Sitting on his couch, he flipped his phone end over end and stared blankly at the TV. He needed to get Nat back to Havenbrook, but he had no idea how he was going to do it.
Sighing, he called up his contacts and pressed Asher’s name. If anyone could come up with something, it’d be the third musketeer in their trio.
After four rings, Asher answered in a groggy voice. “’Lo?”
Brow furrowed, Nash glanced at the clock. “Did I seriously wake you up? Dude, it’s two in the afternoon.”
“Fuck off,” he mumbled. “Had a late show last night. Didn’t get outta there till after four.”
Nash shook his head. He couldn’t fathom Asher’s life, especially now that things had started picking up for him and his career. He’d even managed to get one of his songs on the radio. After that, things blew up, and now he was on a multicity tour in the southeast US. “How many girls you got in your bed right now?”
Asher chuckled. “I know you didn’t call to ask about my sex life. What’s up?”
Now came the tricky part. Nash trusted Asher with his life, but could he trust him with this secret? Even though Asher was hundreds of miles away, Nash didn’t doubt how quickly his news could travel back to Havenbrook. Then not only would Rory pitch a fit and have to deal with the whispers and pointing from the townspeople after they’d just moved on from her divorce, but all his diligence at keeping his dating lifeoutof Havenbrook would go to hell.
“Nash, much as I love listenin’ to you breathe, can we get on with it?”
“Sorry, just…” He scrubbed a hand down his face and groaned, deciding to go all in. If he told Asher to keep his mouth shut, he would. “I’m fucked.”
“I hope not literally, because I love you, man, but I don’t need to know that.”
“Not rightnow, but…”
Rustling came through the line as if Asher had shifted to a sitting position. “Enough cryptic bullshit. What’s goin’ on?”
“The short version is I need to get Nat back home, and I don’t know how.”
“Wait—you andNat? Didn’t y’all learn your lesson in high school? It was a terrible idea back then, and it’s a terrible idea now.”
“Nat? Shit, no.” Christ, the thought nearly made him shudder. The kiss they’d shared years ago had been like kissing a cousin. Not only that, it’d nearly torn their threesome apart. They’d vowed never again.
“Then who’re we talkin’ about, and why do you need Nat home for it?”
It was now or never, so Nash went balls to the wall. “Rory.”
“Okay,” Asher said, drawing out the word, clearly confused. “Rory, what? She need Nat for somethin’? And that doesn’t tell me who you’re sleepin’ with.”
“It’s Rory, you jackass. I’m sleepin’ with Rory, and she’s the one who needs Nat home.”
Dead silence filtered through the line, and Nash pulled the phone away from his ear to make sure he hadn’t dropped the call. “Asher? You still there?”
Asher cleared his throat. “Still here. Just tryin’ to figure out how I’m gonna make it home for your funeral with all these shows I’ve got booked.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“Nat’s gonna kill you. Straight up murder you in your sleep, you know that, right?” He blew out a harsh breath and chuckled. “Rory fucking Haven. Shit, man. Never would’ve thought.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m dead. I get it. Which is why I’m not tellin’ Nat anything, and neither are you.”
He groaned. “Don’t make me do that! You know secrets between us don’t work. Never have, never will.”
“Not true. I never told her about the time you pissed the bed the first time we got drunk.”
“And you never will.”
“Takin’ it to my grave, which is what I expect you to do with this.”
“I think Nat might be tipped off when she’s not invited to her big sister’s wedding.”
