voice was unbridled.

“Oh, sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts for a second.” The
clink of her mug on the granite ricocheted through the room. His face looked
serious, not sad so much, but concerned and worried. Fear gripped his lungs,
making each breath a chore instead of a right. “Ry, I just want you to know
that I have a lot of money. A lot of money.”

“Okay…well,” he exhaled, relief practically rolling off him
in waves, “thanks for telling me, Princess.” He looked at the clock on the
microwave. “It’s getting late, you ready to go up to bed?”

“Oh, shit, Ryan, that’s not what I meant! And it’s not even
midnight, I hardly think we’ll turn into pumpkins if we stay up a little
longer.” Exasperation had Ashley running her fingers through her hair. “Let me
start over.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, the small hoop
wavering with the movement of her tongue. She wanted to do this right, and she
wasn’t off to a great start.

“Ry, I know how much money we make working at the bar, but I
have a large chunk of change that’s been waiting for me to”—her eyes stung and
she took a breath—“start following my own heart. I may have ended up in
Charistown by accident, but my heart has kept me here. I learned how to breathe
in this town, how to trust in this town and my God, Ryan, I learned how to love
again in this town. So when I said in the car that I want in…I meant,
I want
in
. But, I want you by my side. So if you were worried about money, then
don’t. Worry, I mean. I—sorry,
we
, have enough to invest and carry on
living here.”

She looked up and expected Ryan to be confused at her
rambling—she’d managed to confuse even herself a little—but instead she saw a
small smile tipping the corners of his lips before he glanced at something over
her shoulder. “Ryan Baker, are you even listening to me? This is important.
What the fuck are you”—she turned to see what could possibly be so important
behind her that he couldn’t stay focused—“looking at? Oh my God, is there a
spider? Ick, Ryan, you know I hate those things. Is it big?” She started to
move away from where she was standing.

“Relax, Princess, just checking the time.” He chuckled,
taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together as he dragged her from
the kitchen toward the stairs.

“Why the hell are you smiling like that? And you’ve looked
at the clock four times. Do you have some place better to be?” His smile was
breathtaking as his eyes narrowed. She felt like he was staring straight
through to her soul.

“Ashley,” His skin felt so warm on hers. Absently, she
followed him up the stairs while he said, “You’re not the only one who’s been
saving their pennies. You forget I’m not just a beautiful face with a penchant
for pouring mean cocktails.”

She wondered if he could hear her heart as it picked up
speed in her chest just from the way he was looking at her. The exaggerated
wink and the way his pierced brow lifted in question made her want to melt into
a puddle at his feet but just as quickly as his flirt came on, it was swept
away by the serious look that overtook his eyes.

“Ashley, when I came to Charistown you knew I was selling my
songs to record labels and, baby, that hasn’t changed. Between royalties and
new songs, I’ve been collecting steady paychecks for years. My landlord”—Ryan
pulled her close to him so their bodies touched—“wouldn’t let me pay for more
than a small kitchen renovation and monthly rent. So, I’m set to go. I’m all
in.” His knuckles gently grazed her chin lifting it up so her eyes met his.
“Okay?”

Relief flooded her body.
He’s all in
, she thought.
This
is really happening
.
We are really happening.
She smiled at Ryan
only to catch him looking at the time…again!

“Ryan, again with the clock! What the fuck? It’s really
starting to piss me off. What’s going on?” With their hands still joined Ryan
led her to their bed and sat her on the edge. The relaxed stance he held only
moments before had been replaced with shoulders tight with tension, sitting
atop of a rod straight spine. “Ryan?”

“Ashley, baby, it’s Christmas Eve. I know you’ve always
hated having your birthday on Christmas because you feel like you get gypped on
both occasions—and in your family, with your parents, you did. But, Princess, I
want you to know that will never be the case again. I would like to give you
your Christmas present right now and your birthday present tomorrow. Is that
okay?”

A familiar box came into sight as Ryan lifted it out of the
night table drawer. Confusion clouded Ashley’s thoughts. It was the same box he
had given her when she’d left Miami seven years previously. A box she had never
opened but also never discarded. A gift that had, like her heart, stayed shut
tight.

