He glanced at his friend and then back at the waitress. Her face was red as she placed their food in front of them. Arms crossed over her chest, she made a hasty escape. “Shit,” he said, incredulous. “I thought she was joking. Damn. I mean, I thought it was just her. Now I’m going to be self-conscious.”#p#分页标题#e#
Ted lifted his burger. “Forget about it. You’ve lived this long with that laugh, no need to change it at this point. So what are we going to do about our wives?” He took a big bite out of his hamburger.
Asher picked up a thick fry and dipped it in ketchup. “Hell, I don’t know. Suppose we get them to ‘accidentally’ meet up somewhere? Then they can work it out themselves. They love and miss each other. Maybe they’re ready to make up.”
“I don’t know,” Ted said dubiously.
“Well, I’m at a loss for a better plan. Unless you have one, we stick with mine.”
***
Ariadne scanned the freezer in search of something for dinner. She grabbed a package of pork chops. The doorbell rang so she put the package in the sink and washed her hands quickly. She dried her hands on a towel as she walked to the door.
She was surprised to see Ted on the porch. “Hi, Ted. Weren’t you and Ash supposed to meet for lunch at the restaurant? He’s not here.”
Ted nodded as he stepped inside. “Yeah, I know. We already met. I came to see you.”
“Okay.” She led him to the den. “Have a seat. What’s up?” But she thought she knew. He was here to convince her to apologize to Erika.
“I want to talk to you about Ash.” He sat on the sofa. “You know that when you two first brought up the idea of getting married I was against it because I didn’t want to see either of you get hurt. I just knew the lines would get blurred.”
Her stomach twisted and her heartbeat sped up. Was he here to dump her on Asher’s behalf? He’d seemed happy when he left this morning, but she suspected when the end came it would be sudden and unexpected. “Yes, I recall your objections.” She joined him on the sofa but couldn’t bring herself to sit back. She perched on the edge of the cushion.
“Ash told me that he’s told you that he loves you.”
She nodded, wishing that he would just get on with it so that she could lose this sick feeling in the pit of her belly. “And he’s changed his mind?”
“What? Hell, no. I’m not here to discuss him hurting you. I’m here to try to keep you from hurting him. That was my concern from the very beginning.”
She was shocked and offended all at once. “How do you…Why would you think that I would hurt Ash?”
Ted leaned forward, his expression earnest. “You could hurt him without even trying. You’ve never noticed the effect that you have on him.”
“I understand that he’s desired me for a long time. Finding that out was a shock, but other than asking me out once, he gave up.” She shrugged. “And this summer, he saw an opportunity. He says he loves me, but I don’t know how many other women have heard the same thing.”
“Probably none. Ash has always been commitment phobic. Do you know that he quit smoking because of you?”
She winced. “He told me it was that stupid cancer comment.”
“Yeah, but did you know he’d been trying to quit for years? He couldn’t kick the habit until you refused to ride in his car.”
She frowned. But they hadn’t even been getting along when she said that. To learn that even an offhand comment of hers had had such a profound effect on Asher was astounding. “I didn’t realize.”
“So what’s wrong? What’s holding you back? Ash is a great guy now. You couldn’t ask for a better husband.”
She sighed. “It’s his past. He’s used to much more exciting women than me.” She spread her arms. She wore a comfortable cardigan over a faded t-shirt and jeans. Though it was hot outside, she kept the air up on high inside and her rooms were chilly. “I mean, if he got tired of them, how can I hold his attention?”#p#分页标题#e#
“You should discuss that with Ash, but I strongly suspect his past isn’t as wild as he’d have you believe. Over the years, he’s tended to downplay his good traits.” Ted frowned and then he sighed. “I’m going to tell you something that no one knows besides me and Ash. Have you heard about the BMW he wrecked?”
“Sure. Everyone did. His dad had just given him that car. He crashed it in his back yard one night when he was drunk. It’s a good thing that he didn’t make it onto the road.”