Page 18 of On One Condition

We did it.

We actually did it and . . . oh my God, it was . . . okay? I giggle, unable to take my eyes off my reflection.

Do I look older?

Changed?

Like a woman?

I mean, I know it’s not supposed to be great the first time. Well, at least according to the girls at school it isn’t, but the way he kept asking if I was okay. How gentle he was when I could tell he was trying so hard to go slow. How he held me afterward and whispered how much he loved me.

I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Tires crunch on the gravel driveway outside, but all I can think about is getting ready. Once Gran and Pop are asleep, I’m sneaking out to meet Ledger again.

There’s a knock on the front door.

I don’t want this night to ever end.

Muffled voices float down the hall and through my closed door.

Possibilities fill my head. Meeting up while we’re in college. Becoming engaged. Getting married. Having the life away from here I’ve always dreamed of.

I hold my hand up and look at it as if I have a wedding ring on my finger. Asher Julia Sharpe.

“It has a nice ring to it.” I smile again, unable to take my eyes off my reflection in the mirror. I’m so glad I saved myself for him. So glad that soon we’ll go to college and be able to be with each other all the time.

He said we’ll find a way to make it happen and I believe him. I’ve never believed anyone more in my life.

The voices raise in pitch. Pop is upset? That’s a rarity.

It gives me pause and then, I hear the next words loud and clear.

“The last thing he needs is someone like her to bring him down,” a masculine voice says. But the voice definitely isn’t Pop’s. Nosy, I head down the hall without thought, curiosity and dread on equal footing. “He has a bright future ahead of him, an empire to run, and I won’t have him sidetracked by a motherless girl with no pedigree and no future. This is non-negotiable. Do you understand?”

“You have no right to come in here and order us around. We’re not your—”

“He’s my son. I have every right to look out for his best interests. And she’s not it.”

I subconsciously reject the idea that they’re talking about me. Why would someone ever say that? But as I turn the corner and the man standing before Pop comes into view, I know I’m wrong. Maxton Sharpe. Ledger’s dad. His features are similar enough, but it’s the way he carries himself, his mannerisms that are just like his son’s, that confirm my assumptions.

“What do you mean I’m not in his best interest?” I march into the room, tears already burning in my throat. “You think I’m going to bring him down because I’m not rich or—”

“Asher, go back to your room. Right now,” Pop demands, his eyes steely, his voice hard. I can’t remember a time when he’s ever spoken to me like that before.

“Pop—”

“Go!” he shouts without looking my way.

“No. Stay,” Maxton says to me before looking back to Pop. “She needs to hear this.” Maxton’s eyes soften as he takes a step toward me, but I’m not fooled by them. “I’m sorry if you heard what I said. I was harsh.” He hangs his head as if he’s apologetic, but it’s all for show. Even I know that. “I was merely trying to push you away to protect you from the truth.”

“What do you mean the truth?” I ask.

“I’m ashamed to admit it, but my son used you. He got what he wanted from you, Asher,” Maxton says, his eyes boring into mine as shame washes over me.

Gran and Pop now know what happened tonight.

He knows.