With Asher.
“What… what are you doing here?” I ask quietly.
“You left,” he states, ignoring my question.
“I know.”
“You left, and you transferred.”
“I left.”
“You left, and you transferred, and moved closer to my sister who’s now your boss, and now you’re… baking.”
“I’m baking,” I repeat.
“Why?”
He hasn’t moved closer to me. I’m still standing behind the counter like a bumbling idiot, and Asher is standing in the middle of his sister’s bakery with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
He’s let his hair grow out a bit, along with the stubble along his jaw, the dark hair making his emerald eyes bright and piercing when they meet my gaze. There’s no product in his usually styled hair, so when he runs a hand through it, strands stick out in different directions, making his usual put-together appearance seem just slightly disheveled.
I shake my head, opening and closing my mouth as I search for some kind of response. It all seems so ridiculous now. Ridiculous and overly dramatic. Oh, dear God, and insane. I’m working for his sister.
He takes a step closer, drawing my attention back to his brilliant green eyes. “Summer,” he says softly. “Why?”
“I didn’t want you to have to quit a job that you loved,” I answer quietly. I can feel tears start to burn the backs of my eyes. “I applied to a few different schools… but when I got accepted to my new program, I wanted to come out here because… I feltlike if I couldn’t be around you… then maybe being around this place, with these memories andyour sister, would lessen the blow just a little bit.”
A small smile starts to tug at the corners of his lips. “You know how crazy that sounds, right?”
I nod my head as the tears escape, along with a laugh. “Yeah, I know.”
He pulls me into his arms, and I inhale deeply at the familiar pine and sandalwood scent.
Oh, how I’ve missed this. Missed him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.
I pull back to look up into his brilliant green eyes. “I’m sorry,” I insist. “I should’ve responded to you. Or let you know that I was moving out here. I wasn’t thinking and I just… panicked.”
“Summer,” he whispers as he cups my face in his hands. “I applied for a position at Palo Alto University. They offered me the job, and I want to accept… if you’ll have me.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded. “You do know that I moved to an area whereyourfamily lives, right?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “If you don’t want to be together, I’m not going to encroach on your space while you’re working toward your degree. Sure, we may run into each other if I come out here to visit Juliet and Terra, but I’ll try my best to keep my distance.”
With those words, it’s like the pieces of my heart have melded back together. Even though he came all this way to talk to me, applied for a job at a different university, and knows there’s a very real possibility we won’t be able to completely avoid each other because I chose the town where his sister lives—and chose to work for her—he’s willing to let me go if that’s what I feel I need to be successful.
His thumb swipes along my cheek as he catches more of my tears. His eyes glance down at my lips, and I can tell by the way he grits his teeth that he’s holding himself back.
And suddenly I feel crushed by the weight of all the time I’ve wasted. I could’ve stayed with this amazing man. We could’ve figured this out together. I could’ve picked up the damn phone. But I was so stubborn and so convinced that there was no way that we could do this without ruining his life or his career.
Guilt and anger wash over me at how stupid I’ve been. I cannot believe I didn’t let him have some sort of say in things before I just up and left. I became his sister’s employee and then befriended her and his niece, for God’s sake.
That is next-level crazy.
I haven’t even told Sam about that part because it’s that crazy.
“Summer,” Asher coaxes. “I’ll go if you want me to. Just say the word.”
