Then Came You E-Book

Iris Morland

• Herausgeber: IRIS MORLAND
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: The Youngers
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 286

Beschreibung

After witnessing his parents’ doomed love affair, serial playboy Ash Younger decided long ago that love was not meant for him. With his charm and good looks, he’s never lacked for beautiful women. He may push numbers as an accountant by day, but by night, he’s only interested in having a woman in his bed.
Yet the night he encounters a mysterious—and gorgeous—widow who doesn’t immediately fall under his seductive spell, Ash realizes he wants her more than he’s ever wanted another woman.
Following the loss of her husband two years ago, Violet Fielding wants to focus on two things: her jewelry business and beginning her life anew in the small town of Fair Haven, Washington. She doesn’t have time for men or romance, and she certainly doesn’t have time for a man who’s a well-known playboy and younger than her.
Violet already found the love of her life in her husband, and after his death, she knew she could never love anyone again.
But when Ash kisses her, all of her plans and promises are turned upside down. A passion stronger than either Ash or Violet could imagine envelops them both one night—and that night changes everything.
As old heartbreaks threaten to tear the couple apart, both must find the courage to see that, of all things, love is worth a second chance.

Leseprobe

Then Came You

The Youngers Book 1

Iris Morland

Blue Violet Press LLC

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue

Enjoy this exclusive excerpt

Also by Iris Morland

About the Author

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Then Came You (The Youngers Book 1)

Published by Blue Violet Press LLC

Seattle, Washington

Copyright © 2018 by Iris Morland

Cover design by Resplendent Media

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Chapter One

Violet Fielding grimaced when her phone started ringing for what felt like the millionth time that day. She didn’t need to look at the caller ID to know it was a creditor calling. Switching her phone to vibrate, she decided she’d earned a bit of denial time. If she didn’t hear or see the phone calls, then they didn’t exist, right?

Violet felt her desk vibrate with another phone call. Swearing under her breath, she turned her phone off and was halfway tempted to throw it out the window for good measure. Except she couldn’t afford to buy a new phone just because she wanted to break her current one in a fit of pique.

Her desk was currently covered in beads, wires, charms, and crystals, all part of her jewelry business that she’d started four years prior. A necklace she had begun for one of her favorite clients sat on her desk, only half-finished, and it seemed to be judging her silently.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Violet muttered at the necklace. She pushed it aside. If she was talking to inanimate objects now, she definitely needed a break. Maybe a vacation far, far away. Did creditors exist in places like Siberia?

Violet blew out a breath. She was thirty-three, a widow, and she’d recently moved to the small town of Fair Haven, Washington. Violet had moved in with her mother-in-law, Martha Fielding, to help care for her, although Martha would adamantly deny that she needed any help. Even at sixty-six, she was a fiery woman who wasn’t about to let anyone coddle her. Violet loved her for it and had thought of her as a second mother figure from the moment Violet’s husband, William, gone two years now, had first introduced them.

“Violet, are you hungry?” Martha called from the hallway. “I’m starving. Do you want me to order takeout for dinner?”

Considering that Martha suffered from diabetes, she definitely didn’t need to be eating pizza or Chinese.

“No, I’ll make something,” said Violet as she went to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, but despite the plethora of potential ingredients, her brain was too distracted to think of anything to make.

“Just not that kale soup,” said Martha as she snagged a sparkling water from around Violet. Martha’s soda addiction had had to end when her diabetes had worsened within the last two years. She’d given up sugary soda for diet soda, but Violet had persuaded her to try sparkling water instead. Martha had only agreed on the condition that Violet promise not to force her to eat tofu ever again.

“We don’t have kale anyway.”

Violet took out some chicken, some spinach, and a lemon, but when she realized ten minutes later that she’d forgotten to turn on the burner to boil the water for pasta, she uttered a few choice words.

Martha clucked her tongue at Violet’s swearing. She was a wiry woman with bright silvery-blond hair and oversized plastic glasses that she’d worn since the early 80s. She was barely five feet tall, but that didn’t stop her from wearing ridiculously tall high heels. Always stylish, she continued to match her purse with her shoes and wore hats like she had in her youth. “People not wearing hats anymore is a travesty,” she always bemoaned. “In my day, no woman went outside without one on.”

