In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall) novel Chapter 715

A single wall separated the two rooms. Sound traveled easily across the balconies.

I rang the bell of the neighboring villa. Joseph answered the door. When he saw me, he started ever so slightly, then asked, “Mrs. Fuller, is something wrong?”

I paused, then smiled at him winningly. “Were you aware that we were neighbors?” It was peculiar that Joseph hadn’t asked me what I was doing here. Instead, he had immediately seized on something going awry.

Joseph’s eyes darted uneasily. He avoided the question altogether and exclaimed brightly, “Please come in!”

“No need for that,” I assured him. “It’s time for dinner, and you just moved in today. I suppose you haven’t had the time to cook. Would you like to join me?”

Joseph smiled but insisted on showing me in.

I felt it rather peculiar of him to do so. It all made sense to me, however, after I’d stepped and caught sight of the man himself seated on the grey couch and reading a book.

The one who had pushed for this move must have been Ashton rather than Joseph.

“Mrs. Fuller, let me get you a glass of water!” Joseph chirped, already darting out of the room in haste.

I remained standing where I was in the living room, tension creeping up my spine. I searched my mind frantically for something to say. Linda’s words flashed across my mind and I blurted, “Thank you for the ointment you sent me today afternoon!”

Ashton’s eyes never left his book. He casually turned a page, then replied coolly, “OK.”

Silence returned to the room.

I gulped, then continued, “Are you planning to stay here?”

“Yes,” Ashton intoned. He clearly didn’t seem interested in having a conversation with me at the moment.

I bit my lip and pressed on. “I’m guessing that you haven’t had anything to eat. I’ve already made dinner. Do you want to join me?”

Ashton suddenly slammed his book shut. He got his feet and replied evenly, “All right.”

Without another word, he set his book down and left the room.

At that moment, Joseph re-entered the living room bearing a glass of water. He froze when he saw Ashton stalking out. Joseph hurriedly shoved the glass of water towards me, saying, “Mrs. Fuller, please have a drink!”

I shook my head and replied, “No need. Come over and have dinner with us!”

Joseph nodded, smiling sheepishly. “Thank you for having us!”

“There’s no need to stand on courtesy,” I replied cheerily.

By the time we’d traipsed back to my place, Nora had already arrayed the dishes on the table. When she saw us enter, Nora beamed, remarking, “What a crowd we have today! It’s been a while since I’ve had such an eventful dinner.”

As Nora set the table, I noticed that Armond wasn’t present. Turning towards Nora, I asked, “Did you call Mr. Murphy to come as well?”

Nora nodded, her face coloring slightly. “He’ll be down in a while.”

Noting her rather unusual reaction, I probed, “Is something the matter?”