“You’re hard to resist, Breslin.” His tone was sarcastic but truer words have never been spoken.

She gave him a cheeky grin. “I know, right? It’s my superpower.”

And Ash’s long-standing curse.

Kincaid breezed past him, leaving him standing there in the self-help section, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. The cover of one of the books stared back at him, an eager-eyed self-help guru named Emma smiling from the cover, the tagline Girl, Get Your Life Together! emblazoned under her face in bold print.

He grabbed the book and flipped it backward on the shelf. Go fuck yourself, Emma.

Eleven

Ash was leaning against the brick wall outside the bookstore, his face lit by his phone as he waited for Kincaid. She’d had to park a little ways down the street, and Ash hadn’t noticed her yet. He’d chosen a simple black T-shirt, a pair of what had to be designer jeans, and some motorcycle boots. Under the glow of the old-fashioned streetlights on Main Street, he looked like some kind of erotic hallucination.

Kincaid wished Ash were a stranger she’d happened upon. Wanted to saunter up to him, send him a suggestive smile, and ask him to buy her a drink somewhere. She wanted it to be simple. Her dealings with guys were always that way now. Impulsive. Short-lived. Low drama.

After she’d lost Graham, she’d had to let go of the idea that she’d end up with her soul mate. Her soul mate was gone. She’d lost her chance at that fairy-tale ending. But as she’d gotten older and accepted the fact that no guy was living up to what she once had, she’d learned to embrace the freedom of it. There was no pressure to find The One. She liked men. Flirting was fun. Kissing was exciting. Sex was a good time.

She never wanted to be like her mother, but her mom had been right on one account. Men couldn’t be trusted. But if it was just a date or two, what did that matter? They got tired of her just as quickly as she got tired of them. She was too much, best in small doses. That was the common theme. Fun and exciting for a good time, not so much for the long term. That was how she’d known Graham was her soul mate. He’d loved that she was too much. He’d loved her so much that he’d wanted to marry her and make sure no other guy laid a finger on her. An echo of familiar grief moved through her, part of her DNA now.

No focusing on negative stuff tonight. Tonight was about getting Ash out of his apartment and having fun with her friends. That was it.

Ash reached up and tunneled his fingers absently through his hair. Kincaid bit her lip, and her belly tightened. Gah. Stop. Her attraction to him was damn inconvenient. Why did he have to be so freaking man-pretty? All soulful eyes and long lashes and brooding looks. And he was hurting. He’d admitted that he’d loved that Melanie woman. Kincaid believed him. Despite the complicated past between her and Ash, she hated to see him moping. She wanted to help him get past that. But she could not be the one to do that. At least not in that way. Hell no. Land mines everywhere in that scenario.