I ignored the way my stomach bottomed out before soaring thanks to the nickname that didn’t actually mean anything. And I absolutely didn’t watch him walk down the hallway toward Owen’s room, or admire the way his jeans hugged his ass, or bite my lip over his confident stride.Did not.
Getting everyone out of the house still wasn’t a speedy affair no matter how many times we’d done it, so it was almost an hour later before we walked into my parents’ house. My mom wasn’t exactly the kind of woman who’d let her guests show themselves in without a word—her Southern hospitality too ingrained for that—which was why it was so bizarre no one greeted us when we walked in the door.
I furrowed my brow, glancing around at the empty house. “Hello?”
“Nat, you’re here!” Momma said, overly loud, a bright smile on her face as she rounded the corner from the back of the house.
She strode toward us in a light gray skirt and a sleeveless navy-blue silk blouse, her heels clicking on the hardwoods—the woman didn’t know the meaning of loungewear.
“What’re you all dressed up for?” I asked. “You’re not aimin’ for an invite to the courthouse, right? It’s seriously not a big?—”
“No, no.” She waved me off. “Nothing like that. I just, um, have a meetin’ later with the historical committee.”
I narrowed my eyes. While it wasn’t unusual for her to have a meeting of that nature, itwasunusual for her to stumble over her words. Something was off here—I just wasn’t sure what.
Before I could ask what the hell was going on, my mom grabbed June’s hand and spun the little girl around, the skirt flaring out around her.
“I’m so glad Ava’s old dress fit you,” Momma said, grinning down at June. “You look just like a princess!”
“I do?” June asked, awe in her voice as she stared down at herself with wide eyes.
“You most certainly do.”
June glanced back at me and Asher, a grin splitting her face. “I’m a princess today!”
“You’re definitely pretty enough to be one,” Asher said while expertly dodging Owen’s flailing arms.
“Why don’t you give me this one?” Momma said, grabbing Owen from Asher’s arms without waiting for the okay. “I’ll take the kids out back so you can get changed, Nat. Asher, would you mind stickin’ around in here in case she needs help? Plus, I’d like to get a shot of you two walkin’ outside, all right?”
Just like yesterday, she didn’t wait for a response before striding down the hallway toward the backyard, June’s hand clutched in hers as Owen grinned at us over her shoulder.
“Well, I guess we have our orders,” I said with an eye roll. Truthfully, it was a testament to how far I’d come that hearingsomething like that didn’t immediately send me fleeing in the opposite direction.
Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about dragging Asher upstairs and into my room while I changed, making him zip me up without question. But now, with this weighty attraction between us that had never been present before, I knew we stood on shaky ground, and making him watch me change probably wasn’t the smartest idea right before we were supposed to get fake-married.
Knowing we didn’t have much time, I shoved those thoughts out of my mind and stepped toward the main floor bathroom.
“I’ll just be a sec,” I said, holding the garment bag up so that it didn’t drag on the floor.
Last night, after an emergency call to Will’s best friend, Avery, with a plea to borrow a dress appropriate for a courthouse wedding—“Something nice, but nottoonice. Dressy but still kind of funky. ItisNat, after all.”—my sister had dropped it off, and I hadn’t even unzipped the bag to peek.
It wasn’t like I had much choice in the matter. I hadn’t exactly brought wedding apparel with me to Argentina, and there hadn’t been time to swing by Portland to raid my closet when I’d dropped everything to fly home to Havenbrook. No matter the dress, I’d wear it because I didn’t have any intention of showing up to marry Asher looking like a bum while he looked like he stepped out of the pages ofGQ.
I hung the dress on the hook at the back of the door before unzipping the garment bag and spreading it wide. My breath caught as I took it in. The dress was long and flowy, a mix of pale pink, lavender, and teal all woven together to look like unicorn cotton candy. The front plunged low—thank God my breasts were small enough that I wouldn’t need a bra, because there was no way I could wear one with this—the dress held up by tiny straps topped with draped cap sleeves.
I undressed, stripping down until I wore only a pair of pale-pink lace panties, all too aware that Asher was just on the other side of the door. I slipped the dress over my head, the soft fabric gliding over my body as if it were tailor-made for me. I zipped it as much as I could before accepting I wouldn’t be able to finish the job by myself.
I cracked open the door, and Asher’s head snapped up from where he stood, braced against the wall opposite me.
“You need help?” His voice was low as his gaze dropped, though I knew he couldn’t see anything since I stood just behind the door.
“Yeah, do you mind?” I asked, no idea why I sounded so damn breathy.
I opened the door the rest of the way and turned my back to him, holding in a shiver at the change in temperature when he stepped close. His fingers grazed a path up my spine as he secured the dress on me, and my nipples peaked at the featherlight touch.
Holding my breath, I watched him in the mirror, his chin tucked to his chest, eyes downcast as he kept his focus on his task at hand. When he’d fastened the zipper all the way, he lifted his gaze to meet mine in the mirror, that newly present electricity arcing between us.
After several silent beats, he finally said, “You’re gorgeous.”
