She walked back to the bathroom and started brushing her teeth. Relieving her mouth of the taste of curdled alcohol. She heard the door to the villa shut before feet started walking across the floor and she rolled her eyes. Ash must have decided to come in with whatever the hell he had in his hands. She wasn’t ready to deal with him. She was hurt, and sad, and embarrassed, and a host of other things she didn’t want to admit to.
Kallie finished brushing her teeth, then rinsed out her mouth with mouthwash.
Maybe if she stayed in the bathroom long enough, he would go away. Leave whatever it was he’d brought with him and head back to the beach. But the longer she stood in the bathroom, the more she heard him moving around. Plastic wrap. Opening and closing cabinets. Turning on the faucet.
She groaned before sliding out of the bathroom and heading for the kitchen.
Whatever it was he wanted, she would have to address it before he went away.
Then, she could book herself the next flight home.
Chapter 15
Ash
Kallie looked terrible, and Ash felt worse. He watched her turn and walk away, seemingly exasperated with the fact that he was there. But she left the door open and he took any entrance he could get into her villa on the beach. He shut the door behind him and listened as she brushed her teeth. He made his way into the kitchen and set the bowl down on the marble kitchen island, then uncovered the bowl of soup he’d gotten for her.
He rummaged through her cabinets until he found a glass. Then he went over to the sink and filled it with the cold, filtered water he knew the villas were set up for. He picked up the bowl and set it at the kitchen table, then went to get a spoon for her to eat with.
The broth would help her stomach to feel better.
He stood there by the kitchen table and waited for her. Waited for the woman he had accused of being a cheater. She had confronted him with an earnest that sparked a fire in his gut, and then he watched that earnest slowly evaporate when his judgment of her came crashing down on her. He could see her face. The way it had contorted. The way the sadness had settled in on her features. The tears in her eyes had snuffed out any anger he felt, and he was left feeling like nothing but a jerk. He’d watched her stumble away, falling over herself to get back to her villa, and everything inside of him wanted to rush to her and help her back.
But he knew she needed something more than help.
She needed a cure for the sickness she was experiencing.
Kallie was taking in vino veritas to the extreme, and now he understood why. She’d clearly had too much to drink and was fielding emotions she’d kept close to her chest. He leaned against the kitchen wall and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his board shorts.
One of the few times he was glad he hadn’t been surfing in his wet suit.
The small footfalls of her feet fell upon his ears and he whipped his head up. But when Kallie opened her mouth to speak, he held up his hand. Her eyes sparked with anger as she furrowed her brow, but then Ash motioned to the soup and the water waiting for her.
“It’s miso soup. Eat it. It’ll make you feel better,” he said.
Kallie rolled her eyes but did as she was told. He sat down at the table across from her, careful to not spook her. He was fearful that if he made any sudden or strong movements, she’d kick him out. And he didn’t want that. He wanted to be around her. He wanted to bask in her beauty. He wanted to be alone with her and help her.
But he needed to earn her trust back again.
He watched as she thirstily attacked the water. Chugging it down as a small droplet released from the side of
her mouth. His eyes followed its path down her cheek. Her neck. Her chest. It rounded the crest of her bosom as she heaved for air and found its death along the edge of her bikini. Fuck. She was beautiful. Even gulping down water she was immaculate. She set the empty glass down and picked up the spoon, humming to herself over the miso soup.
The sound shot jolts of electricity to his groin as he watched her eat.
He could see her eyes starting to clear. But he could also see the red rim around them. The telltale sign of a woman crying, even when she tried to cover it up.
“I’m sorry, Kallie.”
Her eyes slowly panned up to meet his and his heart skipped a beat.
“What I thought about you wasn’t fair,” Ash said. “You’re not that kind of person, clearly. And I’m sorry for what happened to you. No one should ever have to go through that.”
“What’s done is done,” Kallie said weakly.
“Your ex is a fucking idiot to think he could ever do better than you.”
He watched as a weak smile tugged across Kallie’s cheeks. There she was. His Pretty Kallie. Even in her weakened and emotional state, it still lit up her beautiful green eyes. He sat there as she ate the rest of her soup, her body trembling as the air conditioner kicked on in the villa. He got up and went looking for a blanket to wrap around her shoulders, then came back and covered her up. She seemed thankful, even going so far as to give him another small smile.