Starting Over (New Beginnings #1) Read online

  "Whatever, Connor; I'm going to go get changed."

  "I told them they're not allowed to go swimming Hayden, so if you don't want to go in you don't have to."

  "God, you can be such an ass sometimes, you know that?"

  ****

  Ash came storming back into the dining room just as Hayden was leaving. She didn't even acknowledge him as she crossed to Connor, fury burning in her eyes.

  Her voice was a few octaves louder than it needed to be when she started to speak, and most of the others in the room decided it best to leave. Only Scott and Blake hung back on the other side of the room, trying to finish up their desserts.

  "Can you tell me why I went back to my room to find two little girls balling their eyes out Connor?" She yelled.

  "Don't yell at me." he replied, his own voice much louder than need be but not yet as loud as Ash.

  "If you think you can chastise my girls, then you damn well better believe I'm going to yell at you."

  "I didn't chastise them. They were dancing on the table Ash; they could have hurt themselves. I told them they wouldn't be swimming tonight and that you'd be right in." He raised his voice in reply.

  "So did you explain to them that they could hurt themselves?"

  Connor moved away from the wall he was leaning against and side stepped so that Ash ended up between him and the wall.

  "Adam did, but they swore at him apparently."

  Unfazed, Ash continued, "Did you ask them why they were dancing on the table Connor?" Her voice was getting louder still. "Did you ask them their side of the story? Did you ask Bianca what had happened? Did you even find out if Adam was telling the truth?" She didn't even wait for a reply; she already knew the answer after speaking to the girls.

  Scott and Blake decided to make a run for it while they could.

  "Shut the damn door." Connor called after them as he closed in on Ash, pressing her back against the wall.

  "Don't. Yell. At. Me!" he said again, more softly this time as he placed a hand against the wall on either side of Ash’s head.

  Ash closed her eyes trying to escape his closeness. She was angry and turned on at the same time, and all she could feel was his closeness and his breath against her cheek. She spoke quietly.

  "Adam told them to do it. He convinced them it would be fun, and it would be okay, and they wouldn't get into trouble."

  "That's not what he told me." Connor whispered as he leaned in closer still.

  "I don't care what he told you." Ash's voice started to get louder again and Connor leaned in even closer.

  She dropped her voice to a whisper again.

  "I caught him earlier trying to get Bianca to do it. I told them not to do something so dangerous. The girls weren't there then. I didn't expect him to try it again with them."

  "He lied to me? I never even thought he might be lying." Connor looked confused but he didn't back away. He could feel his body pressed against Ash, and he was feeling uncomfortably aroused, a state she seemed to be leading him towards a lot. He knew he should back away but he loved the sound of her short laboured breaths.

  "I'm sorry Ash, I'm under too much stress at the moment and I didn't stop long enough to get the whole story."

  He was only inches away from her now and she was struggling to keep her thoughts coherent. She was becoming desperate for him to close that small gap and place his lips on hers.

  "What could you have to be stressed out about Connor? You’re riding high at the moment, enjoy it while it lasts."

  He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. "That's the problem; I'm already dropping off the charts. If I don't increase album sales the label will drop me. I'll be finished before I start." He couldn't believe he'd shared that with her, it was his greatest fear, but until now he'd kept it to himself.

  "How long has it been since you released your single?” she asked.

  "Over six months." he answered questioningly.

  "Then you need to release another one don't you? You need to keep yourself heard."

  "I need to release another single." He confirmed. "Yeah it's simple, but I need another single to release, hell I need a whole album to release. It's supposed to be finished, but..."

  Ash nodded ever so gently against his forehead. He still hadn't backed away.

  Connor lifted his forehead from hers and leaned in almost as close as he could. He watched her lips as her tongue gently brushed out between them. He leaned in again and, as he was about to taste her, he pulled back and walked away.

  "I need a shower." he commented without looking in her direction. Then he stopped at the door and turned back towards her.

  "I'll go and apologize to the girls’; of course they are allowed to go swimming. Then I'll be speaking to Adam!"

  He walked out of the room, leaving the door open.

  Ash sunk to the floor right where she was standing as her legs gave out from underneath her. They felt like jelly, and refused to hold her up any longer.

  She had to admit, she really wanted that man; even when she was mad as hell with him apparently. She was glad her legs had turned to jelly, otherwise she might well have been chasing after him begging to join him in the shower.

  She allowed herself a few minutes before she pulled herself up off the floor and went to get the girls organised to go swimming.

  ****

  Chapter 8

  Ash was ready to go at seven the next morning. She wore a bright blue two-piece swimsuit with a knitted throw over the top, and she was nervous as hell.

  She hadn't seen Connor again after their fight the night before. He had sent her a message via Deb to be ready at seven, which Deb had delivered, along with her own apology for Adams behaviour the night before. Adam ended up being the only one not allowed to go swimming. Ash had actually ended up going swimming with the girls in an effort to make them feel better after their run in with Connor. He went straight to their room when he left Ash to apologize to the girls before letting Deb and Matt know what had happened and then going to speak to Adam.

