< More Than A Favor
Chapter 67
His joke instantly lifted my serious mood, making me laugh
as long as you can get someone else to do it for you.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied.
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“Well, you won’t have to worry about that
I blushed, at a loss for words. How had our conversation turned so inappropriate?
Trying to ease the awkwardness, I said, “Ashton, whoever ends up marrying you will be really lucky.”
“Then why won’t you marry me?” He always knew how to catch me off guard.
I looked down, taking my time before answering, “I’m too complicated. Like you said, I have an ex- fiancé and messy relationships. You’ve never even been in love. You’re too innocent. I’m not good enough for you.”
Ashton stayed quiet. I watched him for a moment before heading to the balcony to check on my potted plants.
Soon after, I heard Ashton going downstairs. From the balcony, I saw him lying on the ground again, turning the water valve.
Was it fixed?
I went to the kitchen to test the faucet.
Clean water flowed smoothly through the new fixture.
As I stood there lost in thought watching the water, I suddenly felt someone behind me. Ashton’s long arm reached around me to turn off the faucet. His deep voice murmured in my ear, “Don’t you know how to save water?”
My heart fluttered. I tried to step away from his half–embrace, but he didn’t move.
“Ashton…” I raised my hand to push him away, but my palm met solid muscle.
It felt like touching a hot iron. The burning sensation spread through my hand.
My breathing quickened as I froze in place.
Ashton didn’t move or speak, but his eyes were fixed on me.
C
More specifically, he was staring right into my eyes.
We stood there, locked in place, neither moving forward nor back.
I could feel both our hearts racing.
Then my elderly neighbor’s voice came from outside: “The new tenant’s boyfriend is so nice. Look how clean he got the stairs.”
That snapped me back to reality. I shoved him away and quickly escaped to the living room.
For a moment, I just stood there, feeling dazed and confused.
Ashton broke the awkward silence, walking out to ask, “Is this your parents‘ old house?”
I was startled, wondering how he knew. Then I saw him walking toward the photo wall. “You still look Just like you did as a kid.”
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< Chapter 67
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The wall displayed my certificates and family photos. I was wearing a red scarf, with my parents smiling on either side. Now looking at their smiling faces just made my heart ache.
“You were a good student.” Ashton looked at my certificates again – mostly awards for academic excellence and model student behavior.
“I’m still excellent now,” I said confidently.
Ashton looked at me. “You are.” He paused before adding, “In
every way
His direct gaze made it hard to meet his eyes. This guy was too straightforward, both in his looks and his words.
Not wanting things to get complicated, I said, “Thanks for all your help today. Let me treat you to dinner, then we can look for your place.”
I’d gone from reluctant to eager since I owed him one.
“Okay,” Ashton agreed, then added, “I need to wash my face. Got a towel?”
Only then did I notice his dirty face and clothes. “Hold on, I’ll go buy you some new clothes.”
Even though we were in a remote area, there was a supermarket nearby that sold everything.
“No need,” Ashton refused. “Just give me a towel. I’ll clean up.”
I started to say something else but met his firm gaze. Reluctantly, I went to the bathroom, grabbed my towel, and handed it to him. “Use this – I don’t have any clean ones.”
He nodded and turned on the tap to wash his face.
For some reason, I stayed watching. He washed his face in such a masculine way, splashing water on his face and running wet hands through his hair.
Though it wasn’t winter, the water was cold. Before I could warn him, he was already drying his face
and hair with the towel.
When he looked up, he caught me watching him in the mirror.
I felt embarrassed, like I’d been caught spying.
I’d lost count of how many times he’d made me feel flustered and nervous.
I was acting like some teenager experiencing their first crush.
Come to think of it, even though Logan and I were engaged, we never had moments like this.
Like Caleb said, Logan would even have me bring him toilet paper. We were basically siblings. There was love, but not that spark between a man and woman in love.
“Doesn’t the cold water bother you?” I asked, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
“I’m used to washing my face and hair with cold water from my military days.” His answer made me feel both impressed and sad.
Did all soldiers have to use cold water?
“Do you have any wet wipes?” Ashton asked again, “Or another towel? I need to clean up.”
He was holding my towel but didn’t want to use it to clean the dirt.
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<Chapter 67
“I have facial wipes. You can wet them and use those.” I said, pulling out two sheets.
He looked confused, staring at the wipes like they were alien. I laughed. “Mr. Drake, don’t tell me you’ve never seen these before?”
“Never have. This is my first time,” he said honestly.
It made sense. Having never dated and with no women around, he wouldn’t know about these. Face wipes were pretty new in skincare anyway.
“Women use these to clean their face. They’re disposable,” I explained as I wet them and handed them
over.
Ashton bent down to clean off the mud, and I noticed his shoulder was dirty too. I grabbed another wipe to help clean it.
The moment I touched him, Ashton tensed up. I pretended not to notice and kept wiping.
Suddenly, I spotted a black mole on the back of his neck. It reminded me of my dream about the little boy who carried me, who had the same mole in the same spot.
I must have zoned out because Ashton had to call my name. Coming back to reality, I realized I’d gotten his clothes wet with the wipe.
“Oh, sorry – all done.” I pulled my hand back.
Looking at the mole on his neck, I asked, “Ashton, have you had that mole since you were little?”
Ashton touched it. “Yeah, since I was bom.”
My heart skipped. Oh my god, could the boy in my dream have been Ashton?
This was weird. I barely knew Ashton – how could I dream about him as a child? Why was he giving me a piggyback ride?
Dreams were just random imagination, they could be anything strange. But I was amazed at how real this one felt.
After all, until today, I hadn’t even known about the small black mole on his neck.
