Free She's Out of Control by Kristin Billerbeck

pool? Maybe bicycling along the beach? Shopping in downtown Santa Barbara? What sounds good to you, my love?”
    Ashley reaches up and kisses her husband. “Anything sounds good with you at my side.”
    â€œThat’s what a honeymoon is all about, Ashley.”
    â€œIndeed.”
    â€œI’m sorry?” I’m blinking wildly as I’ve just realized the real Kevin, not my idealized version, is talking to me. My face is heated from that strange daydream, starring him and not Seth. What was that about?
    Kevin is looking at me, waiting for an answer to a question I didn’t hear. He shakes his head. “I asked, what do you think about Saturday? Sailing on the Bay? My friend owns this incredible yacht with three full-time crew. He’s a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club at the San Francisco Marina. Have you been there? Sweeping views of the City, and the entire Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s just magnificent.”
    â€œI think I went to a wedding there once.” I rub my forehead, which is pounding. “You know, Kevin, Seth and I have been dating for about nine months. I don’t really think it would be appropriate for you and me to go sailing together.”
    Kevin looks at the door, his eyes insinuating the obvious question: Didn’t your boyfriend just leave with another woman? “Aren’t we friends, Ash? Just like Seth is still friends with Arin.”
    â€œI guess two wrongs don’t make a right for me, pious as it sounds.” I smile gently. Now, keep in mind, I am only Miss Popularity because I have a boyfriend. I have had months of dateless nights. Too many to count, but now that I have a boyfriend, well, all the other Silicon Valley drones wonder what is so exciting about me. It’s the boyfriend mystique.
    â€œI think you misunderstand me, Ashley. Your giving me that Bible and explaining it on an intellectual level helped me to see God. I just feel I owe you.” He shrugs his wide shoulders.
    I try to mask my utter humiliation here. Wasn’t it enough that the entire Bible study got to watch my boyfriend leave with another woman? No, I had to top it off by refusing a man who wasn’t really asking anything of me. This is Arin’s fault. Why would I listen to her? Why would I actually believe that this gorgeous man (dressed in 501s and a button-up—be still my heart) actually wanted to sweep me away on a yacht? I’m telling you, this thing with Seth has me so uneasy, I’m cracking up. I’m suddenly thinking I’m Beyonce and men can’t resist my charms.
    I brush the hair off my face. “I sure appreciate the invitation, but Jesus paid your debt. Let’s forget about it, okay?”
    â€œI think you’d really like sailing, Ashley.”
    Granted, I’d like shopping for sailing. I love nautical wear, but no. Definitely no. I needn’t go on the Bay to be marooned. “My boss is anxious for me to go to Taiwan, and meet our managers there. You know, to get a patent department up and running there. I doubt I’m going to be able to sail across the Bay regardless. I need to be available.”
    â€œCell phones work on the Bay, Ashley. This isn’t Timbuktu.”
    I meet his intense eyes directly. He’s going to know I mean business. “Kevin, you don’t owe me anything, all right? It’s really nice of you to ask me, but I don’t need your pity date!” Sounding a little bitter here. Baggage anyone?
    He scoffs at me. “I’m not Seth, Ashley. Why do you assume the worst of me? Have I ever said anything to you that wasn’t true?” He pauses for a moment here and forces me to look into his unrelenting gaze. “Do you want to know my true motives?”
    I nod.
    â€œI love your laughter, your light, and your energy. I’m attracted to that. Really attracted to that.” He puts a palm to his chest. “I think it’s great that