Relief filled his face as he stepped in, taking her hands in his. They were warm, and she leaned into him as the shiver overtook her.
“Good,” he murmured, his hands moving up her arms until they were around her waist, tugging her close. “Because I’m not letting it go. Not any piece of you. It took me far too long to overcome my fears of losing you, Evelyn, but I’ve realized thatit doesn’t matter how you might leave me – any way would be unthinkable.”
She leaned in then, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest. She relaxed against him, realizing that, for the first time in her life, she had completely trusted someone else to come for her, to save her.
She could do it herself — she had time and again — but she had known, deep within, that Asher would be there for her, that she was no longer facing any of life’s obstacles alone, but there was someone at her back and by her side.
That meant more to her than she would ever have thought possible, especially for a woman who had accepted that she would likely spend the majority of her life alone.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“More than ready,” she answered, lifting her head for a kiss. “But we should probably determine what we are doing with Norwood.”
“Right,” he said, his lips set in a grim line. “Forgot about him for a moment.”
Evelyn gave him one more tight squeeze before something hard pressed into the side of her hip.
She pulled back, looking down with a quizzical stare.
“Asher?”
“Yes?”
“There’s something hard in your pocket.”
He winced. “I know you have been through trauma, so I wasn’t trying for anything, truly, it’s just having you this close to me?—”
“Asher,” she cut him off with a laugh. “That’s not it. It’s something else.”
She reached in herself, her fingers closing around something very hard, a solid weight hanging from her fingers as she lifted them out, holding the object between them.
“Asher,” said in a small voice. “Is this?—”
“Yes,” he said, his voice just as shaky. “That’s the Paragon Diamond.”
Asher could hardly believewhat he was looking at.
“Evelyn,” he said, lifting his head to meet her eyes. “I had no idea, I didn’t?—”
“I know,” she said simply, that small nod telling him all he needed to know. She believed him. “But how did it come to be there?”
“That’s a very good question,” he said. “Do you think Norwood put it there?”
“No,” she said decisively. “He was very clear that he was waiting for you to come and bring him the diamond.”
“Then how in the world did it end up here?”
“Did you come directly from the house?”
“I did.”
“Hmm,” she looked up at him. “Another puzzle to solve, I suppose.”
“I suppose,” he said, turning it over in his hands.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Beautiful,” he said, looking at her, one lip curling upward. “I rode my horse here in my haste, but I’ll lead you home. I have a friend who lives nearby. I can ask him for help with Norwood until we’re ready to speak with the authorities.”
