AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry this took me so long to work out.” His voice was a little muffled as he spoke close to her ear. “I talked to Hadley yesterday, and she explained that something I’d said made you think I only wanted to be friends. You thought that I wanted to forget what was the most amazing, exhilarating moment of my life.”
Willow lifted her head and looked up at him. “The morning after my mom’s birthday, you said to her that we were just friends.”
Asher closed his eyes for a second. “Right.” Shaking his head, he blew out a breath. “I wish I’d realized sooner. What I said that morning…I was just trying to protect you from any prying questions. I had to get back to work, and I didn’t want to leave you talking to Meredith about something we hadn’t had a chance to discuss ourselves.” A tiny spark glinted in his eyes. “That was one pretty intense moment, and it changed everything for me—in a good way, obviously. But I wanted to talk to you first, before we said anything to your mom or to mine or to anyone, really.”
Something like regret burned in her chest as she looked up into his searching eyes. “And if I’d let myself think about things for a little longer, or if I’d told myself to talk to you before I made any decision, then maybe I wouldn’t have sent that message back to you.”
“That’s not what’s important now.” One hand began to rub the small of her back gently, the other moving up toward the nape of her neck. “We can talk about why or what happened and go into all the details. Or we could do something else.”
“And what’s that?” Seeing the lift in the corner of his mouth, Willow closed her eyes as Asher began to lower his head.
“We could start to think about the future. And it starts right here.”
His mouth finally landed on hers. There wasn’t an intensity or an urgency to his kiss, but rather a gentleness that begged her to trust him. To trustthem. Angling her head, Willow deepened their kiss, her fingers threading through his hair as his hands tightened around her waist. It felt like she had been waiting for this moment since the very beginning, as if every day of their friendship had been leading her closer and closer to this.
“I love you.” Whispering against his mouth as she lifted his hands to frame her face, Willow gazed up into his eyes. They were filled with hope and light and a promise that there would be so many wonderful moments ahead for them.
Asher grinned. “I think I’ve loved you from the very first day we met in kindergarten, when I had to stop you from eating the play-dough.”
Willow laughed, the tenderness in his eyes tying away the last few threads of pain. “Really?”
“Really. Why do you think I’ve never really dated? I wanted us to get to thirty. I wanted us to keep our pact. The reason I never told you was because I didn’t think there was any chance that you loved me back. You went on a few dates over the years, and there was never a hint that you felt anything more for me. We were just friends, and I told myself that I was happy being your best friend. But the truth is, I’ve hated these last few weeks. I’ve hated seeing you go out on dates, worrying that you’ll find the right guy and leave me behind.” A deep breath lifted his chest. “I’d be miserable without you.”
“When I kissed you, it was because I loved you—and then everything that came after almost broke me. These last few days have been torture. Absolute torture.”
Dropping his head, Asher kissed her lightly but kept his head low. “I don’t want you to feel that ever again. I thought we’d ruined everything, and I thought our friendship was completely broken. That was the last thing I wanted.”
She shook her head, wanting to be closer to him still, wanting to breathe him in. “Nothing is broken. You’ve fixed it. You’ve fixed us.”
He kissed her again, and Willow melted into him. His hands were like flames, setting a fire in her—a fire that she didn’t want to put out.
“There’s something else I need to ask you.” Taking her hand, Asher led her back toward the table. “That’s for you.”
Willow looked down. There was a small red box sitting in the middle of the table, a neat little bow tied around it. She didn’t need to ask what it was. Somehow, she already knew.
“I bought this a few years ago. I don’t know what came over me. I was walking through the mall and saw the most beautiful ring.” Picking up the box, he undid the ribbon and then set it aside. “Like I said, I always had this hope that we’d end up together. I fought it for years, trying to remind myself that us being best friends was all that I needed. But I clung on to that promise we’d made to each other right out of college—and I guess that was what made me buy the ring. To my mind, we were only a few years away from that, and I wanted to have the ring ready. I wanted to propose to you.” Ducking his head, he laughed softly, and Willow reached up, pressing her hand against his cheek.
Willow let her thumb brush lightly across his skin, her fingers chasing the edges of his hair. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe this.” Popping open the box, Asher got down on one knee, holding it up to her. The softness in his eyes and in his smile spoke of tenderness; of a real, genuine love that begged to fill every part of her world.
“I love you.” Asher spoke simply, reaching out to take her hand. “I have always loved you. I want this more than anything in the world. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives—not just as best friends but as husband and wife.”
Her stomach fluttered wildly, her pulse racing. Weakness tore through her, and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck as he smiled up into her eyes.
“Yes.”
Her voice was thin and scratchy, and tears were forming in her eyes, but her happiness couldn’t have been greater. It seemed to envelop them both like a cloud as Asher pulled the ring from the box and held it out so that he could slip it onto her finger.
“Your eyes are shining.”
Heat radiated through her chest.
“And you’re trembling.”
Slowly, Asher got to his feet, his hands never lifting from hers.
Asher grinned, his cheeks a little flushed. “You do know this means you’ll have to order my favorite pizza for the rest of your life. And you never know, maybe I’ll want to add even more toppings.”