“You seem distracted,” Martha remarked as Violet began de-stemming the spinach. Martha made a face at the sparkling water she was attempting to drink but kept sipping it anyway. “Anything the matter?”

Considering that Violet had promised Martha she’d take care of her from now on, she wasn’t about to tell her about how her jewelry business was collapsing in on itself, or how she owed more than she made. She’d thought that she’d be able to make things right, that it was just a brief hiccup. Now she wasn’t so sure the ship could be kept from sinking.

“Nothing’s wrong. When was the last time you tested your blood sugar?”

“Oh, don’t fuss. I’m a grown woman. I’m fine. I keep telling you. All these tests and pills.” Martha scoffed. “When I was a girl—”

“You used leeches and prayer when you were sick?” Violet smiled.

“Don’t be rude to your elders.” Martha took another sip of her water and frowned. “We definitely didn’t drink schlock like this.”

When Martha frowned like that, she reminded Violet of William. William had been the love of Violet’s life. They’d met in college at the University of Washington. William had seemed an odd choice for Violet, a popular sorority girl who had wanted to go into fashion design. William had been bookish, an engineering major, but when they’d had to work on a group project for their ancient history class, he’d surprised Violet and asked her out. To everyone’s shock, she’d said yes.

They’d gotten engaged right out of college and had been married a year later.

Only eight years after that, William had died one rainy night when his car had been T-boned. William had been killed instantly from the impact. Violet would never forget getting the call from the police officer that night, telling her there had been an accident and that her husband hadn’t survived.

She pushed the memories aside. She could do that now, to some extent. The grief still lurked and took hold of her at times, but it wasn’t as often as in the beginning. Sometimes Violet could even see a future for herself: one that no longer included William.

“What do you want to do tonight? Dominoes or checkers?” Violet asked as she and Martha ate dinner together.

Martha’s eagle-eyed gaze made Violet want to squirm in her seat. “Why don’t you go out for once? You don’t need to stay in and entertain an old woman every night.”

“I like entertaining old women.”

“I think you use it as an excuse to avoid interacting with anyone your age. Especially anyone male.” Martha’s expression softened. “I know how much you loved my son. I miss him too, every day. But I knew the day that I lost my dear Harold that you can’t stop living life when you lose people. Because then what’s the point of living?”

Violet’s throat closed. Was she avoiding living life, even two years later? It was true that she hadn’t looked at a man since William’s death. It would feel like a betrayal. She twisted her wedding ring, which she continued to wear every day, around her finger.

“I just moved here. Where would I go?”

“Oh, honey, it’s a small town. Where else? Go to a bar. Get a drink. Meet a man. Maybe go home with him.”

Violet almost choked on her water. “Martha!”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m old, not dead. Nothing wrong with enjoying some male companionship. Why, I’ve been meaning to call up Dennis—”

Violet held up a hand, stifling wild laughter. “Please, no, I don’t want to know.”

“And your generation says my generation is prudish. You have to get out there. You’re young. You could marry again. Don’t hide behind William’s death. I know it’s hard to get back up into the saddle, but trust me: if anyone can do it, you can.”

Violet peered more closely at Martha. “What’s this all about suddenly?”

“Nothing.” At Violet’s skeptical look, she added, “Okay, maybe not nothing. There’s a singles’ meet-and-greet tonight—”

Violet groaned. “God, no, please. I’ve done those.”

“You did one once a year ago and you stayed for fifteen minutes, or so you told me. You have to actually try.” Martha pulled out a folded piece of paper and pushed it toward Violet.

“You should go.”

“Martha—”

“No, don’t. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, how you moved here, how you help me. This is me helping you.”

Violet smiled, feeling her eyes getting damp, and she squeezed Martha’s hand in silent thanks. Before either of them could be reduced to tears, Violet changed the subject, deciding she’d much rather hear about Martha’s male companion, Dennis, than think about William or her own mess of a life.

