Ashley exhaled and took a large swig of her drink. “Okay. I’m ready.”
I slid the contract over to her. “I’m signing over my part of the company to you.”
“No.” She pushed the papers back at me. “I told you I didn’t want this.”
“And I told you it’s what’s best.”
Ashley sucked her teeth, her eyes darting away. “What’s best?”
“I will not let my choice to marry Luca ruin everything we’ve built. I don’t want there to be any problems if something happens.”
“What kind of something?” Ashley’s eyes narrowed.
Jazz’s words fresh in my mind, I summoned the courage to be honest. “Luca’s under investigation for murder. It might just be a scare tactic, but the police think they’ve got him.”
Ashley’s hand covered mine on top of the contract, but she didn’t say anything.
“If Luca’s charged with murder, I’m standing by his side.”
“Of course you will.” She frowned, shaking my hand. “And you’re worried about us.”
“SA Designs is doing well, but we’re still new. I don’t want anything to taint what success is coming.”
Reluctantly, she nodded. “Does this mean you’re leaving the company, too?”
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
Ashley squeezed my hand, then pulled her own back to her lap. My heart sunk. I knew she was about to make the right choice, the only choice.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
Surprised, I let out a harsh breath. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I can’t imagine doing it without you.”
“If the worst happens, I’ll leave. No fuss, no muss.”
She gave me a small smile and picked up another piece of bruschetta. I did the same, and we bumped them together before taking a big bite. “Delicious,” she mumbled, covering her mouth.
“I don’t know how what is essentially fancy toast is so good.”
“Don’t let Tim hear you.” Ashley stage whispered, much to our waiter’s delight. The new chef at Moretti’s was a jerk. Luca had been bitching about him for weeks, loathing that Tim would be catering our wedding.
“One perk of marrying Luca is I’m the future Mrs. Moretti, which means Tim can suck it.”
Ashley cackled, and we polished off our drinks and crusty bread app. “I need to use the restroom before they bring out the next course.” She got up just as the waiter dropped off fresh drinks.
Sipping my gin and tonic, I scrolled through my texts, responding to my mom’s guilt trip about canceling our plans.
“Sasha?”
My eyes widened, and I lowered my phone to the table. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I whipped my head toward the bar, where Frankie chatted up the bartender.
Dimitri sat in Ashley’s seat, and Daphne took the one next to him. “We needed to talk to you.”
“So, you thought you’d come to Moretti’s? Do you have a death wish?” I hissed, leaning over the table to make sure they heard me.
“We’ll make it fast,” Daphne said, her eyes scanning the room.