“Ryan,” she whispered hoarsely, “I don’t…I don’t understand.
When did you find this? I’ve had it hidden for years.”

“Princess, I’ve known where this box was since the first
week I moved in.” He shrugged, seemingly unembarrassed by his snooping. “But I
took it a few weeks ago. I need for you to open this, Ash. I need for you to
see what you meant to me all those years ago so that I can explain what you
mean to me now.”

Raw need was etched in the contours of his beautiful face—a
desire so deep that she wanted to reach into his chest to massage his beating
heart. She wanted to promise him that everything would be all right, but
instead she opened the aged paper that covered the oblong box.

“Oh, Ryan, it’s so beautiful.” Tears stung her eyes as she
withdrew the gold necklace from its velvet bed. The dainty diamond-encrusted
princess crown had tiny pink topaz stones at the top of each point and a small
round diamond hung proudly from the center. Words failed her as she fingered
the delicate gift that was meant as a token of love for a teenage girl but was
now an important link to a past that she, as a grown woman, had tried to
forget.

“Ryan,” she croaked, “I love this. It’s like you’ve given me
back a piece of our past, and”—she looked down at the glimmering crown and
pulled it to her chest—“I can remember us without hurting. I can feel us
without the pain that has haunted me for so long.”

“You’ve been my Princess forever, Ashley. I’ve loved you
since the day we met. You were right when you broke up with me back then. I
wasn’t ready. I didn’t love you
the way you deserved to be loved,
but
that didn’t mean I wasn’t loving you with everything I had to give. It just
meant that
I
wasn’t enough for you—not then. When I finally found you,
Ash, I figured it out. I knew who I was and who I wanted to be. But I wasn’t a
complete man, because I didn’t have you in my life. So I waited and waited”—he
grimaced as he wiped the faux sweat from his forehead—“and waited. But guess
what? Even all of that time was put to good use. Because the Ashley Kynde that
I found here wasn’t the sweet princess I grew up with. No, she had evolved into
a spicy, kind, sexy, beautiful, smart woman that I am proud to call my best
friend.”

It felt like the words Ryan had spoken were floating in the
air, she could see each and every one of them as they drifted in front of her,
cradling her heart as they sunk into her head. As he continued to speak, he
unbuttoned his shirt. He started from the bottom button and worked his way up.
Perplexed, she watched as his fingers deftly remove each button from its eye.

“Ryan, what are you doing?”

“I love you, Ashley. I’m in love with
all
of you—the
girl that you were, and the woman that you’ve become. While I may call you
Princess,
you’re so much more than that.”

As if in slow motion, Ryan leisurely peeled open his shirt
and there prominently displayed over his left pectoral was a new tattoo. The
Queen of Hearts was branded upon the skin that covered his heart. Bright hues
of color topped each point of the crown that rested upon her head, the same
brilliant colors that had been entwined in Ashley’s hair over the past handful
of years. Every emotion she’d ever felt was right there, permanently etched
into his skin.

She leaned in to examine the fine details of the art.
Ingrained in black fine-point lines around the queen were words but before she
could begin to read them, Ryan’s voice pulled her out of her head and into the
space they shared.

“It’s 11:57, Ashley, look at me.” The commanding tone of his
voice told her how important her complete attention was to him. She breathed in
his unique scent when he leaned forward to clasp the necklace around her neck
just before he took a small step back, looking so deeply into her eyes she
could swear she felt him touching her with his glance.

“Back then I loved you. You were a part of me that I didn’t
think I could live without.” He pulled her palm to his chest and placed it over
the top of the fresh ink, “Now, as you once said to me, I know I could live
without you…but I never want to again. This tattoo is your Christmas gift. It’s
our story—it’s you, and me, and it’s Leo. It’s Miami and
Storm Front
and
Charistown and
Danny’s
. It’s each of us as individuals and the two of us
as one. You own me, Ashley. You own me heart and soul. You’re not my princess,
you’re the queen of my heart.”