Violet didn’t want to go to a singles’ meet-and-greet, because if she met someone new, that would mean William was truly gone. It meant she had to open herself up to potential heartbreak all over again.

How could she fall in love when she’d already lost the love of her life?

But she also wanted to make Martha happy. So she put on her big girl panties (which were actually tiny panties that seemed more appropriate for meeting men), her newest top and a necklace she’d made for herself before applying bright red lipstick and a little mascara. After a brief hesitation, she took off her wedding ring. It was just for the night, she told herself. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she looked tired. At least bars were dark, and hopefully nobody would notice the bags under her eyes.

“Have a good time,” said Martha, already happily ensconced in her favorite recliner, watching her soap operas she’d recorded earlier that day. “Don’t forget to smile!”

Smile, yes. Men liked women who smiled. They didn’t so much like women who cried when they heard songs that reminded them of their dead husbands, or who had creditors beating down their doors for money, or—

This will end well. Violet laughed under her breath. At least she’d hopefully get a free drink or two out of the bargain.

When she arrived at the bar called the Fainting Goat, she breathed in the scents of greasy food and booze while trying to steady her pounding heart. The bar was packed, and she couldn’t tell if everyone was here for this singles’ thing or if there were multiple parties here. She saw pink balloons in one part of the bar. When she got closer, she saw that one group seemed to be having a birthday party for a baby. Who had a party for a baby at a bar?

“Are you here for the singles’ meet-and-greet?” a woman chirped before Violet could uncover the mystery behind the baby’s bar birthday. “You look lost.”

Violet laughed awkwardly. “Only a little. Is everyone here for this?”

“No, but we’re the biggest group. Come sit with us and I’ll introduce you. There aren’t as many men here as I’d hoped. I’m Amber, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” Amber sat Violet down at a long table in the back where the meet-and-greet seemed to be happening. Although at the moment, it wasn’t so much meeting and greeting as “avoiding eye contact and staring at your phone” instead.

“Hi there. I’m Violet.” Violet held out her hand to the man to her right.

He muttered something under his breath at whatever he saw on his phone before looking up at her. “Hi, I’m Eddy. You go to things like this often? I can never find any women worth talking to.”

Okay. “You know, I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?”

“I don’t drink.”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed through the crowd to the bar. If she was going to stay, she needed booze. The strongest they had, preferably.

“I’ll have a gin and tonic,” she told the bartender. “With extra gin.”

The bartender was a man who seemed barely older than a high school student, yet his bartending skills were clearly those of a man who’d been in the business for years. Violet gave him an extra-large tip after he successfully tossed the bottle of gin into the air and caught it just as smoothly.

She drank her gin and tonic, savoring the coldness of the alcohol. People chatted and laughed all around her. She knew she should return to Amber and try talking to another single man, but she didn’t have the heart for it. What was so wrong about being single? This wasn’t Jane Austen: she wouldn’t starve if she didn’t find her own Mr. Darcy.

She turned and found herself with a perfect view of the birthday party. The baby, she realized, wasn’t so much a baby as a toddler, and she seemed entranced by the giant pink birthday cake in front of her. A bunch of adults laughed when she tried to imitate the woman next to her by blowing out the candles—her mother, Violet presumed. A blond man with tattoos on his arms stood behind the toddler and helped her finish blowing out her second candle.

The adults all clapped and cheered. Another man with reddish-gold hair laughed, his teeth flashing in the dim light, when the toddler grabbed at her piece of cake with both hands and smeared her face with the pink frosting. The toddler squealed something that sounded like, “Cake!” in between pushing fistfuls of the cake and frosting into her mouth.

“Good one, Bea,” the man said with a chuckle. “That’s how to enjoy your birthday.”

When the man turned toward her in profile, she couldn’t help but find herself arrested by him. He had a square jaw, his nose aquiline, and she’d never seen hair quite that color. It was almost berry-colored, she thought. Her heart started pounding, especially when the man caught her staring and sent her a slow grin that she felt all the way to her toes.

She whirled around on her barstool and took such a deep drink of her gin and tonic that she started coughing. How awkward! Now that man would think she was a total weirdo who just stared at people for no reason.

