After Rory had left, taking the girls and June’s entertainment with her, thus makingNatthat entertainment, there was no way she was preparing dinner tonight. Instead, they’d made the executive decision to order pizza.
Fortunately, spending the day playing circus, then school, then building a blanket fort while an excitable eight-month-old continually tore it down meant she didn’t have much time to think about anything else.
Namely the fact that her best friend had just asked her tomarryhim.
While he’d shot her looks throughout the afternoon, what they desperately needed was to talk, mostly so she could ask him what the fuck he was thinking. She’d barely been able to sneak into the bathroom to pee, so she obviously hadn’t had a chance to give him an answer about the wholebe my fiancéething. And she knew he needed one, like, yesterday. But what the hell was she going to say?
The whole point ofdownpourhad been that they’d have one another’s backs, unwaveringly and without question. But this was so far beyond what any of them had ever imagined when they’d made that promise ten years ago.
She lay in June’s bed after bath time and three extra stories, waiting for the little girl to fall asleep, her mind churning over what it would mean if she said yes.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but what it would mean was that her life as she knew it was over. Not only that, but she’d be stuck in this town that felt more like a prison than a home. No more flying across the globe. No more shoots in exotic places. No more meeting new people and experiencing new things every week. No more filling her creative well with the one passion she loved above all else—photography.
When June’s breaths evened out, Nat extricated herself from under the little girl’s arm and tiptoed her way out of her room. Holding her breath as if that would stop June from waking up, she eased the door shut, expelling a sigh of relief when no protests erupted on the other side.
Standing at the end of the hallway, she peeked into the living room where Asher sat, sprawled out on the couch, head resting back on the cushions, his eyes closed. He wore an old Johnny Cash T-shirt that was much smaller on him now than it had been when he’d bought it in high school. He’d always been tall and lanky, but he’d filled out the older he’d gotten. He wore gray sweatpants that did absolutely nothing to hide the other areas he’d filled out.
While she obviously wasn’t oblivious to the fact that both of her closest friends were smoking-hot dudes, she’d also never really seen them as sexual beings—not to her, anyway.
Or, she hadn’t.
She didn’t know if it was because she’d spent the past six nights sharing a bed with Asher—and waking up pretzeled around him like he was her personal stuffed animal—or if it was the whole maybe-marriage thing that had sparked that part of her brain, but now she couldn’tnotsee it.
She could honestly say now she definitely understood the whole mysterious, broody musician vibe girls went crazy for.
“How long are you gonna stand there starin’ at me like a stalker?” he murmured without opening his eyes.
“Oh,I’mthe stalker, but somehow you knew I was standin’ here, even with your eyes closed.”
“You might be small enough that I could fold you up and put you in my pocket, but you walk like you’ve got cement blocks tied around your ankles.”
With a laugh, she strode toward him and dropped down on the cushion at his side, shoving her elbow into his stomach and delighting in his grunt of surprise. “You deserved that. I walk just like I do everything else.”
“Yeah, like you don’t give a single fuck what anyone thinks.”
“Daintily, Ash. I do all things daintily. But, please, tell me more about this favor you need from me…”
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, tugging her into his side. She snuggled in, notching herself perfectly under his arm, as if that very space had a Nat-shaped cutout made just for her.
“My compliments aren’t winnin’ me any favors?” he said. “Is that what you’re sayin’?”
“What I’m sayin’ is that if you want something, you’d be better off gettin’ it with some chocolate and maybe a little wine, instead of your smart mouth.”
He chuckled. “You love my smart mouth.”
“Not today, I don’t.”
“Unconditional love—isn’t that what you promised me?”
“I didn’t promise you shit. I’m not your wi—” Nat nearly choked on the word, remembering too late exactly the size and shape of the elephant in the room. The one they’d been avoiding all day. “Speakin’ of, we should probably talk about that.”
“Yeah… Look, Nattie, I know I’m askin’ a lot. This would be…” He blew out a breath, the move ruffling her hair. “You know I wouldn’t have asked if I had any other options.”
“So, I’m your last resort, then? Good to know.”
“You’re my every resort,” he said without hesitation, earnestness in his tone.
She had no idea why, but her stomach flipped at his words, like when a small plane hit a pocket of air and the entire thing dropped. It was a millisecond, really, but it was enough to draw her attention.
