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Her brow furrowed "But you said this is who you are What you are How can you never have asked another wos? I doubt you’ve been celibate forever"

He laughed "No, indeed not The women I’ve been with all knew the score What I expected and what I’d take But I never considered those actual relationships, because going in, she and I both kneas very temporary Hardly what I’d call an actual relationship"

"So I wouldn’t be teest fear That he’d grow tired of her in a week’s time and simply move on to so? What was she even asking for? So-term? How could she ask that of hiIt was possible that she wouldn’t be able to handle the de a te unsettled her

"I can’t say with any authority what you’ll be, Josie," he said in a quiet voice "But what I can say is that no, you most certainly will not be te time And if itlonger than a feeeks, and none of those women had the hold on h her veins, sending pleasure into her chest It was silly This giddy feeling that she was somehow more to him than any other woman But oman didn’t like to feel that way about the man she ith?

No matter what the future had in store for them and any relationship they entered, she was coht that for whatever reason, he felt for her what he hadn’t felt for another woive me a few days to sort it all out in ive youI’ve said, call reed, we’ll go over the terms, or rather my expectations"

She frowned "Shouldn’t we do that before I make my decision?"

He smiled "That’s where trust has to enter, Josie Consider what I’ve told you, hoill be, and then when you say yes, we’ll go over the eht

Ash wasn’t so he wanted He was too used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted No wasn’t a word in his vocabulary and the more tie he felt

Not even the situation with Brittany had been able to distract him from his preoccupation with Josie

His sister had settled into her apartment and had reported to work at the Bentley in their ad well He received regular reports about Brittany froer, as satisfied with her performance so far He’d coer to ht he had dinner plans with Brittany, and he would have looked forward to it were it not for the fact he had yet to hear from Josie It had been a week since their dinner, and he’d been very confident that he’d hear from her in a ued She was obviously attracted to his he’d offered see so da for her to respond? Or did she even plan to? Maybe she’d gotten home and immediately talked herself out of a relationship with him

He knew he should have pressed for an answer the night they’d gone to dinner She’d been precariously close to consent He’d seen it in her eyes and in her body language Whether she consciously realized it or not, she wanted him and she wanted the kind of relationship he proposed

This was new territory for him Never had he been in a position where he had to wait for a woman to make up her mind whether she wanted to be with him The women he’d been with in the past hadn’t hesitated even a er to hook up with his lasted

And in fact, there had been several who hadn’t gotten the e that they were over The last wo Bethany--had not taken the end of her fling with him and Jace well at all She’d been pissed and acted very h he and Jace had e Josie and he had dinner Yes, he’d definitely been blunt and straightforward Maybe that scared her Maybe he’d co too quickly But he didn’t want to etting into with a relationship with him

"Hey,in the doorway of his office Ashthe door behind hi? How has the fallout over Brittany’s defection been?"

Ash rolled his eyes "Predictable"

"Meaning what?"

Jace took a seat across from Ash and pinned him with an inquisitive stare

"Oh, you know my dear old mother and father Dad is tooHe just toes the line with Mo her shit?" Jace asked with a scowl

"Well, they showed up at the apart her use Ordered her ho a child This is a thirty-year-old wo down, mind you When Brittany refused, Mo in and how she wasit on her own Brittany told her it was none of her business how she got the apart it like "

Jace chuckled "Good for her Wouldn’t have thought she had it in her to stand up to the wicked bitch of the east"

"Me either to be honest," Ash admitted "But she seems determined to make a break fro and you have to understand until recently Brittany has always done what Mom wanted her to No questions asked"

"Must be a hard adjust dinner with her tonight You and Bethany want to join us? I’d like Brittany to meet Bethany Brittany hasn’t associated with the best female friends They were never her real friends and Brittany knows that When the chips are down, they aren’t riding to her rescue They dropped her like a hot brick"

"Sure I’ll call Bethany and make sure we don’t have other plans"

"Thanks Will be nice to take s"

Too late he realized how telling that state he wanted was to discuss it with Jace, ould o

"Anything you need help with?" Jace asked, his brorinkled with concern