Evie turned away, fussing with her elf costume even though it was already perfectly arranged. She couldn't look at him right now, not when her resolve was crumbling like under-baked cookies. "This is crazy, Asher. You know it is. Three men? How does that even work long-term? What happens when…”
"When what?" He moved closer, not touching her but close enough that she could feel his warmth.
"When - when one of you gets jealous of the other?”
“I think that was more likely to happen at the outset, don’t you? We already made our decision to share you, rather than lose you.”
“What about if it affects our businesses?”
“Why would it? The people who live here would know and accept our situation, and those who visit would be ignorant of it.”
Evie bit her lip.
“What’s really worrying you, Evie? Because I know it’s not really anything you’ve just suggested.”
How could he read her so well?
“What happens when one of you gets tired of me?” she whispered, realizing perhaps this was the crux of her issue and the rest were just excuses.
The silence stretched between them, and Evie watched his jaw work, like he was physically restraining himself from saying something he'd regret. When he finally spoke, his voice was rougher than she'd ever heard it.
"Tired of you?" He let out a harsh laugh. “Evie, are you hearing yourself right now?" Asher's hands clenched at hissides. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for someone like you to walk into my life? Someone who makes me laugh, who challenges me, who doesn't try to change who I fundamentally am?" His voice cracked slightly on the last word, and Evie's chest tightened.
“You think Gabe will? After he’s waited for you since before you were even a free agent? You think Shepherd hasn’t thought long and hard over this decision after what he went through in his past? You think any of us are doing this lightly?"
She turned back to face him, and the raw emotion in his bright blue eyes nearly undid her completely.
"Asher..." Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
"We're not Adrian," he said firmly, and the name felt like a slap. "None of us are. We see you, Evie. The real you. Not some idealized version we want you to become, not a convenient placeholder for when we’re bored or lonely. We want all of you—the stubborn, impulsive, big-hearted woman who stress-bakes at three in the morning and wears reindeer sweaters unironically."
Evie's throat burned, and she had to blink repeatedly.
“We just need you to give us a chance to prove it.”
He was saying all the things she’d ever dreamed of from a man. How could she say no to that?
“Now come on… I see Ollie in the queue, waiting to finally see his Mama as Santa’s helper.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “In the meantime, just think about it without making any knee-jerk decisions. Can you do that?”
Evie nodded, mutely.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
ASHER
Some things in life seemed to careen as if they were out of control, but nevertheless, you knew they were right.
Asher had felt that way when he decided to quit his high-paid, high-powered job as a lawyer and open an old-fashioned toy shop back in his hometown.
Everyone had told him he was nuts. That he wasn’t thinking straight. That he’d regret it.
They were wrong. Asher had never once regretted making that decision. What others sometimes failed to realize was that life was short and happiness - true happiness - was important.
And for some, making money made them happy. But not him. After a decade scrambling up the ladder of success in a dog-eat-dog world where the people you thought were your friends would just as soon stab you in the back, the day after they slapped you on the back, Asher was done. He’d hated the shallowness of the people who surrounded him. He’d had no meaningful relationships, either male or female, just colleagues and acquaintances. People who stayed on his good side whenthey wanted something, then shat on him if it suited their purposes.
