Chapter 52. The Back Room at Ashley’s

That’s right, this high-class restaurant with a waitlist of over a year, even though it was barely over a year itself, belonged to Ashley. It was named after her, too: Ashley’s.

“There is my gorgeous godmother,” he teased as he stood up to give her a hug.

“Oh, stop it,” she hurried forward in her tall stilettos. “You’re making me blush.”

“I am not, though,” he said as she squeezed him tight and swayed him from side to side for a few seconds. When she released him, he took a good look at her. He had learned from Juan that you had to look for just the right amount of seconds to flatter a woman thoroughly, and he was using his lessons. “You look absolutely stunning.”

He held her hand over her head and spun her around. She let him and even did a little flutter of her eyelashes with a smile so bright it was blinding. Truthfully, Ashley glowed — her skin, her hair, the plain gold jewelry that glinted on different parts of her body. She wore a pepper-red gown that h