I start to laugh at his words. I laugh so hard that I start to hiccup. Asher pushes me against the wall before holding me to him as I lose it.
When I finally get myself together, I pull my head from his chest to look up at Asher.
He wipes the tears away from my eyes before kissing my nose.
“Whatcha doing here?” he asks in a light tone.
“I missed you. I thought we could have lunch together,” I tell him.
“You should have called. I would have waited for you here instead of running with the guys to the hardware store.”
That makes my heart soar. He is always so considerate of me. Always putting me first.
I love that about him.
Love.
Such a weird thing. I never thought I would ever feel it. I mean, how could anyone love me when my own mother couldn’t?
Yet here I stand, looking up into the most gorgeous hazel eyes as his concern for me shines through.
I think I could love this man.
The idea hits me like a boulder, but I like how it makes me feel.
I feel different.
Good.
Right.
“What happened?” he whispers.
“I panicked. I feel so out of control.”
“How can I help you?” he asks me, his hand cupping my face.
“Be my anchor. Ground me.”
His forehead falls to mine. “How do I do that?”
“You already are.”
I push up on my toes, pressing my lips to his.
This is where I want to be.
ASHER
Her lips are on mine, and it feels amazing, but my concern for her overshadows it.
She wasn’t here mentally when we pulled in.
When I first saw the car, I wondered who it could be. Then I saw the blonde hair and knew. I was excited.
When I got closer, though, I knew something was wrong. It was like she was here physically, but her mind was elsewhere.
Seeing her like that had both panic and rage flooding my system. I was panicked because I didn’t know how I was going to help her. The rage is for everything she went through that could have caused it.
