Perfect Match: Irresistible Desire For You
Chapter 86

After watching the sunrise, Ashley put away the camera and cozied up to Joseph. “I haven’t showered the whole day! I feel so uncomfortable,” she complained in a cute way. “We have to replace a place where we can shower!”

Joseph chuckled. “Sure,” he replied in a deep voice. “We better start packing things up, then.” With that, he began dismantling the tent.

Soon, everything they used—the tent, quilts, and beds, amongst other things—was neatly packed and ready to be loaded into their off-road vehicle.

After a whole day of contemplation and reflection, Ashley felt incredibly refreshed. Moreover, her state of mind was completely different from the one she had when they arrived. No longer did she replace the handsome yet aloof Joseph cold, unapproachable, and distant—when known better, he was actually a warm and friendly person. They truly got along very well.

‘He is an excellent man who is strong and has a deep sense of responsibility. I can’t say that a lot of men are like that,’ she thought, smiling to herself.

Memories then started filling her head: she recalled how her heart was filled with hope when she saw him in a moment of despair; when she was panicking, she found a deep sense of security in his strong arms; how even when he was in danger himself, he still found the time to help her with the crisis she was facing; and how she found sleeping beside him comforting. Ashley felt a deep sense of gratitude that she met Joseph in this trip.

A profound expression and sweet smile appeared on Ashley’s beautiful face.

“What are you thinking about? You look… very happy but also absent-minded.” Joseph couldn’t help but ask Ashley this when he saw her in the corner of his vision. The way she looked outside the car’s window made him think she was thinking about something deep.

Ashley immediately turned to Joseph when she heard his deep voice. “Nothing,” she answered, smiling. “I just zone out occasionally.” After a short pause, she asked, “By the way, where are we going?”

Despite spending time with him, Ashley still couldn’t figure out what was going through Joseph’s head from time to time. She had dropped hints that she was starting to like him, but she wasn’t sure whether or not he was receptive to it. As Joseph was known to be a bit distant when it came to women, she was actually scared that he would just shun her out of the blue. These worries, however, immediately faded away when she remembered how protective he was of her over the last few days.

It was the first time Ashley had fallen in love with someone. It was a feeling so foreign to her that she was totally oblivious to the fact that Joseph was in love with her too, and that he could not wait to be with her.

“To my villa in Mexico. It’s a bit far, but I’ll drive. You can sleep while we’re on the way there,” Joseph explained.

“Sleep? No. Let’s talk! I can’t afford you being bored.” This simple act was Ashely’s way of expressing her deep care for Joseph.

“If you say so,” Joseph replied, a smile blossoming on his lips. Ashley’s tenderness made him warm inside.

“So… about yesterday’s photo. I… didn’t delete it because a good friend of mine asked me to send her a photo of a handsome foreigner.” By the end of her sentence, Ashley’s voice was almost inaudible. To her, explaining the whole thing felt weird.

Just yesterday, she insisted that Joseph should apologize for his attitude first before she gave him her reason. Today, however, she took the initiative to explain herself, as if she was admitting that she made a mistake.

Joseph was caught off guard. He didn’t really expect that Ashley was still thinking about that issue, let alone mention it all of a sudden and offer an explanation. His mood instantly improved by a whole lot—he was happy seconds ago, but now, he was ecstatic.

‘So, it turns out that she didn’t want the photo herself. Besides, that man is not better looking than me,’ he thought, smirking a bit. ‘But what kind of a friend asks a person to take a photo of other people? Seems like some boundaries need to be made with the people Ashley’s hanging out with. I need to deal with that,’ he continued.

The person Joseph was thinking about was Yasmin, who was, unfortunately, innocent. She was even forbidden to see Ashley days before her wedding! But this story was for another time.

“Well, I have to apologize. I know I didn’t act the best yesterday,” Joseph said, sincerely and happily.

Being a smart man, he had already figured out ways of doing things in front of the person he liked. For example, since the other party took the initiative to explain a previous misunderstanding, he now needed to reflect on his own so that he, too, would be able to prevent any misunderstanding in the future.

As expected, what Joseph said made Ashley happy. Since both sides had already admitted their mistake, any kind of tension between them had already disappeared.

Throughout the whole trip, the two just talked and talked and talked until they ran out of things to talk about.

“You know what, the biggest thing I gained from this trip is your company,” Joseph said as they were nearing their destination.

These sentimental words immediately made Ashley’s heart beat uncontrollably.

She blushed, and shyly replied, “Me too, Joseph.”

‘Is this some kind of a love confession?’ Glancing at Ashley’s ruddy face, Joseph wondered whether she understood what he meant.

He wanted her to know that she made the travel worthwhile. He wanted to express his love for Ashley this way, but when he saw the woman’s eyes wandering as if she wanted to end this conversation, it dawned on him that Ashley might not have understood what he meant.

‘Forget it. There’s still time. I’ve already made up my mind to confess my love to her. I’ll prepare for it well! Maybe I can propose to her at the same time.’

But when he remembered what his grandfather had told him, he felt a little troubled. Judging from the current situation, it was indeed very difficult to get married.

But he didn’t care. Now that he had admitted to himself how much he adored Ashley, all he wanted to do now was shower her with pure, unbridled love. He had long abandoned the idea of forcing her to marry him. Now, he was willing to work hard to make her fall in love with him so that she would agree to marry him herself.

Silence ruled the car until the two arrived at their destination—a villa located in the east of Mexico City, near the city center. While the villa was not big, it was beautifully constructed. It was in the local architecture style, and it was elegant and classical.

Ashley felt dirty—not only because she hadn’t taken a shower since yesterday but because she had been almost molested by those desperadoes. As soon as Joseph pointed out where the bathroom was, she almost ran to it, locked the door, took off her clothes, and drenched herself in water.

Unfortunately, she forgot to take her clothes into the bathroom! The opulent bathroom looked down on her as she looked upset, thinking about how to resolve the problem.

She couldn’t go out naked, because Joseph was still outside; she couldn’t go out with the clothes she had just taken off, because she had completely wet them; in the bathroom, there was nothing but a towel…

When Ashley thought she had no other choice, she saw her phone on the mirror rack. She had been in a hurry and hadn’t had time to put it in her bag. After hesitating for a while, Ashley dialed Joseph’s number.