Designed for Love (Texas Nights) by Kelsey Browning Read Free Book Online Page B

worried about your grandmother and her decision to keep this cabin.”
    “Anyone would be.”
    “You wouldn’t have before.”
    “I’m different.”
    At least she wanted to be different, had since she’d called off her stupid lawsuit against Roxanne Eberly months ago. Roxanne had rocked as a store manager for Davenport Lingerie, the tiny slice of the family business Ashton had been responsible for. After Roxanne quit to open her own boutique, Ashton—figuring how hard could it be?—tried to run Davenport Lingerie on her own. She’d found herself lost in a sea of inventory software, vendor contracts, and profit-and-loss statements. That was how she’d justified attempting to lure Roxanne back by any means possible, even pushing it so far as suing her for breaching her noncompete agreement.
    In the end, Ashton had dropped the suit and walked away from the lingerie business. It wasn’t what she really loved to do. Design work and project management were more in her lane. Since moving to Shelbyville and opening Designs to Die For, she had learned how to schedule, estimate, and plan a design job, but her newfound skills didn’t seem to be enough.
    She turned away and whistled for Napoleon. She didn’t want Jessup to see the desperation in her face because she hadn’t made all the changes she’d hoped when she moved here. Money really did make everything easier. Maybe Roxanne needed another salesgirl at Red Light Lingerie. Because even though Ashton was scraping bottom, she didn’t want to leave Shelbyville. So far, things hadn’t worked out the way she’d hoped, but this small town felt right. So much more than River Oaks ever had. And if she left now to find a job in a bigger city, she would be able to pay Mac back, but she might never find that elusive something she was looking for.
    She had two feet, and she was damned well going to use them for something more than strolling around in five-inch heels.
    Heels...oh my God, that was it. The answer to her money problems. At least short-term. She had a freaking closet full of designer clothes, many of them less than a year old. Shelbyville wasn’t big enough to have an upscale consignment shop, but they were all over Houston. Ashton’s chest lightened. “I want to build a life here.”
    “Although I never could have anticipated you in this environment, it suits you. You look tired, but I suspect that’s from hard, honest work.”
    Mainly worry and stress, but that was her secret to keep. She said casually, “I didn’t realize you and Gigi knew each other socially.”
    “As you were growing up, and later when you lived in your parents’ carriage house, she often called me to check on you. Occasionally, we would go to tea when she was visiting Houston.”
    “Tea?”
    “Well, Adelaide normally takes hers with a spot of bourbon.”
    “And so she just called you up, asked you if you’d like to drop by a musty old cabin in the woods and play cards?”
    “Well, I mentioned I would be in the area...”
    Hope blossomed in Ashton’s chest. Jessup was finally leaving her parents to move here and take care of her home. Take care of her. Just as she’d dreamed he might since she’d moved to Shelbyville. “Oh my God, Jessup! Please tell me you’ve decided to move here.”
    “I have.”
    Sure, she’d just been giving herself a pep talk about making it on her own, but if Jessup wanted to work for her, she would find a way to make it happen, even if she had to sell every pair of shoes in her overflowing closet. She did a little jig and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you finally came to your senses. I’ll clean out the second bedroom immediately. In fact, I’ll grab Napoleon and head there now because—”
    “Ms. Ashton, you misunder—”
    “—the room’s a mess right now and only has a twin bed, but we can—”
    “Ms. Ashton—”
    “—move your personal items from Houston and maybe I could talk Mom into giving me that little Hepplewhite