“Seems like yesterday,” Reid said wistfully. “Those were the best years. My great escape from Tennessee.”

“It was fun,” Jack said with a faraway look on his face. His ringing cell phone brought him back to the present. “Excuse me. It’s my wife.” He got up and left the room.

“Jamie said your dad recently remarried,” Reid said to Kate.

“That’s right. His wife’s name is Andi, and they have three-month-old twins, Johnny and Robby.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Dad,” Ashton teased.

Reid laughed. “Don’t worry. That ship has sailed for me.”

“I think that’s what my dad thought, too,” Kate said, and both men laughed.

“So, Kate, Dad says you’re here to strike it big,” Ashton said with a hint of amusement.

“That’s the goal.”

He lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “So you can really sing?”

Kate wasn’t sure she liked his attitude. “Try me.” She folded her arms and tilted her head defiantly.

“What do you mean?”

“I could sing something, but you’d just say it was rehearsed. So tell me what you want to hear.”

Ashton appeared to give this considerable thought. “I know,” he said with a grin. “Sing ‘Crazy’ for me.”

Ah, a gift. Patsy Cline was one of her favorites. Without breaking eye contact with Ashton, Kate belted out the song with a few twists all her own that she had perfected during the long summer spent singing at the hotel.

“Don’t tell me you challenged her,” Jack said when he came back into the room.

Reid and Ashton seemed stunned, and Kate knew she probably looked smug. Whatever. He’d pushed her buttons, so she’d let him have it.

“Wow,” Reid said.

Ashton sat back in his chair. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Wow.”

Now Kate was embarrassed. “My Dad tells me you have an apartment I can rent,” she said to Reid, trying to ignore the gaze that Ashton continued to direct her way.

“That’s right. It’s being painted this weekend. You should be able to move in on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. It’s fully furnished, and I checked it myself yesterday. Everything’s in good shape.”

“Thank you,” Kate said.

“It’s a great place,” Ashton said. “You’ll like it.”

While she wasn’t entirely sure she liked him, she took his word for it about the apartment complex.

“I’m actually headed back to the city,” Ashton said to Kate. “Do you want to come along? I could show you around.”

“That’d be great,” Kate said, anxious to see the city. “Do you want to go, Dad?”

“I think I’ll stay here and catch up with Reid.”

“I’ll bring her back later,” Ashton said to Jack.

Kate handed her car keys to her dad and kissed him on the cheek. “See you in a bit.”