You either evolve, or you make the same mistake again and again. Growth is a painful but necessary progression.
—My Therapist
Was this inevitable? Was it predetermined? Did some force lead me to him, deep in that hotel basement three years ago? Because this feels like fate. I can’t believe it took me so long to see it.And why did I fight it, thinking it would hurt? A vast ocean of endless sparks has erupted between us, and for the first time, I want to drown.
The man saved my life. Shattered my glass walls. Pulled me from the literal floods. Even after I hurt him, rejected him, turned away from him, he still took me back.
I’m in awe. And so immutably in love with him.
After a luxurious, mind-melting shower, I crash into hisfluffy pillows to catch up on the sleep I missed the night before. The worst of the storm moves inland after about eight hours, but warm and clean in Asher’s bed, I barely notice. I don’t worry about my house, my things—decades worth of books, irreplaceable photos and furniture likely all destroyed by the flood. None of that matters.
I’m alive, and I stir in the arms of the man I love when he shifts away from me. With weak, sleepy limbs, I reach for him. “Wait.”
A soft kiss lands on my temple. “I’m starving. I’m going to make us something.”
Groaning, I blink my eyes open. “What time is it?”
“Six. You slept all day.”
What? Wow. “Damn. How’s the storm?”
The bed jostles as he leaves it. “Eye has moved inland. Flooding’s pretty bad, though. Beaches are destroyed. They think some bridges collapsed.”
I sit up and rub my face. “Really?” I glance out the window. Still windy, but less violent. The yard is flood-free. “Have you heard from anyone?”
He slides on a pair of sweats. “Geoff said they didn’t flood. They’re okay. He’s the only one who responded. I think the cell towers were knocked out. Service is in and out.” He throws his phone on the bed. “Check that.”
A time-lapse beach-cam video shows the incoming surge destroying the beachside restaurants and shops, washing away hotels. The pier withstands the wind and water for a while, but eventually, it’s taken by the storm, leaving only a series of pilings in the thrashing waves.
My wide eyes lift to his when it ends.
He takes his phone back. “I know. I think the storm surge is receding now, but... a lot of damage. Your sister has been updated, by the way.”
“Thanks.” When he pulls on a T-shirt, I become starkly aware of my nakedness. I yank the blankets up to cover myself. “Can I have some clothes?”
He smirks. “No. I like you better without them.”
“Asher!” I throw a pillow at him.
Laughing, he points at the closet. “You know where my stuff is. I’m going to make some food.”
He leaves, and I raid his closet for the coziest, most Asher-scented items. In the kitchen, the bacon somehow overpowers the sexy forest smell. I traipse up to him, sliding my hands around his middle while he cooks.
“Can I ask you a question?” he says.
“Shoot.”
He removes cooked slices from the grease and adds raw strips. “That night in Florida. Were you really only curious about me, or did that mean something to you?”
Oh. He’s just going there, isn’t he? Has it been bugging him, thinking I didn’t feel that deep connection we had? Articulating what I felt that night might be difficult, but he deserves the truth. With a single deep breath, I try to get the words out. “I didn’t—I didn’twantit to mean anything, but... it did. I think... It was like... It was like you rearranged my DNA that night.”
His muscles shift beneath me as he flips the bacon. “That good, huh?”
“No, that’s not— Well, yes, it was that good, but I meant it was... life-changing. I saw what we could be, then convinced myself I didn’t want it. I got scared. I lied to myself. To you.”
“You compared me to a Lamborghini.”
Heat rises to my face, and even though he can’t see it, I hide my wince in his back. “Yeah, that sucked. To be fair, you’re like the Lamborghini of humans, though.”