“Can I get a glass of water?” she asked the bartender, her eyes watering.

As if he knew that her life was a mess, he looked sympathetic as he pushed a glass toward her. “Don’t drink it too fast,” he admonished.

I’m probably old enough to be your mother, she thought in irritation. Drinking the water, she dabbed at her eyes and hoped to God that the man hadn’t seen her sputtering like a stopped-up chimney.

“What are you drinking? Gin and tonic?” Eddy slid in next to her and motioned at the bartender. “I’ve never liked gin and tonic. Bartender, can I get a Coke?”

The bartender rolled his eyes when Eddy wasn’t looking, causing Violet to stifle laughter.

“Oh, no ice. Sorry. Hurts my teeth.” Eddy pushed the Coke back toward the bartender. “Are you having fun?” he asked Violet.

“Oh, loads.”

“That’s surprising. I never have fun at these things. They’re always rather dull.”

She had to bite her tongue in half from saying something snarky. When Eddy received his Coke sans ice and started drinking it through a tiny straw, though, she almost started choking from trying to hold back her laughter.

“Sorry, man, but this is my date,” a rumbling voice said over Violet’s shoulder. “Could you move?”

Eddy’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, but when the man moved toward him with a determined look, Eddy scrambled down and scuttled away.

To Violet’s surprise, the man she’d been staring at slid in next to her and grinned, a grin that surely had to be illegal in all fifty states.

“I’m Ash Younger,” he said, smooth as silk. “How is it I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you here before?”

Chapter Two

Ash waited for her to reply. Usually when he used a line like that, the women either blushed or tittered. Most did both. This woman, though, just raised a blond eyebrow and looked him up and down like he was some kind of cretin.

That made his smile grow wider.

“How many times have you said that to a woman at this very bar?” was her reply. “I’m curious.”

“Not as many times as you think.”

“So, at least fifty times? One hundred? Give me a ballpark estimate.”

He tipped his head back and laughed. “I’m flattered that you assume I’m so prolific.”

She sipped her drink. “Or desperate,” she muttered.

At twenty-seven, Ash knew two things: that he liked women, and that he liked to keep his relationships short, sweet, and with a lot of sex until they inevitably fizzled out. Sometimes the women wanted something more serious; sometimes they were just as uninterested in commitment as he was.

It was rare, however, that any heterosexual woman between the ages of twenty and forty-five ever considered his advances a nuisance. Ash wasn’t stupid: he knew what he looked like. He knew how to seduce a woman with words and heated looks. He knew that confidence and a few compliments could take any man a long way.

“Lucky for you,” he said as he waved to Reggie the bartender, “I’m never desperate. Now, are you going to tell me your name at least? Or will I have to make one up for you?”

“Oh dear, what names do you have in mind?”

He ordered his usual—a whiskey sour—and turned back to her. “I’m thinking Delilah. Or Jezebel.”

“Subtle. How Biblical of you, too.” She pushed her hair over her shoulder, exposing the pale and delectable curve of her neck. “What if I said it was Gertrude?”

“Then I’d call you Gertrude like the gentleman I am.”

Her lips curved into a smile. Ash had been with many women, but there was something about this one that had intrigued him the moment he’d seen her staring at him.

He had thought this night would be like every other with his family and in-laws: crazy and loud. Tonight they celebrated his niece Bea’s second birthday; she was his older brother Trent’s daughter and the darling of the entire Younger clan. She was definitely the cutest, that was for sure.

Ash loved his family, which included his older siblings, Trent and Thea, along with his younger siblings, Phin and Lucy. Since their parents were both dead now, they’d had to stick together. Until Trent had reunited with his former girlfriend Lizzie and had finally married her. He’d never gotten Lizzie out of his head. Ash hadn’t been a fan of Lizzie for breaking his brother’s heart, but at least they were all happy now. Sometimes they were so happy that it made Ash’s teeth hurt.

Ash wasn’t meant for marriage. He’d known that since he was a kid. He’d seen what marriage—and love—did to a person when he’d watched his own mother fall apart from his father’s twisted type of love.

