CHAPTER 148: DARE TO LOVE M…
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CHAPTER 148: DARE TO LOVE ME It’s Been Enough Part 1
Ashley
“Wow, Nick’s handsome cousin is tough,” Tino said, and I nodded, grimacing.
“I’m going to stop trying; he just won’t understand me.”
“But have you told him everything?” Tino sat in an oddly shaped chair in my office and crossed his legs.
“No way! He barely let me explain half of it. He doesn’t know anything about the conditions my father imposed.”
“I don’t know how we’re going to solve this mess if he won’t let you get close. Although, I did see him eyeing you up yesterday while you were looking like a goddess by the pool.” I looked at my friend, thinking I must have imagined it.
“Well, there’s something there,” he said, waving his hand firmly.
I bit my design pencil and pondered, could it be possible? However, I glanced at the initial patterns of Jessie’s wedding dress sketch and sighed.
“Ash, the girls and I want to celebrate your pre–birthday today,” the sales manager said as she entered my office.
“Pre–birthday?” I questioned.
“Yeah, a bar, a few beers, and some good music. We think it’s a great idea to relieve the
tension from this collection.”
“I’m in,” Tino clapped. “Look at that, the spiders don’t waste any time, huh?”
“Of course we don’t, Tinkerbell,” she replied. For some reason, Tino hated being called Tinkerbell, so he made a face, and I hurried to respond before those two got into it.
“You know I’m ready for anything,” I said, delighted.
“Perfect,” my girl got excited and left.
“Let’s finish this so I can see if I have time to go home and change,” I refocused on my work, and before I realized it, it was already night. I checked the time, and it was almost dinner.
“The spiders are waiting for you,” Tino said as he entered.
“Honey, I don’t like it when you call them spiders.”
“It’s affectionate, just like how they call me Tinkerbell,” he said, grimacing, and I shook my
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CHAPTER 148: DARE TO LOVE M…
head.
“Come on, let’s go. We’re all going to dinner.” I wouldn’t have time to change; it would take me a couple of hours to go and come back, so I decided to stick with the short gray circular skirt, a basic long–sleeve black T–shirt, and the high black stilettos I was wearing that day.
After a pleasant dinner with the girls, where we talked about their lives, fortunately, everything was going well for them. The only thing keeping us tense was the launch of the new collection and the fact that I still didn’t know how things would go with Enrico, who hadn’t bothered to show up. I’d asked my grandfather to help me find him.
I ended the call I was having with Alaia. I’d asked her and Nick to come to the bar, knowing that the little jerk would likely refuse if I invited him, so I saved myself the trouble.
We arrived at the bar, which we already knew, and greeted some familiar faces. We liked it
there because they played good music.
We found a table near the bar and were ready for some fun.
We ordered beers, and they brought us some exquisite tapas. Dinner hadn’t been enough for
- me.
I looked at the door after seeing the message Alaia sent me; they had just arrived.
“Alaia,” I said, standing up and walking toward her. She was holding Nick’s hand. I greeted him with two kisses and guided them to the table to introduce him to the girls, who were mesmerized by the hunk that Tino called Nick.
“I invited…” Nick looked at the door, and I widened my eyes as I saw Will entering the bar.
“Did
you
tell him I’d be here?” I quickly questioned.
“No, honey, we just invited him,” Alaia said.
“They’re going to kill me with stress–and him too,” I signaled with
my
head.
“Maybe you’ll finally clear everything up,” Nick said before going to talk to Will.
I saw them go to the bar, far from where we were–just as I thought!
“Photo for Tony,” Tino said as he took a picture of us and sent it to his guy.
“But he’s never going to come to his senses,” Tino looked at Will, who nodded at him.
“You see, he won’t. But he’s not going to ruin our night.”
A few more beers, and I was feeling good, with the music and the girls.
“Aren’t you going to say hello?” I heard a voice I’d heard only a few times but recognized.
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“Tony!” I shouted excitedly and hugged him effusively. He was such a charming guy.
“He came a day early and brought friends,” Tino had a big smile on his lips and pointed to two
men behind Tony.
“I heard you’re doing a few samples of men’s clothing for the new collection, so I brought two of my friends to try out. If you like them, they could model for you,” Tony stepped aside to
introduce us to the two incredibly handsome guys.
“Are they gay?” I whispered to Tony, who shook his head with a smile.
“Come on, you’ve done a great job,” I gave him two kisses and integrated them into the group
after introducing them to Alaia. Of course, those two hit it off immediately.
“I feel like dancing,” I shouted when “Punto 40” by Raw Alejandro started playing. We’d
discovered it here because of Rosalía.
“Come on, I love that song,” Tony took me to the dance floor.
And I didn’t wait to start dancing to the rhythm of the music.
I moved my hips with all I had, and Tony, well, he danced better than anyone. We synced
perfectly, and I was more than delighted.
Tino watched me from the table and showed a mischievous smile that made me frown. His
eyes moved to the side, and with all the prudence I could muster, I looked in that direction,
where I found William watching me, looking furious. I glanced back at Tino, who gestured to Tony, making our dance even more sensual.
“I don’t know what Tino’s up to this time,” Tony whispered in my ear, “but I’m sure it has to do
with you. Tell me if you’re okay with it,” he continued talking to me. William looked at me over
his glass while drinking, seemingly wanting to kill me.
“I do know, and I’m okay with it,” I said, smiling, and turned around to feel Tony’s hands on my
waist.
A new song started, and we kept dancing. I could feel William’s gaze the whole time until we
stopped. I didn’t know what he was trying to say with his looks; he’d done nothing but ignore
me these past few days–what was I saying? For quite some time now.
I approached the bar to order a bottle of water; all that dancing had made me thirsty.
“You don’t waste any time,” I heard someone speak beside me.
