Chapter Three

Still shook up after everything that had happened, Asia sat with her two closest friends in their favorite window booth at Lettie’s Diner. The much-loved eatery was one of the few places to eat out in the small town of Forsythia Falls, but luckily for its 1,913 residents the food was excellent.

Not that it made any difference. Asia wasn’t doing much more than shifting the French fries around on her plate. She was here because she couldn’t face being alone in her apartment above the shop, not because she was hungry. So she’d asked her friends to meet her here after work.

Tucking her long red hair behind her ear, her best friend Thea asked, “How the hell did he get away without anyone seeing him?”

Asia glanced across the street at the antique shop, flashing back to the ordeal of being tied up, and frowned. “They found the mask he was wearing by the back door of the shop. The theory is he fled out the back and just walked away like nothing happened.”

Lexi shook her head. “Well don’t expect him to be caught anytime soon by the cops in this rinky-dink town. They’d give Dumb and Dumber a run for its money.”

Thea snorted. “The thief is probably long gone, but he would’ve been just as safe if he’d stayed. The only way he’d get caught around here is if he was accidentally run over by a cop car while jaywalking.”

They all laughed in agreement.

“So true.” Still chuckling, Asia realized the laugh had helped ease something within her. Suddenly, she could breathe again. She knew getting together with her friends would help.

Thea shook her head and said for what had to be the sixth time already, “I still can’t believe something like that could happen right here in Forsythia Falls.”

Lexi emphatically nodded her agreement. “Me either. I mean, it’s so quiet here. Nothing interesting ever happens in this Podunk town.”

Asia loved this town and everything about it. The town’s one claim to fame was their unpretentious little falls, pretty enough to draw a decent number of tourists in the summer months but not enough to overwhelm the residents. She’d grown up here and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but she knew Lexi was having a difficult time adjusting. “You still aren’t used to it here, are you?”

Lexi shrugged. “It’s better since you guys took me under your wings, but I grew up in a big city. Guess I’m just used to a lot more hustle and bustle.”

Thea patted Lexi’s hand. “Give it some time. You’ve only been here five months. You’re still settling in.”

Lexi’s sleek brown bob caught the light as she nodded. “I know. But the one thing I haven’t missed is the crime. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Asia wondered how long it would be before she was sick of answering that question. Or how long it would take for her stock answer to be true, because right now she wasn’t sure when she would really feel fine again. “I’m fine. I just needed to be with my friends. I knew spending some time with you guys would help get my mind off it.”

Thea grimaced. “I guess it would help if we stopped talking about it.”

Having told them every detail about the robbery and her ordeal afterwards, Asia couldn’t have agreed more. “So let’s talk about something else.”

Lexi put down the salt shaker. “Ooh, I know. Tell us everything you can remember about Mr. New York Times Bestseller Marcus Thorne.”

Like that’s going to help. True to his name, Marcus had been the biggest thorn in her side since she’d met him. And he was the very last person Asia wanted to think about. She feigned nonchalance and shrugged. “I told you everything already.”

Thea pounced on Asia’s comment. “I knew it. You like him.”

Startled, Asia’s eyes shot to Thea. “I do not.”

“Oh yeah, you really do.”

Lexi jumped in. “Did I miss something?”

Thea laughed. “When you’ve known Asia as long as I have you can’t help but see the signs.”

Asia harrumphed. “You’re hallucinating again.”

“No, I’m not. Any other time you’d tell me every little detail about this guy just because you know I’m interested. The fact that you’re clamming up like this means that you’re attracted to him and you’re fighting it.”

Damn. “There are times when it’s really annoying that you know me so well.”

Thea smirked, quite pleased with herself. “I know you better than you know yourself.”

“You probably do. But I still don’t want to talk about him.”

“You don’t want to talk about men, period. You can’t assume every guy you meet is the same kind of cheating shithead as Davis.” Thea reached for the pepper shaker.

Asia gestured roundly with her fork. “I know that, but it’s not like the jerks have ‘shithead supremo, avoid at all costs’ tattooed on their foreheads. There’s no way to tell the good guys from the bad.”