No, Ash didn’t do love. But sex? Yes, he did that very well.

“My name’s Violet.”

“Violet.” Ash couldn’t help but notice that she was leaning closer to him now. “It suits you.”

“I’m glad you think so, since it’s the only name I have.” She glanced over her shoulder. “It looks like your family is about to open presents. Is she yours?”

“Who? Bea? No, she’s my niece. The first one in the family, so everyone spoils her rotten.”

Violet smiled. “She’s adorable. I can’t blame you one bit.” She shrugged a shoulder. “You should probably get back to the party.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“I would never be so rude.”

When she turned away from him, though, he got the message: he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. His own innate stubbornness made him want to stay and persuade her, coax her, make her laugh and blush. His more rational side, the same side that loved numbers, statistics, and algorithms, told him that he shouldn’t hedge his bets. Take this one as a loss. It happens to everyone.

But it didn’t happen to him. He was torn between amusement and annoyance and wasn’t sure which emotion would win out.

“Ash, there you are,” said his sister Thea as she same up to the bar. With her blond hair cut in a pixie and with a septum piercing, Thea looked like the lead singer of some rock band instead of a receptionist at a law office. “We’re opening presents, and yours is next.” Thea glanced at Violet with a raised eyebrow. “Although if you’re busy—”

Violet was still focused on her drink and seemed to have forgotten all about him. Ouch. “No, I’m not busy.”

Returning to the party, Ash drank his whiskey sour and got another as Bea ripped open her presents with undisguised glee. At two years old, she was more interested in the ribbons and wrapping paper than the toys and clothes. When Lizzie took a piece of ribbon from her that she was chewing on, Bea’s face screwed up and went bright red before she let out a wail that practically made the walls of the restaurant shake.

“Here’s your rabbit,” said Lizzie as she picked Bea up from the high chair and gave her her favorite stuffed animal. “Hush, baby.” She looked at Trent. “I think Bea’s had enough for tonight.”

Trent caressed Bea’s cheek as she continued crying and rubbing her face in her mother’s shoulder. Ash didn’t know a damn thing about babies, but even he could tell when one was completely exhausted and overstimulated.

Lizzie soothed Bea, and eventually the toddler fell asleep in her mother’s arms. Ash sat down next to Thea, across from whom sat Phin and Lucy. Phin worked as a lawyer in Portland, while Lucy was chasing her dreams of becoming an actress in Los Angeles.

Phin was the quiet brother who tended to avoid crowds, while Lucy was more like Ash, in that she lit up around people. She laughed and chatted with Abby and Megan Thornton, Lizzie’s sisters-in-law. Lucy was tall yet lithe, her hair a dark auburn. With her wide gray eyes and sharp cheekbones, she had been approached to do modeling jobs more than once, but she’d always turned them down because she wanted to be an actress and nothing else.

“Having fun?” Ash asked Phin from across the table. “You look miserable, bro.”

Phin’s mouth twisted. “‘Miserable’ is a bit hyperbolic.”

“Only you would use the word ‘hyperbolic’ in conversation.”

“That’s because Phin is the smartest of us all,” said Thea without any envy. “He did graduate from high school early.”

Phin didn’t deny this assertion, because he knew very well that he was intelligent. Ash had always admired his younger brother’s drive and focus. Ash had always been more of a will-o’-the-wisp in comparison. Hell, even Trent had settled down despite his aimless past: he’d since opened his three restaurants and now had a family.

Some days Ash didn’t recognize the siblings he’d known growing up. They’ve grown up, his logical side said. Maybe you should try it.

He tipped back his drink and swiftly shoved that thought aside.

“Will you hold Bea for a second?” Lizzie asked Thea. “She’s asleep, but I have to pee and Trent is making drinks—”

Thea was about to open her mouth when Ash interrupted. “I’ll take her.” At the women’s looks, he rolled his eyes. “Guys, I’ve held her before.”

“Yeah, but you don’t usually volunteer,” countered Thea.

“Don’t be sexist,” he joked as Lizzie gently handed Bea to him. The toddler murmured in her sleep before snuggling closer. She found her fist and began sucking her thumb, which Ash found beyond adorable but would never admit it.

