Jessica rested her chin on her hand. “No, not really. It’s too bad, though.”

Ashley nodded. “But you know, I’ve been thinking. And … well … what if it doesn’t have to end in a month with Dare?”

Jessica’s eyes sparked with interest. “Did Dare say something?”

Ashley frowned. “No, but … I don’t want this to slip away. When I’m with him … I just … I want to surrender to him completely. To be his.” She shook her head. “I don’t want it to end.”

Jessica covered Ashley’s hand with hers. “Oh, Ash. Are you falling for him?”

“I don’t know. We don’t know each other well enough yet to really know but … I don’t want to lose how I feel around him. It may just be intense sexual need…” Her face flushed as a woman walking past the table glanced at her and she realized she’d been talking a little too loudly. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Jess. “But whatever it is, I don’t want it to end. And … if I do fall for him … I think we could make it work. Despite the age difference. Despite everything.”

Now Jess frowned. “Yeah, I’m sure you could, but it won’t be easy.”

“You mean because of Adam?” Her heart ached. She knew deep inside that she and Adam could have a chance at happiness together. They were so well suited to each other and now that they’d taken the first step past the barriers that had stopped them from proceeding in the past, she believed deep in her heart that if they began seeing each other, they could make it work.

If it didn’t work out with Dare … There was no reason to believe he’d want to continue with her after this month—long-distance relationships hardly ever worked—but if she made it clear to him that she wanted a future with him …

But that wasn’t fair to Adam. And Dare wouldn’t want her directing how their relationship went. He was the one in charge.

“Adam is part of it,” Jess said, “but, I mean, there are other complications.”

“Like what?”

“Okay, well, I had lunch with Helen today.”

“Really? But she only got into town this morning,” Ashley said. “I was going to tell you that—”

“She told me she walked in on you and Dare.”

Ashley sat up straighter, pulling her shoulders back. “It’s not like she walked in on us in the bedroom. I was at the dining room table.”

“In Dare’s robe. I know.”

Some of the old feelings of resentment arose as she remembered when Jess had moved to town and she and Helen had become close, leaving Ash feeling like an outsider.

“So you think I should back off on Dare because of Helen?”

“No, I’m not saying that. I just wanted to make you aware that Helen is bound and bent to cause you problems. She spent most of lunch trying to convince me you’re a conniving gold digger who’s after her precious stepdaddy for his money.”