With Alex holding her hand, Ashleigh feared he would realize her palms were starting to sweat because his hand was hot enough to melt her insides and not because she was nervous. Ok, maybe a little nervous.
When they stopped at the edge of the pool, Alex sat on the stone ledge surrounding the hot tub, easily pulling Ashleigh down beside him.
“How’s the book coming?”
Instinct had her tensing, immediately wondering which book he was referring to. There was no possible way he knew she was Ashton Leigh...
Going on that assumption, she answered, “I’m up to my eyeballs in fairy dust.”
Alex’s chuckle reverberated through her, rebounding off each and every molecule and making her insides dance with pleasure. Even his laugh turned her on.
“Fairy dust, huh? Does this one end with the princess taming the prince?”
“Well, of course not.” Ashleigh said, trying to sound stern. “Don’t you know there’s no way to tame a prince? Unless of course you turn him into a frog, which I haven’t done. So, no, my prince is actually a horse, who, as it turns out, is best friends with a barn owl.”
Alex’s shocked stare made Ashleigh laugh. “What? Do you have a fear of farm animals?”
“Not that I know of.” Alex recovered easily. “That stuff really excites you?”
Ashleigh wasn’t going to tell him that she managed to publish the children’s books because her agent was a hard ass, and since the books were popular, she was hard pressed not to keep going. But the others she wrote… well, those were what she spent most of her time on.
“I enjoy what I do.” She said honestly. “I work for myself … mostly. And I get to meet so many incredible people along the way.”
Alex seemed to contemplate her statement for a moment. “So, what do you do in your spare time? Or do you have any?”
Grateful for the change of subject, Ashleigh glanced out over the pool, watching the glowing water ripple gently in the crisp evening breeze. Sitting here with Alex was nice. She couldn’t say relaxing because she was too overheated to relax, but his presence did afford her a sliver of comfort.
“I have spare time. On occasion.” Whenever she took a break which wasn’t all that often, she thought. “I like to run on those days when I can get away for a bit. Or, I check off one of the items on my I haven’t done this yet list.”
Alex cleared his throat, causing Ashleigh to look at him. The heat in those emerald eyes was palpable.
“What types of things?” Alex’s voice sounded strained, and the way his eyes darted down to her lips had Ashleigh’s stomach tightening.
“Horseback riding is one of them. I’ve never done it, so I figure it’s something I should at least try. Skiing. Possibly riding a four wheeler. Those types of things.” She wouldn’t mention the other items on her list that were for her eyes only, like skinny dipping, or having sex in a public place. Or having sex period.
Ashleigh fought the urge to fidget. She often wondered whether her secret list would have more interesting things on it if she had, in fact, ever had sex. Hell, she came up with some astronomical scenes, some she hardly believed would ever happen. At times, she could almost picture herself in those scenes. Not that she would share that with Alex.
Nor would she tell him that she was Ashton Leigh. No reason to give him the wrong impression. Those were fantasies she came up with, and not necessarily her own. But if he knew, would he think they were?
That was the same question she asked herself about anyone who knew her. If she was outed, would her friends and family be disappointed in her? Would they be concerned about her warped mind? Not that she thought it was warped, nor did her readers apparently.
“You’ve never been skiing?”
Grateful he was keeping the conversation on simpler topics, Ashleigh responded, “Nope.”
Her list was long. So many exciting things she wanted to do. Along with the exhilaration of trying something for the first time, Ashleigh sometimes needed to get out of her own head for a little while. Having new things to conquer gave her that brief reprieve. Since she didn’t have enough time to do them all at once, she would just write them down for the future. “What about you? Are you a skier?”
“Not much, no. I’ve been a couple of times, but can’t say I’m good at it.”
“See, that’s the part that doesn’t matter. As long as you’ve tried it once, you can say you’ve done it. Then you know whether you liked it or not, regardless of how good you are.”
Ashleigh took a chance and looked at Alex. He looked lost in thought, and, not for the first time, she wanted to get inside his brain and rummage around. She was pretty sure she’d find some fascinating things there.