“Hey, I’m all about men holding babies. They are fifty percent of the reason they happen,” said Thea as she brushed a hand over Bea’s dark curls. “She almost makes me want to have one of my own.”

“Not me,” said Lucy. “Babies put your life on hold.”

“We know you’re going to be a famous actress,” said Ash, “and besides, you’re what? Twenty-two?”

Lucy stuck out her tongue. “Twenty-three.”

“So, a baby. I don’t need my baby sister having a baby anytime soon.” Ash shuddered. He still didn’t like Lucy out in LA on her own, let alone the thought of some creep getting her pregnant.

Lucy’s attention was eventually snagged elsewhere while Phin found himself cornered by James, Harrison and Sara Thornton’s ten-year-old son. Harrison was Lizzie’s eldest brother, and he and Sara had been married for three years now. Although James was her son from her previous marriage, Harrison had essentially adopted the boy as his own.

Bea cooed in her sleep, and Ash rested his chin on top of her head.

Thea said quietly, “Do you ever think about getting married? Having kids?”

Out of all of his siblings, Ash had always felt like Thea was the one most like him. Although she worked as a receptionist, her real passion was for art. Currently, she was working on a graphic novel. With her exuberance and tendency to be rather absentminded, Thea wasn’t the least bit suited for an office job. Ash might be a pencil pusher who loved numbers and worked as Trent’s accountant for his restaurants, but he still understood Thea’s desire for freedom.

“No, I don’t,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve always known that life wasn’t for me.”

“Really? Because you already have a secret wife and kids you haven’t told us about?”

“Because we’ve both seen the bad side of marriage. You saw how Mom was.” He shuddered. “No, thanks.”

Thea shrugged. “I get that, but we aren’t our parents, either.”

“So says the woman who hasn’t dated seriously in how long?”

“There’s no one worth dating around here. And you’re one to talk.”

He couldn’t disagree. Thinking of dating, though, inevitably drew his gaze back to Violet, who now had a small group of women around her as she showed them what looked like pieces of jewelry.

Was she selling jewelry in a bar on a Friday night? He marveled at her. Where in God’s name had she come from?

Thea looked over her shoulder. “Oh, she’s still here. I saw you talking to her. She seems nice, so you should really leave her alone.”

“We were just talking.”

“Wait, don’t tell me.” Thea’s eyes widened. “Did she turn you down?”

Ash just glared.

Thea laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth when Bea stirred. “No way! Oh my God, I love her already. What’s her name? I’m going to marry her and I’m not even gay.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “I’ve been turned down before.”

“When? I want dates. I want times. I want the names and the exact words they used.”

He and Thea bickered until Lizzie finally returned to take Bea from him. After that, Ash watched Violet, completely mesmerized as she continued to show her wares.

She was clearly in her element. She helped one woman try on a necklace made of amber beads. When one of the other women said something, Violet laughed, her blue eyes sparkling.

Ash wanted to be the one who made her eyes sparkle. He wanted to make her laugh. And by God, he wanted to make her tremble as he kissed her.

Violet pulled out more jewelry from her purse. Did she keep her entire inventory in there? Considering how large the bag was, he could believe that she did. In a few more minutes, she’d given out her business card to at least half a dozen women and sold three pieces of jewelry, too. Amazing. He had to find out who she really was.

Once the women drifted away, Ash got up and slid into the chair next to Violet again. Currently, she was placing jewelry in individual plastic bags, completely unaware he’d returned.

“Do you have any jewelry for guys?” he asked.

She jumped. Clutching a plastic bag to her chest, she said, “You scared me!”

“My question still stands. Do you have anything for me?”

“Sadly, I’m out of bejeweled muzzles.”

He leaned closer to her. “Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart,” he murmured, “I can still drive any woman wild, muzzled or not.”

Finally, a slight blush crept up her cheeks. Ash wanted to whoop in victory. Inhaling her floral scent, he felt his body stir, his blood pumping and desire flaring in his gut.

