“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, but at least I was never alone.”
Brie’s eyes fell to the table. He had no way of knowing that’s how she’d spent most of her life, but his words struck home. He’d lost his family young, but he’d never been alone. She’d lost hers as a child and was always alone.
“At the compound, there was always someone to help train me or check in on me,” Asher continued. “Plus, I had Logan and Nathan.”
And if they couldn’t save Elena, he wouldn’t have Logan anymore. The sharp pang in his heart caused him to shift uneasily. Even after losing so much over the years, he’d been naively certain the three of them would make it through… that nothing could destroy them.
Maybe it was the invincible mentality of the young making him feel that way—or stupidity—but he’d been so sure they were too strong to fall. What happened to Elena shattered his certainty.
“What about you?” he asked to distract himself from his morose ponderings.
“What about me?”
He wasn’t going to ask her about the scars. She’d tell him about them when she was ready, but he was impatient to learn more about her.
“What’s your sign, baby?” he asked with a wink.
Brie blinked at him before she burst into the most beautiful laughter he’d ever heard. Before, all he wanted was to see her smile again, but now he would do everything he could to listen to her laugh a thousand times a day.
Like a lovesick schoolboy, he beamed at her as her musical trill filled the air and a few people turned toward them. They all smiled as her laugh eased to a chuckle before fading away.
Her eyes still twinkled when they met his again, and something inside him twisted as a powerful force rose inside him. He didn’t know what it was, but he had no doubt he would do anything he could for this woman.
“What’s my sign?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s some corny pickup line the humans use on each other,” he told her.
“I knowthat. I’m old, but I don’t live under a rock. I just wasn’t expectingyouto use it.”
“I like that you find me unpredictable even while I’m using an entirely overused pickup line.”
“Is that what you’re trying to do? Pick me up.”
“No, I’m trying to learn more about you.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you, and I’m curious about you.”
Brie’s gaze shifted nervously to the large windows overlooking the street. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about herself. It would be awesome if Cabo and Zina could somehow transport here, but that wouldn’t happen.
“Brie.” Asher waited for her to look at him before speaking again. “Tell me your sign. It’s not too much to reveal.”
He didn’t dare breathe as he waited for her response. She’d either give him this small insight into her or keep all her walls up. Either way, it didn’t matter.
Eventually, he’d chip away at those walls and get her to open up, because he wasn’t going anywhere. But he was desperate for her to give him an ounce of hope this wouldn’t be an endless battle. Justoneounce.
“I’m a Libra,” she whispered. “My birthday is October fifteenth, and I’m five hundred years old, which means I’mfartoo old for you.”
Asher chuckled and kept holding her hand while leaning back in the booth. She hadn’t found him far too young earlier, but he wasn’t going to remind her of that. Not only would she lock him out again, but she’d probably kick him in the nuts too.
“I like classical music, and when I get the chance, I enjoy reading romance novels.”
Asher’s eyebrows shot up at this revelation. “Sexy ones?”
“Yep. The smuttier, the better, and preferably a bodice-ripper.”
