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.Ashton watched her and it took all his strength to not lean down into her and kiss her creamy skin at her neck; to trace his kisses all the way up to her chin, her mouth…He turned away.There was only so much a man could take.He glanced over at the papers strewn on her desk.“What’s all these?” he asked, picking one up.“Bills,” she said, not bothering to look at what he was referring to.He perked his mouth.“You’re due on some.”“Tell me about it.”“What’s keeping you from paying them?”“Money.” She sighed and opened her eyes.“If I had some, I wouldn’t have to be riddled with those.Doesn’t take a fifth grader to figure that out.”“That bad, huh?”“Part and parcel of business.I’ll do something.” She shrugged.She sounded nonchalant but Ashton knew there was more to it.If she hadn’t been worried, she wouldn’t have been slaving up to midnight over it.“Can I help?” he asked.“You are, remember? Fixing-up the lodge and putting it back into shape.” She got up slowly and walked over to him.“You’re doing enough and I already feel as if I owe you.”“But like I said,-”“It’s for JR, I know.” She cut him short.“Still, it would make me feel uncomfortable.” She took the billing statement from him and stuffed it back into her folder.“Christy, come on.If you continue at this pace, you know very well you’ll be on the brinks of closing Lily Grove down.There’s JR and Margaret you need to think about.Or is your pride to accept any help from me going to get in your way of considering their well-being?” He crossed his fingers behind him.Challenging her pride could tip her either way.She might tell him to shove-off and then close herself to him for good.Or…She narrowed her eyes, studying her bills.“I’m not accepting any money from you,” she said at last.He let out a silent sight of relief.Baby steps, Ashton, he told himself.“Absolutely,” he said aloud.“Not that I wouldn’t love to help financially.But I understand.However, if you need any help in that way, you just let me know.”“Non-financial, Ashton,” she said firmly.“How are you intending to do this?”He cleared his throat.“Do you have a website?”She scrunched her lips thoughtfully.Wrong move, Christy, he thought.Because all he wanted to do now was to possess them, to feel it with his tongue, to nip at it.“Yeah but I haven’t checked up on it in ages,” she answered, feeling slightly guilty as if she’d been caught doing something sinful.“It doesn’t matter.Has it got its own domain name or was it one of those free ones?”She blushed.It was definitely free.She had organized one three years ago after some insistence from Jane.In the end, she had complied to make her happy and slopped out a decent looking website.In fact, she remembered being quite proud of it.Now, she wasn’t so sure if she wanted to show it to Ashton.“I’m assuming it was a free one, then,” Ashton said, watching her amusedly.“What are you getting at?” she remarked defensively.“Does it matter?”“Well, yes.There’s more credibility to your business if you have your own domain name.You’re paying for it, but at the end of the day, it’s money well spent.”“I’m sure it works just as fine.” She made a face.He laughed.“Why don’t you show me the one you have, so I can assess it for myself? And if it doesn’t meet the standard, I’ll organize in getting you a new one.”She nodded.“Fine then.What else?”“Give me a list of sites and places where you’ve advertised, so I can study your advertisement content.And of course, improve it if there is a need.”“That sounds like a lot of work,” she said thoughtfully.He reached out and clasped her hand tenderly.“It is.But I’m right here, Christy.And I’m not going anywhere.”She let his hand linger a little while longer on hers.Her heart pounded.She liked it that it was there.She liked it that he said he was here by her side.And she knew it was wrong that she did.CHAPTER 11Ashton whistled cheerfully as he buttoned up his shirt.He had finally succeeded in turning Christy around.She may not be totally impressed with him now, but at least she wasn’t seeing him as the enemy anymore.He made one final check of himself in the mirror, combing his hair with his fingers before stepping outside the room.He skipped down the stairs and towards Christy’s kitchen.He heard a male voice inside and he stalled briefly.Was it Chad? There was no way he could have slept over because he had spent most of the night with her in her office.He opened the screen door cautiously, hoping he wouldn’t have to witness an early cuddle between Chad and Christy.The tall, blond man sitting at the kitchen table turned towards him and Ashton stilled, paling slightly.“Marshall,” he acknowledged somberly.“Ashton.”The women quieted, looking awkwardly at each other.“I’ve got some errands to run.” Christy coughed
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