Violet huffed out a laugh. “If you’re going to bug me, at least buy me a drink.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Chapter Three

Violet knew that she should get up and leave. Ash was way too handsome and way too seductive for the likes of her. He practically oozed sensuality with his smile. She hadn’t had sex since William had died. To be honest, she hadn’t even thought about it—until this very moment.

With Ash looking at her with a very obvious I want you gaze and his hair falling across his forehead, his jawline like that of a Greek god? How did he do that? It wasn’t fair. Violet wasn’t stupid enough to think she could combat such raw sex appeal.

So, she did what she always did: she acted like nothing was happening.

She sipped her gin and tonic, amused that Ash had noticed what she’d been drinking and had ordered for her. She decided right then that if he was so intent on getting into her pants, he’d have to put in a lot of effort to get there.

Ash’s lips quirked as he watched her sip her drink in silence. “You sell jewelry?”

“I make and sell it, yes. I have my own business.”

“Really? When did you start it?”

Violet knew very well that most people didn’t really care about the specifics when they asked questions: once she got into things like inventory and financial projections and clasps and chain types, their eyes glazed over, and she knew they’d heard nothing at all.

“I started it about four years ago. I was at a job that I hated, and I was tired of it. I was making jewelry in my spare time, and people started buying it, to my surprise. They wanted more. I was making enough that I was able to work on my business full-time soon after.”

“Impressive. How did you start making your own jewelry?”

She wasn’t at all certain that he really cared, but she shrugged inwardly. She’d tell him everything about bead sizes and charms and pliers and wire until he fell asleep at the bar.

“I took a class and I loved it. I ended up taking more classes, and it kind of snowballed from there.” She opened her purse and brought out a number of samples that she’d already shown to the group of women, placing them in front of Ash. “I mostly make earrings, bracelets, and my favorite, necklaces. Rings, too. This necklace here? It’s made with an infinity chain—see the figure eights?”

Ash leaned closer. “Oh yeah, I see it. I didn’t know there were that many types of chains.”

She bit back a chuckle, mostly because he was trying to sound enthused. That’s more than I can say for most people who don’t care about jewelry, she thought.

“It’s one of my favorite types of chains. I wanted the chain to be fairly delicate with the larger beads and the flower that makes it a statement piece.” She smiled kindly at Ash’s slightly glazed expression. “Am I boring you?”

“Not at all.” He held up a pair of chandelier earrings. “How did you put these together?”

Violet wondered what his game was. Suspicious and amused, she gave him an in-depth explanation about how she’d cut the wires, chosen the beads and beaded the earring. To her astonishment, not only did he stay focused on her as she talked, but he asked salient questions that showed he’d truly been listening.

I’m so doomed, she thought miserably. Why couldn’t he have been a jerk? Hot guys are always jerks!

Ash just smiled and drank his whiskey sour without another word. His eyes seemed to challenge her, like he’d known she’d assumed he was just some self-centered douche and nothing else. Fine, you won that round, she thought, but the game isn’t over yet.

“Enough about me, though,” Violet said briskly, “tell me about you. What do you do?”

Ash leaned back on his barstool, his posture relaxed and open. “Nothing quite as exciting as jewelry. I’m an accountant for my brother’s restaurants. Also his financial advisor. I take care of all of his books, more or less.”

“Are the restaurants here in town?”

“I guess you wouldn’t know, would you? This is one,” he said as he pointed toward the ceiling. “Plus La Bonita and the Wishing Well.”

She blinked. “Your brother owns all three?”

“Yes. My brother is Trent Younger, although I’m actually younger than him.” He rolled his eyes at his pun and Violet laughed.

She hadn’t heard anything about Ash’s family, although in Fair Haven, the family that was most talked about was the Thorntons. They were the most prestigious—and wealthy—family living in the town, and Martha had told her all about the huge mansion in the hills where the parents still lived. They also had a bunch of children—five, six, seven? Something like that.

“Is it just you and your brother, then?” she asked.

He snorted. “I wish. I’m one of five.”

“Wow, what is it with huge families around here? Is there something in the water?”

“Not much else to do in a small town except make babies, I guess,” he said with a lazy, heated grin.