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Willow let herself smile, one hand curled into a fist as she fought to find the courage to say what she needed to.
“You are so important to me, Asher.”
“And you are the most important person in the world to me.” Even though she hadn’t shifted in her seat, Willow could tell Asher had lowered his head. The brush of his lips came close to her ear, and the heat of his breath danced lightly across her cheek. Closing her eyes, Willow shivered.
“I couldn’t bear to lose you.” Licking her lips, she fought to find a way to explain what she meant by that.This isn’t just about losing our friendship. It’s about you being with someone else when I think I want you to be with me.“We have something special, I think.”
“We absolutely do. I…”
When he didn’t carry on speaking after a few seconds, Willow glanced over her shoulder and saw him looking down at his cellphone.His forehead was lined, and his jaw tight.
“Everything okay?” Trying to keep her voice light, Willow pushed away the urge to pry further.
“Yep.” Setting down his phone, Asher reached across for one of the s’mores. “That was just Gabby—the girl who I was supposed to go out with after your date with Ben. She asked me if I was ready to reschedule.”
“Oh.” Something hard dropped into Willow’s stomach. “You’re going to go?”
A hiss of breath escaped between Asher’s clenched teeth, and he didn’t reply for a few moments. “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know.”
Willow couldn’t look at him.
“I’m going to be honest, Willow. I’m not really intoNow and Foreveranymore.”
“You’ve barely given it a shot!” She turned her head and looked back at him. Asher’s brow was furrowed, and he was shaking his head, his eyes turned away from her.
“I don’t feel I need to. I’ll go on this date with Gabby because it’s the least I could do after I called her so late into our date.” He chuckled. but Willow didn’t smile. “Plus, I can’t pretend I’m not interested in meeting someone who’s an actual real-life belly dancer!”
Willow’s heart dropped to the floor, and she felt sick to her stomach. A vision of next year’s Fourth of July fireworks swarmed into her mind, and she squeezed her eyes closed.
Swallowing a hard lump in her throat, Willow closed her eyes.
“Here comes the second round!”
The excitement in Asher’s voice did nothing to lift Willow’s spirits. It was as though, for the last few days, she’d been walking around in a fog, but out of nowhere, it had suddenly cleared and left her seeing things the way they really were. The problem was, she just didn’t know what to do next.
* * *
“Areyou sure we’re supposed to have this many balloons?”
Willow threw a doubtful glance around the living room, picking up another balloon to tie. “I guess. I don’t really know.”
Willow’s youngest sister, Hadley, let out a quiet laugh. “I don’t think Dad knows, either. This is all so last minute.”
“It’s not like Mom to be last minute.”
Snorting, Hadley rolled her eyes. “Very funny. You do know that the only reason she’s letting him throw her a birthday party tomorrow is because it’s also a full moon?”
Willow chuckled and shook her head. “That sounds like Mom. But isn’t her birthday the day after?”
“Yes, but we have to celebrate it as the full moon rises and we move into the next day,” Hadley explained, clearly quoting something Meredith had said already. “It’s all a bit odd, but when has Mom ever done things by the book?”
Shrugging, Willow grabbed another balloon. “Yeah, I guess. It’s nice she’s letting us throw her a birthday party, since she’s never really wanted to celebrate it before.”
“It’s going to be crazy.” Hadley wiggled her eyebrows, making Willow laugh. “Yes, she said that we can organize the party, but she’s the one saying what’s happening and when. Did you know that she’s ordered some drummers to come?”
“Drums?”
Hadley nodded. “They bring these huge drums, and anyone can try them. There’s a band coming, but I have no idea what sort of music they’re going to play.”
