“Why can’t you do both?” Beth asked.
“Good lord,” Ash groaned.
I turned and grinned at him. “What? You don’t think I’m going to come here and suddenly everything will be all hearts and roses?”
“No.” He stared down at me for several seconds. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with you, so there’s nothing to change.”
Beth stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to puke. “Gross.” Then she wrinkled her nose and shoved her brother again. “And ew, don’t look at my friend like that. You’re practically her brother.”
“How the fuck am I practically her brother?” he snarled.
“Because I’ve been friends with her forever.”
“And?” Ash pressed.
“And it’s just gross,” Beth said, then turned to me. “You want the tour?”
I looked at Ash. The softness that had been on his face a moment ago had shifted into the tense scowl he’d so often worn back when I’d known him. “Is that okay?” I asked him.
“What?”
“Is it okay if Beth gives me the tour of your place, or would you rather not have me look around?”
“Go ahead, why would I care if you looked around?”
“I don’t know, it’s your space. I don’t really like people nosing around in my stuff.”
“You aren’t people, Nat.” His face softened as he looked at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Ew,” Beth groaned. She grabbed my arm and pulled. I stumbled as I tried to change the direction of my feet to follow her away from the kitchen. “We’ll start upstairs,” she told me.
I followed Beth up the stairs and paused at the little landing at the top. A chair sat tucked in the corner like a cozy reading nook. A buffalo-plaid blanket lay draped over the back of the worn leather chair. A stack of paperbacks sat on the little end table, and a bookmark hung out of the lone book not on the stack,like it was waiting to be picked back up again. Who knew Asher Briggs was a reader?
“Pretty nice view, hey?” Beth asked.
I glanced toward the large living room windows that reached almost to the ceiling, giving a clear, beautiful view of the lake and valley below. Ash had perfectly aligned the layout of the house so that every room had an amazing view.
“It’s incredible.”
“Wait till you see his bedroom. It’s unreal,” Beth said.
I followed her into the master suite. “Wow.” I spun slowly to the side to take in the entire room. “I can’t believe he’s single. This looks like it was built for a couple.”
“I know. Who puts a fireplace in their bedroom?”
Ash walked in behind us. “Someone who’s used to the power going out and knows how cold it can get up here in the winter,” he growled.
“It’s gorgeous, Ash. The entire house is. Your designer really knew what they were doing,” I told him.
“Thanks. I think it turned out pretty good, but I definitely wouldn’t call myself a designer.”
“You did this?” I turned to him.
“Well, I do build houses for a living.”
“I know.” I looked around this gorgeous log home with new appreciation. “But I thought you built them, not designed them.
He chuckled. “Normally I do, but it’s kind of hard not to learn a thing or two about design when you build ‘em.”
