Page 11 of On One Condition

“We?”

“Yes. We.” The grief in his eyes is fleeting, but I catch it nonetheless. “My father died two years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” My words are a polite reflex for a man vilified in my memories.

He nods in acknowledgment. “My brothers and I run the company now.”

“For the company’s sake, let’s hope you don’t bicker as much as you used to.”

“At times.”

I laugh. It’s the first time I have, and somehow it eases the heaviness between us. “So you’re here in Cedar Falls to do what exactly with the hotel? Calm the mob over its mere existence?”

“Something like that. Mayor Grossman deems it necessary that I stay here for the next two months to be at his beck and call or else he’ll withhold our occupancy permits and prevent us from opening.”

“I could lie and say that surprises me . . . but sadly, it doesn’t. He’s a greedy man who thinks more of himself than should be legal, and with reelection coming up . . .”

“Great. Something to look forward to.” He rolls his eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want to drive back to the airport and escape while you can?”

“It’s that bad, huh?”

“Depends on what side you fall on.”

“And what side do you fall on, Asher?” he asks, but for some reason, I feel like the question he’s asking means so much more than whether I agree with the new resort in town or not.

And before I can answer his question, Nita shows up like a whirlwind of energy and chaos, as is her usual fashion.

“Oh my gosh,” she says, hastily tying an apron behind her waist as she pushes her way behind the bar. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She leans in to kiss me on the cheek, giving me the disruption I unknowingly needed. “You’re a lifesaver. A total freaking lifesaver, Ash.”

It’s in that moment she must sense the connection between Ledger and me because her motions falter as she looks from me to him and then back again.

“Well, hello there handsome,” she purrs in a way that only Nita can get away with without coming off as forward or desperate. “I’d offer to get you something a tad sweeter to whet your palate, but it seems to me that Asher here was taking care of you just fine. I’ll—uh, go clear some tables so you two can, you know, finish whatever needs finishing.” She looks Ledger over, and the nudge she gives me is anything but subtle.

If she only knew . . .

“No need to leave and clear anything,” I say as I untie my apron and scrunch it into a ball, needing something to do with my hands. It’s as if the events of the last fifteen minutes have come crashing down on me, and I suddenly need a minute alone to think and process and . . . breathe. “You’re all set here.” Nita eyes me cautiously, wondering no doubt, why I’m acting so weird. “I really need to get going.”

“You’re leaving?” Ledger stands up abruptly, his barstool loud as it scrapes across the floor when he does.

“Yes. I was only helping Nita out while she went to a school function with her son.” I offer a strained smile as my heart races in my chest. “This isn’t my—I don’t regularly work here.”

How does this end?

Do I just walk away? Do I get anything else off my chest while I have the chance to? Do I even want to? Or is this enough for me? Will I finally have the closure I didn’t realize I needed simply from talking to him?

“That means you can stay and talk then.”

“I can’t. I have . . . things to do,” I say and give Nita an air kiss on the cheek before heading toward the back storage room to grab my things.

I have a sudden need to flee. To have some solitude and some quiet. Two things that are impossible to have when his presence is clouding my every thought like it is right now.

I’ve just about reached the end of the bar and the door to the back room when Ledger grabs my elbow.

“Asher. Wait. You’re going to leave just like that? Without another word?”

It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it?