I swear he steps a smidgen closer to me, our bodies almost brushing. The touch would fill the void of this static tension between us. But just as I make my move, cold water lands on me, and I yelp.
It comes from the side, which means the umbrella doesn’t save me. Looking over my shoulder, I see that a little boy is following his parents and stomping into puddles in the process. He would be a little rascal, except his unruly behavior means I’ve fallen forward and straight into Asher’s hard body.
His free hand steadies my arm, and I freeze. It’s not even from the cold water. It’s because I get that touch I’ve been seeking, but only because Asher holds my arm in concern, his hands feeling strong. “Yikes. You okay?”
I peer up, only to find his own eyes dipped down to watch me. Everything feels heavy between us still.
I reluctantly glance behind me to see my jeans completely soaked. “It will be fine, just cold.”
“Where’s your car?” He slowly lets me go.
“Parked up the street, but it doesn’t matter, I live up here.” I point to a few buildings up ahead.
His eyes grow big and his nose lifts. “Really?” Not my imagination, that sounds promising.
“Yeah, uh… do you want a coffee or tea?” I try toavoid the view of his facial expression, instead focusing on the street, and in the corner of my eye, I notice that he has done the same. We both observe the sleet turning into giant watery snowflakes. “It will probably stop a little later.” Our eyes latch at the same moment.
He smiles tightly and scratches his cheek, debating with himself, and I find it amusing. “That is…”
“Tempting, I know.” I finish his sentence in good humor.
We hear the sound of the music and patrons from the wine bar in the background when someone opens the door while he thinks for a second. “Okay.”
My grin is satisfied, but my body is heightened from his presence.
He begins to wrestle with the umbrella. “I think I choose rain. I can’t risk the lightning accident.”
I laugh. “The statistics of that are slim, you know.”
Closing the umbrella, he shrugs as we are left standing in the rain. “Fuck, this was a bad idea.”
“Not going to argue. Come on.”
Indicating with my head, I motion for him to follow me.
My loft apartmentis in an old building with a specialty wine store downstairs. My place is by no means a mansion, but all of the fixtures have been updated and the ceilings are high. The place feels like a home.
We race under the door’s overhang and let out a sigh, mixed with wide smiles on our faces. I stomp my shoes on the mat before leaning down to the plant by the doormat, and I lift the pot and swipe out my key.
Asher touches my arm. “What the hell?”
“What? I forgot my key, so I’m using the spare.”
“Anybody could find that and break in.” He sounds both shocked and protective, and that isn’t helping my heightened senses.
I stand with the key between my fingers and pretend to think about it. “Nope. All good. This is Everhope. The entire Lake Spark County actually, the crime rate is like nada. I mean, the last time a security alarm went off in this town, it was because a goat got loose and broke into someone’s kitchen. Actually, it was going after a bowl of Halloween candy, or was it Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I don’t remember,” I ramble.
His mouth opens, but he gives up his rebuff.
Opening the door, we both walk in and up the stairs. We leave our wet coats on the hooks and the umbrella by the side. He trails behind me as we enter my home.
“Tea, coffee, wine, magic potion for the sake of Halloween?” I offer the list.
“Tea is fine.”
I glance over my shoulder, questioning if I heard him right. I turn and walk backwards as he follows me. “I was not expecting you to say that. It’s so… I’m not sure, but it’s hard to imagine someone so… drinking tea. I mean, no offense, but you seem kind of cold and heartless to many. Yet, you drink a cup of tea.”
“It’s detoxing.”
