Jilted (3 page)

Ashley was sure that if he gave Tiffany any indication that he was interested in her in a romantic capacity, she’d jump at the opportunity. But he wasn’t under any illusion that she actually had genuine feelings for anything besides his social status, wealth and connections. She was no different than any other woman who ran in his mother’s circles, his mother included.

Not even two weeks ago, he couldn’t even fathom the idea of touching another woman besides Skylar, but now knowing what he did, there was no longer any need for fidelity to a whore who’d played him for a fool. Though Tiffany was just as big an opportunist as any of other woman he’d had dealings with, she made no secret of her love for the finer things in life. At least she was honest about where she stood. And there was that saying about the fastest way to get over someone was getting under someone else. He gave Tiffany a narrow-eyed stare, inspecting her from head to toe.

She wore a strapless green maxi dress that subtlety hugged her curves. There was no denying that she was an attractive woman with long wavy blonde hair that cascaded down her back and baby doll blue eyes. She was a bit too slender for his taste and her breasts looked too large and out of proportion for such a thin frame, but it wasn’t a complete turn off. Most men would find no fault with her body.

What he found the most appealing about her at the moment was that she was Skylar’s complete opposite and right now, that’s exactly what he needed. He grabbed his drink and downed the remainder in one gulp before slamming it onto the bar. Ashley then grabbed his wallet and extracted a few bills and placed it where the bartender could see it.

He stood up and focused on an eager Tiffany. “Okay, friend. Show me what you plan on doing for me.”

Chapter Two

The sharp steady pounding in his head roused Ashley out of a dreamless sleep. When he opened his eyes, he immediately closed them against the brightness of the sunlight beaming through the windows. “Ugh,” he groaned, not wanting to move a muscle in case it intensified the pain.

When he felt the caress of a hand flutter across his torso he sprang into a sitting position, ignoring the ache that shot through every fiber of his being. It felt as if he’d gone head to head with an 18-wheeler and came out the loser. These past several days of binge drinking like there was no tomorrow, which he hadn’t done since his college days had finally caught up to him. But unlike then, he wasn’t a young man in his late teens and early twenties. Now he could feel every bit of his stupidity.

Ashley glanced to his right to see Tiffany lying on her side next to him. Her head was propped up in the crook of her hand and all she wore was a self-satisfied grin. She didn’t bother to cover her body, giving him a full on view of what she had to offer. “I thought you’d never wake up.” She spoke several octaves lower than she normally did. Ashley figured it was her attempt to sound seductive, but with his headache, it was just noise.

He groaned and rubbed his temples. “What are you doing in my bedroom, Tiffany?”

For a brief second, her smile wavered but then she plastered it back on her artfully colored lips. “Don’t you remember last night….lover?” She ran her tongue over her top lip and circled one pink nipple with her fingertip.

Ashley’s dick remained woefully soft. The last thing on his mind was sex. In fact he couldn’t remember being with Tiffany the night before. His last memory was coming back to the room with her and having a few more drinks. He drew a blank after that. To his recollection, he’d never been so stinking drunk that he couldn’t recall the previous evening.

Shit.

He should have sent Tiffany home when he’d been in his right mind. If he had sex with her last night as she certainly seemed to imply, then this would further complicate matters at home. His mother made no secret that Tiffany was her number one choice for his wife. She’d been pushing them together for as long as he could remember. There was a time when he thought he could give it a go, but then Skylar happened.

The very thought of Skylar brought back the anger and the contempt he’d felt when he’d learned about her deception. Fuck her and fuck this. He wouldn’t feel guilty about what happened with Tiffany. He owed her nothing. Not anymore.

Ashley slid out of bed, hoping that a shower would clear his head.

“Where are you going?” Tiffany called out to him.

Ignoring her, he headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He wouldn’t put it past her to take an unlocked door as an invitation to join him. Ashley spied a bottle of aspirin lying by the sink that he’d used a few nights ago. Thankfully there were still a few tablets left which he took and washed down with tap water. His head still felt like there were elephants tap dancing inside of it, but hopefully the medication would kick in soon.

Once he was under the shower’s spray, he turned the nozzle to the hottest level he could withstand. The fiery sting of the water beat down his back and on his head, bringing him out of his zombie-like fatigue. He attempted to calculate how much he’d actually had to drink the day before to be so wasted that he’d actually lost his memory.

Ashley remembered the few drinks at the bar before Tiffany had joined him. And then they’d had champagne when they came back to the room. He’d had most of the bottle. And then he’d taken advantage of the newly refilled mini bar courtesy of housekeeping.

He vaguely remembered Tiffany’s presence but it was all a haze. Ashley realized Tiffany wasn’t above taking advantage of his inebriated situation but he didn’t blame her. This all landed on the shoulders of one woman. Skylar. She’d made a fool out of him and the worst part was he’d nearly relented when she’d cried and played the innocent on their wedding day. For a brief moment he almost believed that she’d been telling him the truth but then he thought about those pictures.

He wondered how he could be so thoroughly fooled by her. The fact that his mother had hated Skylar on the spot didn’t deter him because there was no woman that would have satisfied Katherine Hollingsworth unless she’d handpicked the prospective love interest herself. Besides, his mother was an insufferable snob, the fact that Skylar was a different race and from a questionable background was enough to strike her off the list of suitable daughters-in-law. But then there were his siblings, Owen and Colleen, who didn’t care for her either. He’d thought they were being unreasonable at the time but they had never really warmed up to her. Even his best friend Tim, who was the most easy-going guy Ashley knew, had misgivings about the union. He should have seen the signs and got the hell out of Dodge when he had the chance.

Even now when he thought about her, his pulse raced and cock stirred to life. And he hated that she could still have that effect on him. He wanted to erase her memory out of existence but all he could think about was the first time they’d met.

