Face to Face Read Free

your voice. This conversation will have to hold me over
until I ge t this move done and adjusted to the new
job. I figure they’ll have me pretty busy at first.”
    “ Ya know, you’re something else.”
    “Why
do you say that?”
    “Because you are. You have smarts and know how to use
them. Plus, you’re the bravest woman I know.” He wi shed
he could tell her how much she meant to him, but he knew she deserved someone
better than him. With nothing to offer her, he di dn’t have the right to think of her as anything more than a wonderful friend.
    “Nothing
brave about it. I’m scared out of my mind , but I need a serious change, and this is as good a chance
as I’m probably going to get.”
    “Well,
good luck with the new job and the move. If you need anything I can help you
with, you know where I am.”
    “Thanks,
Ash. You’re the best. I’ll call as soon as I’m
settled.”
    Tell her you idiot. Don’t let her go
without telling her how you feel. “Sure thing, hon. Stay safe and be careful. Love ya .”
    “You too, darlin’. Bye.”
    The
click of her hanging up sounded too final. What if this was her last goodbye?
He’d b een an idiot to reject her offer. Hopefully,
she wouldn’t disappear from his life. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he
lost her friendship.
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    Finally,
after five weeks, Jess had everything unpacked, the house organized, and the
new job was going smoothly. Now if she could get her personal life rolling,
everything would be perfect. She hoped the date she had at seven o’clock would
go well. Dan se emed like a nice guy. She already knew
he was a good conversationalist.
    They’d
met through her work. He worked for a partner company, visiting for the week.
She needed to get out, to relax and have a little fun. Ash had been quiet other
than their good mo rning texts back and forth every
day. She had no idea how to tell him she now lived across town instead of
several states away. Keeping the details of her new job from him had been a
mistake. Fear of losing his friendship now kept her silent, but she had t o fix this somehow.
    Jess
knew she’d pushed too hard with wanting to meet. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should have waited, should have let him ask to meet. She had to keep busy, had to keep
occupied with anything other than thoughts of Ash. Doing her makeup a nd hair
took her mind off him for a little while. Nothing
kept him from creeping into her thoughts for long though.
    The
sharp ring of her phone jerked her from her thoughts. Dan was calling— either to cancel or make sure things
were still a go. “Hello.”
    “Hi , Jess, just calling to make sure we’re still on for
tonight.”
    “Sure,
I’m getting ready to leave now. We’re meeting at The Raven House Theater,
right?”
    “Right,
I’ll see you there.”
    “See
you in a few, Dan, bye.”
    “Bye,
Jess.”
    Grabbing
her purse and jack et,
s he locked up then climbed in to her car. She stopped herself before she could wonder what Ash would be doing
tonight. Not now. You don’t go on a date with one
man while thinking about another. Thinking about him tonight wasn’t what she’d wanted to do.
She’d hoped the date with Dan would keep Ash off her mind . Her plan seemed to have the opposite
effect, though. The
more she tried to clear her head , the more her thoughts strayed to Ash.
    Jess
sta rted her car, pulled out of her garage, and turned
right heading toward downtown. The Raven House Theater wasn’t too far from her
house. She had been lucky to find a reasonably priced three-bedroom ranch on
the edge of town.
    She’d
have to tell Ash sooner or later, even though he’d
probably never talk to her again. Why she thought it would be a good idea to
move this close to him and not say anything escaped her now.
    Pulling
into the parking lot next to the theater, she watched a group of motorcycles park in front of
the bar next-door. Would he be there tonight? The place was his