Page 139

“Un-ca Ash,” she whispered, obviously struggling to not be too loud. Her eyes were as bright as her smile, and both of her hands were hidden behind her back. “Un-ca Ash up?”

“Yeah, sweet girl, I’m awake. How are you?” He shifted onto his side to face her, and she grinned even wider.

“Cass fwower for Un-ca Ash!” she declared, and she brought both of her hands out from behind her back. “Ta-da!”

Ash pursed his lips in an attempt to not laugh at her expression when she realized her hands were completely empty.

She giggled and said, “Oopsie!” Then she spun around, bent down, and picked something up off the floor. She turned back to him and tried again, still grinning as she held out a single deep-red rose. “Fwower for Un-ca Ash!”

Ash’s heart melted, and he pushed himself up to sit. “For me?” he asked softly.

“Yes!” Bri nodded. “Cass fwower for Un-ca Ash!”

He reached out and took the flower’s stem from Bri, warmth growing in his cheeks. He didn’t quite know what to say, but Bri seemed to have that handled. She took his free hand and tugged lightly.

“Eat? Un-ca Ash hungy? Time eat!”

“Dinner already? How long was I sleeping?” he asked, standing up and lifting Bri with him.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Loooooooooong nap!” she said with another laugh.

Ash smiled and kissed her cheek. “Mmm, I guess so, huh? Let me get a shirt and I’ll be out in a minute, okay? Can you tell Cass?”

“Yes!” Bri declared, and she squirmed a bit until Ash set her down, then took off running while calling Cass’s name.

Ash stood there for several seconds, staring at the rose. His heart was doing funny things in his chest, and that sense of quiet, that deep contentment he’d felt earlier when Cass had hugged him, he felt it again, spreading like a gentle warmth.

He’d had so many reservations about starting a relationship. Months back, when Cass had first asked him out on the pier at Portage Bay, he’d genuinely been terrified of saying yes. The risk of loss—more loss than he’d already experienced—had been much too great, and it had been very, very hard for him to convince himself otherwise.

He should still be terrified, he realized, because he’d fallen. Hard.

The wonderful man who’d gotten him this beautiful rose and cooked him dinner and taken care of his niece so he could rest—that wonderful man had easily become Ash’s best friend. Losing him now, after all of the other losses Ash had suffered . . . that would be more pain than Ash could handle.

Yet, he somehow wasn’t scared at all. Not anymore. And he couldn’t quite explain why. With Cass around, everything was soft and warm, full of promise and hope. Even when things were hard, Cass made it better.

Maybe . . .

Maybe he was in love.

Ash closed his eyes, focusing on the feel of the rose stem in his fingers for another couple of seconds, and he smiled. Then he headed over to the dresser to throw a T-shirt on.

By the time he made it out to the kitchen, Bri was settled in her high chair next to the small dining table, munching on some strawberries. Cass was on the other side of the kitchen island, portioning out servings of pasta and green beans onto plates for them. He smiled warmly as Ash approached.

“Hey,” Cass greeted. “Sleep well?”

Ash didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped around the island to join Cass, set the rose down on the counter, and wrapped both arms around Cass’s waist before leaning in for a soft kiss.

“Mmm,” Cass hummed, his hand coming to rest on Ash’s upper arm. “Guess that’s a yes?”

“Yes, I did,” Ash answered, before dipping back in to capture Cass’s lips again. Cass smiled against him, and Ash decided right then and there that feeling him smile as they kissed might be the best thing in the world. He pulled back enough to see Cass’s face, his brown eyes soft and kind and so clearly full of the exact same feelings Ash was having.

Oh, yeah. It had to be love.

With a smile of his own, Ash leaned in for one more kiss, then straightened up again and stepped back, letting one hand linger on Cass’s lower back. “Can I help with anything?”

“Absolutely not,” Cass said, grinning. “You can sit, and I’ll bring everything over. What’s your drink of choice? Coffee, water? I grabbed a bottle of wine, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink alcohol, actually.” Cass arched his eyebrows in question, and Ash shook his head.

“I really don’t. At least not much,” he admitted. “I had a beer once—Grant insisted that I try it when I turned twenty-one. I hated it.”