Ashley didn’t know how he’d gotten suckered into taking this gig, but he hoped it wouldn’t be as tedious as he imagined. The thought of teaching a bunch of wide-eyed law students, criminal law for the next few weeks wasn’t the highest on his list of priorities but it was hard to say no to William Cooper, one of the senior partners at his law firm who had been best friends with his father. William had also been a mentor to Ashley shortly after he’d joined the firm and had put him on track toward a partnership. William rarely took advantage of the connection so when he’d asked Ashley to take over his classes while he was on hiatus, Ashley had begrudgingly agreed.

School hadn’t exactly been one of Ashley’s favorite places, and in fact he’d been happy to be done with it once he walked across the stage. But now he found himself on the other side of the desk. He made sure to get to the lecture hall early to give himself enough time to set up his material. He’d filled in for William a couple times before but only for a day or so, not for a month stint, and he hoped when his mentor was fully recovered Ashley wouldn’t have to play substitute again.

Besides, Ashley could find a more appealing thing to do with his time than to debate with some know-it-all law student who was book smart but didn’t have a sliver of common sense. Thankfully this course would basically be composed of second year students who thankfully were more bearable than first years. He was a half hour early so he was surprised to see a handful of students already at their desks with laptops open, some of them huddled together, probably going over the syllabus, while a few others were working solo.

A slender redhead took notice of him first. “Where’s Professor Cooper?” she demanded.

“I’m sure if you would have checked your email, you’d know he’s out for the next month. I’ll be taking his place until he returns. I should hope whatever field of law you intend to go into you’ll be more prepared.”

The girl turned a shade as bright as her hair. “I just asked a question.”

Ashley sighed. Maybe he was a little too harsh with her, but his patience was already thin. He had several cases on his desk that needed his review and he was here instead. As he continued to set up, the seats began to fill. The steady buzz of conversation whirled around him. As the start time for class to neared, a small woman lugged a backpack over her shoulder that looked like it would consume her. She wore an oversized sweater that hung off one shoulder, exposing an expanse of silky sable-colored skin. Her jeans looked worn with two large holes at the knees, even though she managed to make it look fashionable. Her wild hair was pulled into a big puff that sat artfully on top of her head. Her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose. Her presentation might have been slightly chaotic but she looked like an adorable mess.

Ashley followed her progress to a chair near the front of the class. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was about this student that made it nearly impossible for him to tear his attention away, but he was fascinated as she carefully unpacked her items. She didn’t have a laptop like a lot of the other students, but she had a notepad, two pens and what looked like a law book. As if sensing his gaze on her, she looked up. Ashley barely managed to hold in a gasp as she stared at him full on. She was absolutely gorgeous. Through her lenses, he could see large brown eyes, the color of aged sherry; with lashes so long they almost seemed unreal. Her generously plump lips immediately had his thoughts running wild. Ashley couldn’t help but imagine what they’d feel and taste like.

Her button nose was wide but it fit in perfectly with the rest of her flawless features. Suddenly she smiled, revealing a dimple in her right check and a tiny gap in between straight white teeth. His heart briefly stopped right then. He could barely breathe. The only thing that had brought him out of his daze was the redhead, rudely clearing her throat and pointing at her wristwatch.

“Uh, yes, I see it’s time to begin,” he somehow managed to get out. He fought to tear his eyes off the vision several feet away from him. “As most of you are aware, Professor Cooper has taken a leave of absence for health reasons but I’ll be filling in for him until he returns. I’m Ashley Hollingsworth Esquire, and while I’m here we’ll be focusing on evidence and how it’s obtained legally, privileged communications, hearsay and competency of witnesses.”

Ashley wasn’t sure how he made it through that first class without stumbling over his words but during most of it; he stole glances at the object of his interest every now and then. Other than the smile that she’d given him at the beginning of class she gave no indication of interest beyond that.

By the time end of the lecture, Ashley let out a sigh of relief that he’d managed to get through it without incident. There were a few times when he felt his dick starting to get hard, but he averted the situation by turning his back to the class and writing something on the chalk board until his body was under control. He noticed his mystery woman packing up and while he debated on whether to speak to her, he was suddenly surrounded by a group of students, mainly women coyly twirling their hair and asking questions that a pre-law undergraduate would know. He saw the mystery woman leave without a backward glance.

He wouldn’t get another opportunity to speak with her for the next couple of classes, where he learned her name was Skylar Marie Brown. The most beautiful name he’d ever heard.

Now as he stood under the shower, allowing the water to flay his back, he wished to God he never pursued her or learned her name. He would have to harden his heart because he refused to play the fool again. Not for her or anyone else.

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If anyone would have told her a month ago that things could get worse, Skylar wouldn’t have believed them, but here she was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and unable to lift her head. Of all the times to get sick, it had to be now. What had started out as just a cold had turned into full blown pneumonia. For the past month she had been trying to get her life back in order even though she’d experienced one setback after another. Besides being publically dumped on her wedding day, she’d gotten a letter from the law firm that she was to have interned at for the summer that they’d decided to eliminate her slot. To rub salt in her wound, they’d ended the communication by saying best of luck. It was too late to interview for other internship positions at this time because they would be filled by now.

There was no doubt in Skylar’s mind that Ashley had something to do with it, because she knew that the partners of the Anderson, Henning and Janson were golf buddies with William Cooper, one of the senior partners at Ashley’s firm. Her only option to earn money until she obtained her license to practice law was to get a nine to five. Her mother had offered to support her while Skylar took the summer off to study for the bar, but Priscilla had already done so much it wouldn’t have been fair to expect any more financial support when she was twenty-five years old and capable of working.