I did say that. In passing. I barely remember saying it and I would have assumed he’d already forgotten because it was a throwaway comment. Clearly, I was wrong. "It's beautiful," I say, taking it from him.
"So are you."
I should roll my eyes, so I do. Unfortunately, I also smile, so it ruins the whole thing. "So cheesy," I laugh.
He shrugs. "Doesn't make it any less true."
I chuckle as I set the tulip in a glass of water on my kitchen counter before turning back to him.
"So where are we going?"
"Thai place downtown. But first—" He grins. "I want you to meet someone."
"Meet someone?" My stomach flips. "Like, right now?"
"Yeah. My best friend lives in this building."
I stare at him. "You're introducing me to your best friend before our first actual dinner date?"
"Yes," Asher says simply. "I want him to meet you."
It feels fast. Not bad-fast. Just fast enough that some tiny, smarter version of me is standing in the back of my brain waving both arms. But Asher's already taking my hand, leading me out my door. After I lock it, he takes a few steps before stopping at apartment 3B.
Oh, holy shit. Seriously, universe?Thisis how you do me? What the hell?
Asher knocks. The door opens, and I'm face to face with my hot neighbor. The one I've been casually admiring for weeks.
His eyes widen when he sees me. Then his gaze shifts to Asher, and something flickers across his face. He smooths it away so quickly that I don't have the chance to decide what it was.
"Julie, this is Ryan Callahan. Your neighbor and actually he's your landlord too, since he owns the building." Asher laughs. "In fact, his family owns a big chunk of the western seaboard. He's staying here while his house gets renovated. Ryan, this is Julie Nelson."
"3A," Ryan says.
"That's me." I laugh because this is surreal. "Hi."
Ryan's smile is polite, but his eyes stay on Asher for a beat too long. "So she's the girl you've been texting me about all afternoon?"
"Sure is," Asher says proudly.
"All afternoon?" I look at Asher.
He doesn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. "What? We had a good time."
Ryan leans against his doorframe. "Interesting. You're not usually so chatty when you’re on dates."
There's an edge to it.
Asher laughs it off. "When you know, you know."
"Yeah?" Ryan's gaze flicks to me, then back to Asher. Something passes between them that I can't read.
Asher's arm slides around my waist. Not aggressive. But maybe a little territorial? "Soanyway," he continues, "After Julie rear-ended my Porsche this morning, I got out of the car fully prepared to be pissed off. Then I saw her, and—" He looks at me. "I had a feeling."
Ryan looks dubious. "A feeling," he repeats.
Asher nods. "Yep. So I followed it and now we're on our way to dinner."
I catch the way Ryan's watching Asher's hand on my waist.
