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The grin on his face was so wide his eyes crinkled at the corners. I was mesmerized by the way he stared at me—like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. And for the first time ever, I truly felt it. I was standing in the lake, my body drenched with water, my hair a wet, matted mess stuck to half of my face, but he made me feel like I’d just stepped off a runway. Like all eyes should have been on me.
His chest pressed against mine, his one hand burning at my hip and the other on the side of my neck, tilting my head up to face him. “Stay with me.” I frowned, not understanding what he was saying. “Stay with me when we leave here.”
“What?” I swallowed, feeling like the moment we were having was evaporating, but all he did was hold me closer—tighter.
“When we leave the lake house and go home, I want you to move in with me.” I opened my mouth, but he slid his thumb over my lips to stop me from talking. “Don’t say no. Don’t say yes. Just think about it.” He paused, his gaze not moving off mine for even a split second. “Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll think about it.” I needed to process what he was saying. Understand what he was suggesting. But I already knew the answer to it. I couldn’t go back to the apartment, not yet anyway. And my only other option was my car.
I wouldn’t do that, though. I’d spent so many years fighting for myself. Trying to yank myself out of the position I’d been born into. But I’d refused Asher’s help before. I’d also taken it. And I knew life was so much better when I let him help me. I wanted to tell him yes now. I wanted to tell him I couldn’t imagine sleeping somewhere he wasn’t, but instead, I pushed higher so I could be closer to his face.
“Asher?”
His breath fanned over my face, his lips so close all it would take was a slight sway, and we’d be touching there too. “Yeah?”
“Are you gonna kiss me anytime soon?”
“I was debating…” He licked his bottom lip. “I think we have an audience, though.”
I glanced over his shoulder, spotting several of his family on the deck. “We do.” His hand squeezed harder on my hip, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “But I don’t care.”
“You sure?” he asked, and I fell even harder for him.
“When I’m with you? Always.”
He pressed his lips against mine, soft and gentle to begin with, but as I pressed closer to him, he swiped his tongue along the seam, asking me to open up. And in that moment, I forgot about the people watching us, forgot all about the lake water we were still standing in because Asher consumed every single inch of me.
A kiss was never just a kiss with Asher. It was a promise. A promise of a better life. A promise that the pain I was going through would soon be over. A promise that he’d be by my side every step of the way.
ASHER
“Can you pass the real potatoes?” I asked Elodie, smirking over at her. Belle had set the table and decided where everyone would sit, and apparently, that meant each couple opposite each other with Leo next to Elodie. Even as kids, Belle had to control the seating arrangements. I’d never been bothered about it before, not until Elodie couldn’t sit next to me. It was irrational, and I knew I couldn’t keep her all to myself, but since they’d gotten here, I felt like I’d barely seen her.
“Real potatoes?” Mom asked as Elodie passed them over to me.
“Just something from when I was a kid,” Elodie answered, but her grin and the twinkle in her eyes told me she found it funny—at least I hoped she did. Each day we both learned more about each other, and today, not only did I find out about “fake potatoes” but also that I could touch her hip and the side of her neck without her flinching.
I hadn’t touched her much since we’d been here, but slowly, each day, she was getting used to it again. The bruises on her face were completely faded, but I knew the pain she felt inside her heart wouldn’t heal as quickly.
“Thanks.” I trailed my finger over hers as I took the dish and scooped a big pile on my plate. There was nothing like my mom and dad’s Thanksgiving dinners. It was the one thing I missed most when I’d been on tour and out of the country. I’d forgotten all about it this year until a couple of days ago, but what I’d planned to cook wouldn’t have come anywhere close to this. The table was full of dishes with a perfectly roasted turkey in the middle and Ford’s famous pumpkin pie. Dessert was always my favorite part.
“We drove past East Ink on the way up here,” Cade said out of the blue, and all smiles and conversations halted. “Did you know it was closed?” The silence echoed in the house louder than when Belle was shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Cade,” Aria gritted out, and the table wobbled, so I could only imagine she’d kicked him. “Shut up.”
Cade’s gaze snapped to Elodie, then me. “Shit. Sorry. I wasn’t—”
“Thinking?” I answered for him. My nostrils flared. What had been a good day so far was taking a turn for the worst, and all it had taken was a handful of words. I didn’t want Elodie to know the shop was closed. She didn’t need to worry about what was happening back home. All she had to think about was getting better and feeling safer.
Elodie’s face paled as she pushed the food around on her plate. I wanted nothing more than to push my chair back and hold her. Her eyes glazed over, her attention now not in the room with all of us, but instead somewhere else entirely.
“Elodie?” She didn’t answer me, her body freezing at the sound of my voice. “Sweetheart?” Her gaze slowly moved to me, the pain shadowed in her eyes on full display. Fuck. “It’s okay.” I leaned forward, hating the table that separated us. “You’re okay.”
“Why—” She cleared her throat and shook her head, pushing everything away to a place no one could see it. She was a pro at pulling the mask on her face, but I was starting to learn where the cracks appeared. “Why is the shop closed?”
“I…” I swallowed. I hadn’t spoken to her about what was happening back home because I didn’t want to burden her. “I closed it for a while.”
Elodie frowned, her stare not moving an inch off of me. “Why?”
