“How long have you known?” I ask, and Asher blinks, looking a little confused.
“How long have I known what?” he asks, chewing slowly.
“That you were, um, in love with me?” I ask, my cheeks warming.
Ash blinks. “Oh. That. Right,” he says. It’s almost as if he’s relieved that’s what I am referring to. I’m not sure what else I’d be talking about. “So about that. I might have…dramatized that a little…” he says, nervously pushing rice around with his fork.
“Oh?” I ask with an arched eyebrow. “How so?”
“I needed a reason to stop you from marrying Daniel. I do have one, but it’s not exactly that. I would be lying if I said that I don’t feel anything for you. I do, and I have for a long time. It’s just complicated, you know? You’re Jaylen’s little sister, and I’m almost fifteen years older than you. Though when I’m with you, like this, it doesn’t feel like it’s that much of an age difference. But–”
He’s rambling, so I cut him off. I’m too focused on one part of his statement. “So what was the reason then…for stopping the wedding?”
Asher pauses for a moment before he lets his eyes meet mine. They dart around my face, as if he’s taking in every part of me, studying me. Then he blinks, and it’s as if a curtain goes up. “I just need you to trust me,” he finally says, and my shoulders slump.
“You can’t tell me?” I ask.
“Not yet,” he says, picking up his fork again. I can tell by his tone that this conversation is over.
I grab my glass and take a generous sip before finishing my food. When I take my plate inside, I’m not sure how to feel.
So, he’s not in love with me. Not completely. That’s fine. It would be a problem if he was.
I don’t think that’s even the part I am hung up on.
There is another reason he stopped the wedding. A reason that motivated him enough to hop on a plane and fly all the way to Costa Rica just to crash my wedding. The weird thing is, he hasn’t told Jaylen his reason because Jaylen had no idea what was going on.
So if it’s not that Ash has feelings for me, then what is it?
“Hey,” I hear Ash’s voice behind me, and I turn around. He set his plate on the sink and looks at me. I hug myself, waiting to see what he’s going to say next. “The reason I need you to trust me on this is–”
He stops when our phones get notifications at the same time. We pull them out and read the message, and then look at each other.
“The roads are clear,” he says.
“We can go home,” I say.
“Yeah,” he nods. “That’s good.”
I clear my throat. “Yes. It’s very good. I mean…finally, right?”
“Yeah. Finally,” he says. “I’ll book the flight. We can take the redeye.”
“Yeah. Sounds good. I’ll go pack.”
But when I walk inside the bedroom, I close the door behind me and lean against it. This is good. We can’t stay here forever. Nothing can happen between us, and at the rate we are going, it’s getting harder to refrain myself. Going home is exactly what we need to clear our heads and come back to reality.
So why do I feel so sad?
Chapter 17
Harper
The drive to the airport feels odd.
Several days ago, I wanted nothing more than to get away from this place. To get away from Ash and the villa he dragged me to, literally kicking and screaming. But now, as we quietly sit in the rental car, the villa becomes smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror until eventually, fading completely from sight, I have to admit. I wish we didn’t have to leave.
Ash’s eyes are locked on the winding road ahead of us. He looks rather indifferent to it all, but there is something underneath his expression, buried somewhere within his dark hazel eyes. They’re the color of the sky before the clouds break open.