  Ash entered the dining room at exactly seven and grabbed a coffee and a croissant before heading over to the other side of the room where Connor was waiting for her.

  "Ready?" he asked, looking her slowly up and down, taking in the distinct lack of clothing. The dress, if what she was wearing could be called that, was an open knit weave and showed off everything underneath it, which wasn't much. He was both dreading and looking forward to the morning at the same time, especially after coming so close to kissing her the night before. As soon as he knew she was in the pool swimming there was no way he could go back out and see her. The sight of her in nothing more than a swimsuit would have been more than his libido could stand after being physically so close to her, but it obviously wasn't fairing much better today. It was going to be a long morning and it was going to be great.

  Being on the water at that time of the morning left Ash with a permanent smile on her face; although the sun had fully risen, it was still low enough in the sky that the reflection on the water was truly stunning.

  "Are your arms as strong as your legs?" Connor asked.

  "What?"

  "There's a small island I want to take you to, but it's a couple of kilometres worth of paddling if you're up for it?"

  Ash thought about the smoothness of the water and the ease with which the oars broke through, it had been a while since she'd done any canoeing but she figured she was up for it.

  "Let's go." she said.

  They paddled off side by side in the two small canoes. The shoreline was only a couple of hundred meters off to their right. Connor knew it would be quicker to cut straight cross the middle of the lake, but he figured if worse came to worse and Ash's arms got too sore they could always just head to shore and call Hayden to come pick them up. He'd already seen how fit Ash was, but canoeing could be extra strenuous on the arms, especially if you weren't used to it, and if most of her fitness came from running, then she probably didn't
have a lot of upper body strength and she might struggle.

  Connor noticed Ash pull back a bit about half way to the island.

  "Are you okay?" He called back as he came to a rest.

  "What...? Yeah, sorry," she replied paddling faster to catch up.

  "Don't rush, I told you it was a long way, we're only about half way there. Do you want to just head back?"

  "No," Ash said. "I was distracted."

  Connor was confused "What?"

  "The ducks; I was watching the ducks." Ash clarified, as she pointed across the lake to show Connor the mother duck followed in a line by half a dozen ducklings.

  "They're so beautiful, I was just watching them. The last one kept dawdling behind and the mum was swimming back and hurrying it along; it’s adorable, watch." she said as she pulled up alongside Connor’s canoe. They sat together and watched the mother swim back just as Ash had said. She got behind the last duck and gave it a quick nudge from behind.

  "I wish I'd thought to bring my camera," Ash commented. "The girls would love this."

  Connor pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a few quick snaps of the ducklings with their mother. When he noticed the mother duck heading back to round up the last little duckling again he flipped it over to video and caught the whole thing on video as well.

  "What's your number Ash? I'll message these to you now and you'll be able to show them to the girls when we get back."

  Ash rattled off her phone number and turned back to watch the ducks a bit longer while Connor waited for the messages to send. He didn't have the greatest service out on the lake so it took a little while for them to go through. When they had finally all sent, Ash was still sitting with her head not quite facing away from him, still watching the ducks. He held his phone up and took a couple of quick shots of her sitting there before he called her name. Ash turned and faced him and he took another couple of quick shots. Ash looked at him, eyebrows raised.

  "I'll send you these too." he said with a smile. "Ready to move?" he asked.

  "Yep, let's go." Ash replied.

  It was so quiet on the lake, it was almost eerie, and it made it easy for Connor to talk to Ash, unlike the run they went for yesterday when neither of them could catch their breath long enough to really hold a conversation, especially on the way back.

  "So do you forgive me for being such a jerk last night?" Connor asked as they kept paddling.

  "I wouldn't have come this morning if I hadn't. If you hadn't made it up to the girls I probably wouldn't have though."

  "I really am sorry. I should have stopped to think about it; stopped to listen. I'm honestly surprised Adam lied to me like that. He's usually a pretty good kid; he's certainly never blatantly lied to me before."

  It's okay Connor, really... So what do we do when we get to the island?"

  "Not much. Have a quick bite to eat and head back."

  "There's food there?"

  "Only what's sitting at my feet at the moment."

  "Really?" Ash asked, trying to look into the bottom of Connor’s canoe. "So what's to eat then?"

  "It's a surprise."

  "Really, you won't tell me?”

  Connor laughed. "Not won't, can't. I don't know either. I told the chef to pack a mid morning high energy snack, so your guess is as good as mine."

  "Some nice fruit I hope; some strawberries or some melon."

  "What about chocolate? I thought girls loved chocolate?"

  "I do, and they are high energy, but a banana would be much better. Ooh chocolate coated banana, now that would be ace."

  As they continued to paddle, Ash continued to enjoy the serenity of the lake. She loved the quiet and the beauty. She just loved the lake in general.

  The snacks turned out to be a variety of fruits, as well as some cakes, all delicious. And after eating, Ash felt the need to cool off so she stripped off her throw and walked down the water's edge before walking in and diving under the water. It was cool and refreshing and she felt so much better for it. The island wasn't anything special, but it was still a lovely place. Ash preferred being on the lake though, and even though her arms and shoulders were feeling a little bit sore, she couldn't wait to get back out there again.

