Tate shook his head. “Nothing. I forgot what I was going to say.”
Asha knew he was lying, but she didn’t push. She and Tate had become pretty good friends in a short period of time, but she wasn’t comfortable enough to pry. “I enjoyed doing it.” She tilted her head, examining the old fire engine and other equipment she’d put in the painting. “How did you become interested in antique fire equipment?” she asked curiously.
“I was a volunteer firefighter for a while in Colorado. I got interested in some of the old fire equipment,” Tate answered smoothly, turning his back to her and moving into the kitchen. “You want to stay for dinner?”
Tate had gotten his cast removed and Asha could appreciate the rock-hard ass and Tate’s solid, muscular build. He was incredibly handsome, and she could admire him in an aesthetic sort of way, with hair almost lighter than Kade’s and gray eyes that could almost appear to be looking into one’s soul. But as gorgeous as he was, Tate did absolutely nothing for her. It was as if her body only reacted and came to life for one man. “Can’t. I have a dinner date. Kade’s taking me to a fondue place for dinner tonight.”
“Sissy food,” Tate called back in a teasing voice. “I was willing to make steaks.”
“It was my choice,” Asha told Tate indignantly. “I heard about it from one of the women in my art class, and I wanted to try it.”
She’d just started her classes this week, and they were pretty basic, but she enjoyed every moment of them. She could finally put terms to her techniques and the teacher was an incredible artist. Asha knew she could eventually learn plenty of new things from her, and she was eager to absorb knowledge.
Kade had spoiled her rotten from the moment she’d seen him again during that horrible confrontation with her foster parents three weeks ago. They’d been to Disneyworld, and she’d squealed with delight through every ride. In fact, he’d probably taken her to every tourist attraction in Florida, but he always seemed to come up with something new every time she saw him. Usually, there wasn’t a day that passed without her seeing him. And they texted like teenagers, sending flirty and seductive messages back and forth like two people completely…in love.
Asha sighed and picked up her purse, ready to go back to her own apartment and get ready for Kade to take her to dinner.
“You going out with that guy who wears the atrocious shirts?” Tate asked as he walked back into the living room. “I saw him coming out of the elevator yesterday. Gotta be something wrong with a guy who dresses like that.”
“I happen to love his shirts,” Asha answered defensively and honestly. “They’re colorful, bright, and gorgeous.” Just like him!
“They’re nasty,” Tate grumbled, shaking his head.
Asha walked to the door, but turned around and looked at Tate again. “You like football. You don’t recognize him?”
“Yeah. Kade Harrison,” Tate answered immediately. “He was a hell of a quarterback, but he needs to work on his personal sense of style.”
Asha knew Tate was ribbing her. He wasn’t the snobby type, and he wasn’t exactly a fancy dresser. “I think he looks very handsome. Yesterday was his hot chili pepper shirt. And he definitely looked…hot.”
Tate snorted as she opened the door. “He needs work.”
Asha looked back at him and told him assuredly, “He needs nothing. He’s perfect just the way he is.”
“In love with him, are you?” Tate asked as he joined Asha at the door. “Only a woman in love could think that about a man in bad shirts.”
Enjoying the bantering with Tate, she answered haughtily, “At least Kade knows how to treat a woman, unlike some men I know.” She raised a brow at him, referring to the brunette who left his apartment every day smiling while Tate insisted it was a casual thing. “I haven’t seen her for a few weeks. Did you dump her?”
Tate shrugged uncomfortably. “We…broke up.”
“Are you sad?” Asha asked curiously, feeling bad that she had given him a hard time.
“Nah. It was bound to happen. She got back together with her ex-husband. I told you it was nothing.”
Asha looked at Tate, but he avoided eye contact with her.
“I’m sorry.” And she was sorry. If the woman had dumped him, even if he wasn’t all that attached to her, it probably hurt.
“Don’t be,” he said hurriedly. “Maybe I can give your star quarterback a run for his money. I’m unattached,” he said jokingly.
“I’m not,” she told him cheekily, knowing Tate wasn’t really interested in her. Pulling her keys from her purse, she walked across the hall to her own apartment.
“I don’t see a ring. He doesn’t have you, yet,” Tate called from his doorway.
Asha unlocked her door and pushed it open. She paused for a moment before looking Tate straight in the eye from the door of her apartment. “He has my heart,” she stated simply, closing the door of her apartment with a small smile.
Glancing at the clock on the wall of her apartment, Asha knew she’d have to hurry to get ready for her dinner date with Kade. A rush of adrenaline and excitement flooded her body as she moved quickly to the bathroom to shower. Not that Kade would mind if she was late. He’d wait patiently, understanding that she’d had to finish a job today, acting like he was perfectly content just to be in the same space with her. Although he was a billionaire who headed one of the most prestigious companies in the world, he never treated her obligations like they were any less important than his. It was one of the many things that Asha loved about Kade. He made her feel like she was important, that what she valued was also significant to him. Most of the time, he put her needs before his own, and it was starting to get less and less confusing for her. Kade cared for her, and he protected those he cared about and treated them with consideration. At one time, that had been foreign to her, but she was getting used to being treated as a woman of value by not only Kade, but by others such as Maddie, Max, Devi, and people she had met who were slowly becoming friends. It was still amazing to Asha that as people had started to value her, she’d started to develop her own self-worth.
Asha sighed as she stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. Padding over to the closet, she rifled through her clothing, picking a lightweight dress from the collection that Maddie and Mia had purchased for her when she’d first arrived in Florida. After countless discussions about the clothes, Maddie had shown up at her door a week ago with a very large moving man to bring all the clothing to her room to be hung in her closet. Maddie had given Asha a don’t-screw-with-the-pregnant-woman glare, and Asha hadn’t argued. Her sister might be sweet, but she had a stubborn streak when she wanted something. And she had wanted Asha to accept her gift. Maddie’s brilliant, happy smile when Asha had nodded her agreement had been worth swallowing her pride. She’d made Maddie genuinely happy by finally accepting the clothes. It was almost symbolic, as if Asha had finally accepted her as a sister. Had Asha realized that it had meant so much to Maddie, she would have taken them before. But she hadn’t been perceptive enough then to read her sister. Now…she was beginning to understand Maddie, see her through the loving eyes of a sister. The last thing Maddie needed right now was conflict. She was having twins, and the stress of the pregnancy was enough. Asha wanted to be there for Maddie, too.