Embarrassing

Ashley

“If this isn’t Ashley!”

Amy’s voice carried across the pavement before I could even decide whether to turn around.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Oh, good. The circus had noticed me.

“What are you doing standing out here in the open?” she asked, looking me up and down. “Are you homeless now or something?”

Josh stood beside her, hands in his pockets, looking like he had accidentally stumbled into a comedy show and was waiting for the punchline.

Amy tilted her head. “Well, it’s good to see you’re still alive. I was beginning to wonder if you’d gone off somewhere to wallow in depression.”

I stared at her.

She gave a little laugh, apparently pleased with herself.

“Actually, I’m surprised. The other day, you were acting like your entire world had ended. You were crying and making such a scene. But look at you now, walking around like nothing happened.” She glanced at Josh, then back at me. “Did you truly love him, Ashley? Because you seem to be doing just fine without him.”

I almost admired her confidence. Imagine being the person who helped break someone’s heart and then having the audacity to question whether the person was heartbroken enough for your liking.

“Are you finished?” I asked.

“Not quite.”

Of course.

Josh finally decided to contribute.

“I’m sure you accepted the surrogacy gig despite all that holier-than-thou nonsense you were spouting the other day.”

My stomach tightened.

He chuckled. “I heard from a nurse at your brother’s hospital that he needs a lot of money urgently for his treatment. And there’s no way you can get that kind of money except through the program.”

I blinked.

Hold on.

Was this man keeping tabs on me?

I looked him straight in the eyes. “Are you keeping tabs on me? Are you that obsessed with me? I thought Amy was your new plaything.”

Amy’s expression changed instantly.

“Plaything?” she repeated, her voice rising. “Who exactly are you calling a plaything? Me?”

She looked at Josh as though she expected him to intervene, then turned back to me.

“Honestly, Ashley, that definition suits you far more than it suits me. Joshhh, listen to her!”

I nearly laughed.

The dramatic pronunciation of his name was a nice touch. Very Shakespearean. If Shakespeare had written about two people sharing one brain cell.

“If that makes you sleep better at night, go ahead,” I said. “It’s just your turn.”

Her mouth fell open.

“Anyways,” I continued, turning back to Josh, “like I was saying, are you keeping tabs on me? Are you that obsessed?”

“In your wildest dreams.” He scoffed. “I was at the hospital for something else and happened to find out. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Oh.

That was almost worse.

For a brief, embarrassing second, I’d entertained the possibility that he was still interested enough to check on me. Instead, I’d apparently been a random piece of information he’d picked up while going about his business.

I gave a small smirk.

“Better,” I muttered.

“What’s better?”

“Nothing.”

Because apparently, even after everything, a tiny, delusional part of me still wanted to believe I mattered to him.

Pathetic. I knew.

But I wasn’t about to let either of them know that.

Besides, there was the little matter of my new job.

I couldn’t tell them about it. The woman who’d explained the arrangement had been very clear that I wasn’t to disclose anything about the program. And I couldn’t afford to jeopardise the contract, not when Jason’s treatment depended on the money.

So I straightened my shoulders and gave Josh my most unimpressed look.

“Hellooooo. Yes, my brother needs money. A lot of it, actually. But the last thing I’d do is accept a program that came from you. I’d rather chew glass and starve to death.”

Amy snorted.

“Please. You’re lying.”

“Am I?” I widened my eyes. “Wow. I didn’t realise you were suddenly an expert on my finances. Should I send you my bank statements next time?”

“Josh said—”

“Josh says a lot of things. Most of them are false.”

Josh’s expression hardened.

I continued before he could interrupt.

“Look, I know you think you have me all figured out, but you don’t. Whatever arrangement you think I’ve entered, I haven’t. And even if I were desperate enough to consider something like that, I certainly wouldn’t do it because you told me to.”

I held his gaze.

“So you can stop congratulating yourself. You didn’t make this decision for me.”

Technically, he had nominated me without my consent, which was a separate issue entirely. But he didn’t need to know anything about what had happened after that.

Not a word.

Josh studied my face for a moment, then gave me a strange look.

“Whatever.”

He stepped closer.

I instinctively stiffened, but he leaned towards my ear anyway.