Straight To You: A Novella (Taking Chances Series Book 1) by Liwen Ho Page B

at the end of the block. “Come on, this is the place I was telling you about. They have the best sandwiches.”
    They entered the restaurant and a server directed them to a table near the entrance. They had only sat down and picked up their menus when a woman spotted them from across the room.
    The blonde sauntered over in her red heels and placed one perfectly manicured hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Jeremy! I thought that was you.”
    Jeremy looked up in surprise. “Nicole, hi. How are you?” He turned to Ashlynn. “This is Ashlynn, my girlfriend. Ash, this is Nicole.”
    “Hi there, nice to meet you.” Nicole gave Ashlynn a surly once-over and set her heavily lined eyes back on Jeremy.
    “Nice to meet you, too.” Ashlynn couldn’t stop watching Nicole’s fingers and how they were latched onto Jeremy like a black widow spider ready to devour her mate.
    “I was on my way out and saw you come in. It’s been a while, but I’d recognize your broad shoulders anywhere.”
    “Yeah, we’re here for lunch.” Jeremy directed Nicole’s attention to the menu in his hands. “Is there something you could recommend?”
    Nicole bent over to point at an item and the plunging neckline of her red blouse shifted, leaving little to the imagination. “Try the steak panini. It’s hot and delicious.” She winked at Jeremy, her voice thick with suggestion. “Gotta run now. Catch you later.” She wiggled her fingers at them as she walked away.
    Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck, chagrin written over his face. “I bet you’re wondering who that was?”
    “You read my mind,” Ashlynn answered with raised eyebrows. Who was this woman who looked like she had walked off the pages of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue?
    “Well, this is timely considering you were just asking me about my past relationships. Nicole and I dated briefly about a year ago.”
    “Oh, I see.” Quite literally, too. She had been hoping to hear about his past, not meet it face-to-face. “How did you guys meet?”
    “A mutual friend introduced us. We hung out a couple of times, but I realized pretty soon though that we didn’t have much in common.”
    Ashlynn nodded and shifted her gaze to the menu. She didn’t like the feelings of jealousy and insecurity washing over her. She had been relieved when Jeremy hadn’t responded to Nicole’s advances, but that relief had been quickly replaced by alarm. Was this the type of woman he was used to being with? If so, she was certainly out of his league.
    Jeremy reached over and took her hand in his. “You okay, Ash?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” She didn’t doubt his commitment to her, but it certainly helped that he hadn’t responded to Nicole’s advances. His eyes hadn’t even wandered. A lion, as Zoe had called him would never be this restrained, would it? The tension in her shoulders eased and she found herself breathing a little easier. She looked up with a glint in her eye. “I was worried for a second there that you might need a restraining order. It’s good to know my powers of persuasion are more effective on you than hers were.”
    Jeremy laughed as he gazed fondly at Ashlynn. She had managed not to take this awkward situation seriously, which meant she trusted him. He was falling for this woman more and more. “I’ll be the first one to admit defeat,” he answered with both hands raised in a sign of surrender. “No one’s got me wrapped around her finger like you do.”
    Ashlynn smiled. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
    The server interrupted them to take their order. When they returned to their conversation, Ashlynn considered delving further into the previous topic. She had to admit she was now even more curious about his past. She decided to bring up her history first. “So, in case you were wondering, I haven’t really had much luck at persuading guys before you.”
    “I’m happy to hear that. Just how many guys have you tried to persuade?”
    Ashlynn held up her hands and