“That wasn’t my intention,” he said. “We had an ill-fated marriage—as were my next five marriages.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve lost everything important to me. And when I saw that viral video of Winnie, I needed to see her again. To remember better times.”
Something about him reminded her of Corbin—maybe the way he’d only thought of himself in all of this. Or assumed he was still a large part of Winnie’s world, even though their relationship had ended decades ago.
“I only want to be her friend, but it seems my presence here has caused quite a bit of trouble.”
“Yes, it has,” Eliana said with an edge to her tone. She sat at the table, the shock of everything sinking in. Grandma had been married before. Why hadn’t she told any of them? Especially Eliana. When Eliana had been going through her divorce, it would have been a huge comfort to know her grandma had been through something similar.
Grandma had been there for her, more than anyone else, but it stung to realize she’d held back that part of her.
Eliana was so sick of secrets, she was starting to understand why Asher’s grandpa might have done what he did. Gerard left, but Eliana remained frozen in place.
Julia and Logan seemed completely oblivious to the drama, lost in their own happy world. They cut the cake and danced some more—Cameron and Shayla stealing the show several times—and finally Logan and Julia left together holding hands, Julia’s dress flowing behind her as if in a movie.
Eliana should feel happy. Ecstatic! The wedding had come off—with several hitches—but still successful. Yet, she collapsed into a chair as the staff cleaned up after them, and people streamed out to the parking lot, emotionally and physically exhausted. The sun had long set, and though the air was still sticky and warm, the night sky was poked through with shining stars, making it bearable. Almost pleasant.
“Are you okay?” Asher stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She tipped her head to rest her cheek on his fingers, grateful for his grounding touch.
“I will be,” she said, believing it. She could hold both grief and joy in her heart at the same time.
“Are you ready to head home?”
Home. The word sent a flutter through her stomach. “Yes.”
Eliana rinsed off the make-up, hairspray, sweat, and stress of the day in one of the longest showers of her life. She pulled on her oldest, comfiest sweats and twisted her hair into a still-dripping loose braid, then stared at herself in the steamy mirror.
Before being seen by anyone, she usually did her make-up. Brushed and blow dried her hair. Wore her cute lounge clothes. Sometimes she wore glasses, or did a neutral make-up application, or pulled her hair into a loose bun so it might appear to her viewers she was being all-natural, but her appearance was always very carefully curated.
With Asher, she didn’t feel like she had to be “on” every second of the day. She could let her guard down and be human—be the person she usually only felt comfortable being when she was completely alone.
Still her nerves were on high alert as she left the bedroom and drifted toward the scent of freshly-baking cookies. With most of the boxes gone, the bungalow was easier to walk through. Yet, it was bittersweet to see it all clean. A reminder of how little time she had left here. Asher had showered as well—in the hall bathroom and much, much quicker than her—and his damp hair was mostly dried and left loose around his shoulders.
His back was to her when she came into the kitchen in her bare feet, and he clearly hadn’t heard her. He hummed the song they’d been dancing to together as he pulled the cookie sheet from the oven. She’d learned over the last two months that he always had frozen cookie dough, ready to pop into the oven for quick, homemade cookies.
When he’d learned white-chocolate macadamia-nut cookies were her favorite, he’d made a special batch just for her. As she smelled them now, and her heart filled all the way up with a feeling she couldn’t describe, she followed the impulse to come up behind him after he closed the oven and wrap her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his back.
He didn’t miss a beat putting the cookies onto a plate as she breathed in his clean, soapy scent mixed with the vanilla, sugar, and flour. Then he placed his hands over hers, where she clasped them at his stomach, and they stood there until she had time to realize how awkward she’d made things by hugging him like this.
When she went to pull away, he twisted to keep her in his arms. Her nose pressed to his neck in a way that should have intensified her awkwardness, but instead dispelled it completely, and she relaxed into him.
Asher had that effect on her. It was nearly impossible for her to feel uncomfortable with him. She didn’t want to let go. This was their last night like this before everything changed—and they both moved out and returned to their normal lives.
When she had sat on his front porch, nearly giddy with glee that she had something to blackmail him with and solve all her problems, she never would have believed she’d find herself in this place, held tight in his embrace, never wanting to let go.
She pushed up on her toes to take his mouth in hers. He tasted like chocolate, salt, and the very best of everything she could imagine.
“I have something for you,” she said, breathless, as she pulled away. “But you have to agree to take it before I tell you what it is.”
He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Her cheeks burned, and she rolled her eyes. “Not that. Say yes or no.”
He lowered his lips to her ear, his breath brushing at her tiny hairs. “It’s always yes with you, Eliana. Haven’t you guessed that yet?”
Her stomach swooped at the low tone in his voice, and she swallowed. “Good,” she said, attempting to get her brain back in thinking order, but that was proving to be a massive struggle with him so close. “Because you’re moving into Julia’s apartment until they get back from Logan’s work trip, or until you find somewhere else to live.”
He paused. “I thought you were going to live there.”
“Nope. I’ll move in with my parents until I figure out my plans.”
“Any ideas about those plans?” His tone was casual, but the concerned lines around his mouth couldn’t lie.