  Connor sat quietly on the blanket and watched as Ash swam; he didn't need conversation with her to be comfortable, he was comfortable being with her in general.

  "So, what about your family?” he asked when she came and sat back down beside him.

  "What about them?" Ash asked.

  "Have you got any? Siblings, parents? Where are they? What do they do?"

  “My parents died when I was a teenager."

  "Oh crap! Ash, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

  "Car crash, so cliché I know. They'd been out for dinner for their twentieth wedding anniversary when they were t-boned by a drunk driver running a red light." Ash shook her head. "Can we talk about something else? It was a long time ago and it doesn't leave me feeling shattered like it used to, but it still saddens me, and I'm having such a fun time, and a great weekend and I want to enjoy it."

  "Sure." Connor agreed. "So do you have any siblings?"

  Ash signed. "I have a twin sister, but that makes me sad too."

  "Oh god no, please tell me I did not just totally put my foot in it." Connor said, aghast.

  "What? No, no, no, she's alive, I think. But we don't talk and I really don't feel up to explaining."

  "Oh okay sorry. Are you ready to head back then?"

  "That would be awesome."

  Ash's mood shifted, and although Connor was happy she was happy, he was disappointed she was so desperate to get back to the house.

  "How long would it take us if we went back around the other side of the lake?" Ash asked as they were climbing back into the canoes.

  "Umm, a while. Why?"

  "I love this, it's so beautiful out here on the water, and so relaxing, I love it. I can stay out here all day."

  Connor laughed at her enthusiasm, thankful that she wasn't actually desperate to get away from him.

  "Well it might take us a couple of days to head back the other way, but if you want, and you think you're up for it, we can cut across to another island a bit further around before heading back across the middle." He wasn't worried about taking her across the middle anymore. She obviously had enough strength in her arms to keep going.

  Ash smiled, "Sounds perfect."

  They didn't even stop at the next island, just paddled around it and kept going. It was getting close to lunchtime and the temperature was heating up so Ash was feeling the heat. She wanted to slip over the side of the canoe and cool off in the water, and she had an idea she thought might be fun; for her at least.

  She paddled up next to but slightly behind Connor; she knew she'd have to act quickly and she'd have to use the element of surprise, if he knew what she was up to he'd just paddle off and she'd never catch him, she wasn't actually a very strong swimmer.

  Connor heard the splash just behind him and panicked when he turned around and there was no sign of Ash. The canoe was right behind him but he couldn't see her at all. He was just about to jump in to look for her under the water when she popped up, leaning on the front of his canoe. He sighed in relief.

  "Damn it Ash, don't do that, you scared me."

  "Sorry," she smiled, "that wasn't my intention."

  Connor noticed the cheeky glint in her eye as she rocked the front of his canoe.

  "What are you doing Ash?" he asked suspiciously.

  "Hop in with me." she said.

  Connor figured out what she was up to.

  "Don't you dare Ash." he said sternly. He wasn't against going for a swim at the moment but she seemed to be having fun so he figured he'd play along.

  She smiled brightly. "Come on Connor, I know you’re hot! Come in and cool down."

  He couldn't miss the flirtation in her voice, or the infliction at the word hot.

  She rocked the canoe a bit more.

  "Ash
don't, please." he begged.

  "By choice or not Connor!"

  "You'll wet my phone and my wallet. Please don't do this." he smiled smugly as her face dropped. But it only lasted a brief moment.

  "I don't believe you." she said as she started to try to tip the canoe over.

  "Ash, what? Come on." he pleaded.

  "I think you've got them in a waterproof bag. If you don't I suggest you jump out quickly."

  "Ash...."

  "Connor...."

  "Come on!"

  "Do I have to count?" she laughed. "One... Two..." she was just about to try tip the canoe over when Connor jumped up and dived straight into the water.

  Ash should have expected it, but she was clueless about what was going to happen until she felt a grip on her legs and she was pulled under. She didn't catch her breath quickly enough and ended up choking on water, panicking to pull herself up out of the water.

  Connor let go as soon as he realized her kicks were panicked, not playing and he caught Ash around the waist and pulled her back to her canoe.

  "Are you okay? Ash, I'm so sorry."

  Her eyes were full of tears and her face was bright red as she struggled for a breath.

  Connor kept one arm around her waist with the other on the canoe as he held her until she finished coughing and spluttering.

  Eventually she managed to talk.

  "Sorry!" she coughed out.

  "No, I'm sorry." Connor said, contritely.

  "Not… Your… Fault." she said between coughs.

  "Are you okay?" he asked.

  Ash laughed. "I can't believe I drank lake water. That's disgusting."

  Connor laughed, he was so relieved she was okay he actually laughed at her silly comment.

  "Come on, let's get back," he said. "Lunch will be ready by the time we get there."

  Ash looked at the canoe and started laughing uncontrollably.

  "What's so funny?" Connor asked.

  "I didn't think about how I was going to get back into this thing when I jumped out.

  Connor looked confused for a minute.

  "How about I hold the back of the canoe in the water, you can pull yourself up onto the front and then slide back and into the seat."