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Her frown deepened. “Areyouokay? Don’t tell me that something’s gone wrong with your date as well.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said again. “We can talk about everything then. Goodnight.”
Her lips twisted to one side of her mouth, but she nodded, shrugging to herself inwardly. She was too tired to wonder what Asher’s date was like. “Goodnight, Asher. See you tomorrow.”
Hanging up her cellphone, Willow began to wander along the street just as her eyes caught sight of her car. It had been parked just around the corner, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. Letting out a little yelp of delight, she ran toward it, unlocked it, and climbed in. Sticking the key in the ignition, she revved the car and quickly pulled away, leaving her bad date with Neil far behind.
6
I’m going to have to tell her the truth.
Asher sucked in a breath, hearing Willow moving around in the kitchen.
“As first dates go, that one was pretty bad.”
His lips tipped upwards as she mumbled to herself. Evidently, this date had gone very badly, and while he was sorry about that, he was pretty sure that her story wasn’t going to be as bad as his.
“Asher!” Willow stumbled as she walked out of the kitchen, obviously a little surprised to see him.
“Hi.”
“I thought you said I’d see you tomorrow.”
“I figured I’d head back early.” Glancing at the clock, he grinned at her. “Although I guess ten isn’t all that early.” One eyebrow rose as he took her in. She was wearing a huge fleece jumper, even though it was warm outside, and her long blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. A wine bottle was under one arm, and she held a glass in her hand. “Was it really that bad?”
Willow threw her head back and groaned. “It was terrible.” Her words were punctuated with heavy sighs. “You can’t even begin to imagine how bad it was.”
“We could have a competition?” He suggested waiting until she looked back at him. “You tell me about how bad yours was, and I’ll tell you about how badminewas. Then we can see who wins.”
Willow blinked, her eyes a little wide. “You had a bad date, too? This doesn’t say much for that app.”
Asher shrugged. “I guess there’s always a risk with things like this. And I guess you’re not going to find the right person the first time.”
“Unless you’re Joe.”
Laughing at the way she scowled, Asher walked over and flung one arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against him. “Yeah, unless you’re Joe. He got lucky.”
“And I got reallyunlucky. It’s turned me off from dating again, that’s for sure.”
A stab of hope thrust itself into Asher’s heart, but he pulled it out quickly and flung it away. “I’m sorry, Willow. What do you want to do that would make you feel better?”
She held up the wine, silently answering him. “And, we could also go out back and make s’mores?”
“Sounds good,” he answered.
Leaning her head against his shoulder, Willow let out another long groan that rattled through Asher’s chest. “This was so disastrous. I just want to put it completely out of my head.”
“Chocolate and wine will help with that.”
Her head lifted, and her eyes looked up into his. There was a softness there that spoke to Asher’s heart.
“I’m sorry you had a bad date, too. I shouldn’t just be going on about myself, not when you also had a rough time.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as yours.” A heavy weight settled in his heart, but Asher tried to smile. “Go outside and start the fire in the firepit. I’ll grab another wine glass and the stuff for the s’mores.”
Willow let out another sigh, but this time, at least, she smiled. “You always have a way of making me feel better. I still remember falling and cutting my knee in second grade and you making me laugh, even when the blood was pouring from my leg.”
Asher grinned. “Maybe I should put that on my dating profile. Something along the lines of, ‘able to make you laugh, even when there’s been a severe injury’?”