And that terrified Asia. Her instincts when it came to men sucked. She was convinced it was genetic. All the women in her family picked losers, as evidenced by the fact that she’d never known her father or grandfather.

Thea broke into her thoughts. “Well, no. You have to get to know them better. That’s why we have this little ritual called dating. You may have heard of it.” Thea laid the sarcasm on thick.

Asia ignored it. “But by the time you get to know them, it’s too late. You’re in too deep and you end up with your heart ripped to shreds.”

And she should know. Hers had been shattered when she found her fiancé screwing his secretary in their bed just three weeks before the wedding. The whole thing had been like some horrific cliché. She could still picture the unrepentant smirk on his face when instead of begging Asia for forgiveness, he’d invited her to join them. She only wished the vase she’d thrown at his head had actually hit him instead of smashing to smithereens against the headboard.

Lexi, who’d been quietly listening to their exchange, spoke up. “But if you don’t try again with someone new, the jerk wins. He’s still affecting your life, controlling you, even though he’s not around.”

Asia stilled. She’d never thought of it that way before. Still, was it worth risking your heart just to stick it to someone else?

“Lexi’s right. Are you really going to let what Davis did ruin the rest of your life? Really?”

Put like that it sounded almost dumb, except… “That’s not the way it is. That’s not what I’m doing. I’m just protecting myself from getting hurt again. That’s my choice.”

Thea snorted. “Are you listening to yourself here? By shutting down that part of your life you’re continuing to make Davis a huge part of it.”

“No, I’m not.”

Lexi interjected. “In point of fact, you are.”

Asia glared at the two of them. “You’re both traitors. And you’re ganging up on me. I was just robbed and tied up, the least you could do is baby me a bit.”

“For the robbery, you need babying. For the rest of it, you need a kick in the pants. Right now, the kicking part is winning. We’ll baby you afterwards. Ooh, a crispy one.” Thea stole an extra-crispy fry off Asia’s plate.

Asia didn’t even bat an eye. After twenty-five years, she was used to Thea pinching food off her plate. “Gee, thanks for the understanding.”

Lexi forked a couple of fries and dipped them into her ketchup. “Thea’s right. I didn’t know you before what happened with Davis, but I’ve often worried that you shut yourself off too much.”

Thea snorted. “That’s an understatement. Look, you’ve had your little wallow. Had plenty of time to lick your wounds and hide from the world. I think this interest you have in Marcus is healthy. It’s a sign that it’s time for you to move on.”

Lexi nodded. “She’s right.”

Asia heartily disagreed but didn’t comment.

Thea continued, “Even if you’re not ready for a relationship, after two years you must be ready for some down-and-dirty sex. And who better to give it to you than Forsythia Falls’ very own local playboy. You’d know exactly where you stand with him. By all accounts, he’s a nice guy but not the settling-down type, and he’s sure to have loads of experience. I’d say he’s perfect for the job.”

Lexi nodded again. “Thea’s right. I hear he has to fight the women off with a stick, so he must be awesome between the sheets. Well worth giving him a try.”

Electric-blue eyes and the memory of hard flesh under her fingers made her feel hot and cold and shivery all over. The man was seriously dangerous to her self-control. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why the hell not? You’ve complained about Marcus hitting on you for weeks so we know he’s interested. Hell, I wish he was interested in me. I’d ride him until my eyes crossed and I couldn’t walk anymore.”

For a split second indignation flared inside of Asia. And just as quickly vanished as she realized how stupid that was. Marcus wasn’t hers and Thea was welcome to him. “Be my guest.”

“Listen to me, Asia. If the opportunity presents itself, go for it. Have crazy monkey sex with the guy and then move on if that’s what you really want. At least you’ll be making some progress toward getting on with your life.”

Asia wanted to tell Thea to mind her own business but the words stalled in her throat. Because the truth was, no matter how much she hated to admit it, she was torn.

The wild and crazy part of her wanted to do just what Thea suggested—ride Marcus hard until she couldn’t see straight. She missed sex, but what if she couldn’t keep her heart out of it? Could she risk getting hurt like that again? The mousy wimp in her wasn’t willing to take that chance and that was the part that held her back. And so far, that was the part that was winning. Had been for the past two years.

And she didn’t see that changing anytime soon.