I sigh. “Yes.” I fall backwards onto the bed and sling my arms over my face, hiding it from view. “I tried not to, I really did. But he’s just so much more than people make him out tobe. He’s nothing like how he’s described in the media. At least with me, he’s not. He’s really sweet and thoughtful, and we just have this insane connection. It’s palpable. Resisting it feels like burning myself with hot pokers; it’s just not possible.”
“Oh, Ella, what are we going to do with you?” Lucy says, half smiling, half grimacing.
“And when it’s all over, what happens then?” Zahra asks.
I groan again. “I’m not sure. We’re taking it one day at a time with that. We’re not sure that there will be an ‘over.’ But we’re also not sure that there won’t be. Asher has some issues with the limelight of his life, so we’re working through those.”
“What kind of issues?”
“Mostly involving safety. Asher is paranoid about how big of a target his family is. He’s got me learning self-defense from my bodyguards, and next week I have firearm training.”
Lucy nods in approval, which is a bit surprising. She doesn’t often give props to people. “You should know how to defend yourself. Look what happened with Kyle.”
“That was different.”
Lucy raises a sardonic brow. “Not really. He threatened you because he thought he could extort money from Asher. You just happened to know Kyle instead of the extortioner being a stranger.”
“Well, shit. You’re right.”
“I’m not saying you should carry a gun, but knowing how to use one in your situation isn’t a bad thing.”
Zahra shudders. “Guns freak me out.”
I nod wholeheartedly. “Me too.”
Lucy ignores both of our misgivings. “If you want to get out of this penthouse and get your mind off how much you miss your not-boyfriend boyfriend, we could head to the range right now. I know everything about guns. I could teach you.”
I raise my brows, considering. As of a few hours ago, the security team cleared me to leave the penthouse now that theyhave tails on several known associates of the Antonovs, but since I was brooding and depressed and had nothing better to do, I decided to stay in.
“It’s not like you’re doing anything pressing,” Lucy says, noting the melting pint of ice cream on the nightstand and the paused movie on the TV.
“I am waiting on Asher’s call. He should be leaving for his early morning meeting any time, and he usually calls me while he’s in the car.”
“Waiting on Asher to call you?” Lucy says through narrowed eyes. “Ella.”
“I know, I know. But I can’t help it.”
On cue, my phone rings, and I smile from ear to ear as I answer it.
“Good morning, baby,” Asher says. “Or wait, it’s good morning for me. It’s good evening for you.”
“Hey,” I say, practically swooning.
“God, I miss you. How are you?”
My smile widens even more at his words. It’s not just me who’s suffering at being apart.
“I’m good, but I miss you too. So much.”
Lucy rolls her eyes as Zahra herds her out of the room to give me privacy.
“I’m going crazy. I can’t wait to be home.”
“I can’t wait for that, too.”
“What have you done to me, Ms. Hale? I never used to struggle with travel like this.”
“What have you done to me, Mr. Langford? I never used to sit at home and mope like this.”
