She nodded. “I thought so, too, but…” She forced herself to hold his gaze. “He told me he wants to get back together again.”

Adam snorted. “Back together? You were never really together. He just fucked you a couple of times.”

“Adam…”

He stood up. “No, really, Ash. Don’t tell me you’re considering this. It isn’t real for him. He doesn’t have feelings for you. You’re just a distraction from his busy life. Believe me, when his business is done here, he’ll be gone and all you’ll have left is a broken heart.”

The pain in his eyes made her realize that he was remembering the agony he’d suffered after losing the woman he’d loved.

“No, he said he wants more than that. He wants to keep seeing me even after. He said we can make it work.”

The pain in his eyes turned to simmering anger. “So that’s it? He beckons and you’re just going to drop what we could have?” He took her hand and squeezed, the warmth of his fingers around hers tugging on her heart. “After all this time when we’ve clearly wanted each other…” He lifted her hand to his mouth and his lips brushed lightly across her skin. “Can you really give up what we have so easily?”

She shook her head, her heart crushing. “Adam, it’s not easy.”

*   *   *

Adam’s heart froze. Fuck, this was it. She was going to walk away. The remembered pain of abandonment from last time … the only other time he’d allowed himself to love …

“Oh, Adam, no.” Ashley’s soft hand rested against his cheek. “I didn’t mean…” She drew in a deep breath. “What I meant was, there’s nothing about this situation that’s easy.” She stroked his cheek. “You are my close friend and what we shared this weekend was amazing—”

“But?”

She shook her head. “No buts. I don’t want to end what we have between us.”

His eyes lit with hope.

“But I also have to honor the fact that…” She pursed her lips. “Well, I have feelings for Dare.” As she gazed into Adam’s anxious brown eyes, she knew she had to tell him the whole truth. “I think I’m falling in love with him.”

He drew her hand away from his face. “Fuck, so how is this not ending it with me?”

She frowned. “Because, Adam, I think I’m in love with you, too.”

Part 3

Part Three

“You think you’re in love with both of us?” Adam’s heart ached as he stared at her. “Me and Dare?” He shook his head. “I don’t believe that. I think what you feel for him is just infatuation, and when that runs its course, you’ll wind up with nothing.”