Chapter 12
Twelve
T he ceiling fan whirred over Esther’s head, tousling the fine hairs resting on her forehead. She rolled over for the hundredth time and huffed. Sleep was not coming easily tonight. Now that she was alone and had nothing to do but listen to her thoughts, she couldn’t make them shut up. Who was the man Asher saw? Why was he watching the Tylers’ house? Why would he run away? Was he the same man who’d stared at her through her window? She didn’t know—had no way to find out. But her brain didn’t care. It kept cycling through the questions, keeping her awake.
Esther rolled over and picked up her phone, opening the doorbell app. Her darkened street stared back.
“Ugh.” She turned off the screen and set the phone down. “You need to stop, Essy. It’ll alert you if someone’s there. Go to sleep.”
She flopped onto her back and put a pillow over her eyes.
But what if they’re out of range and staring, like last time?
With a groan, she flung the pillow to the side and sat up, pushing the covers away. She wasn’t sleeping anytime soon, so she might as well do something productive. Leah’s birthday was at the end of the week. When Esther left today, she’d asked Rob if she could bring the girl a small birthday cake. Surprisingly, he’d agreed with little fuss. She could make the cake and freeze it, then it would be ready to frost Thursday evening.
Wandering downstairs, she rounded the corner, debating which flavor cake to make, and didn’t see Asher in the living room until he spoke.
“What are you doing up?”
A shriek ripped from her chest, and she flattened herself against the wall. Heart thumping, she covered it with her hand. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“I’m working.”
Of course he was. All normal people worked in the middle of the night and without the lights on. “You should be sleeping. Especially if you’re going to spend all day with grade schoolers tomorrow.”
“Which is exactly why I’m working. I have other projects that need my attention. Ones I can’t work on while I’m in a classroom with kids.”
A wrinkle formed between her eyebrows, and she pushed away from the wall. “Like what?”
“Just stuff. I do a lot of digital security analysis. Plus, I couldn’t sleep, so…” He shrugged. “Why are you up?”
“My brain wouldn’t shut off. I’m going to bake a cake.” Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she headed for the kitchen.
“A cake?” Curiosity fueled a cute frown on his face. “What?”
She heard him get up and walk toward her. “Cake. You know, that stuff you eat for your birthday?”
“Whose birthday?” He stopped beside her.
“Leah’s. She’ll be ten on Friday.” She went into the pantry and loaded her arms with flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.
“Here, let me take that.”
“I’ve got it.” She spun, deftly gliding around him.
“Nice move.”
She tossed him a smile as she set her things down. “Thanks. I was a competitive dancer and a cheerleader in high school.” A memory surfaced, and her smile turned sly. Edie would kill her, but she needed something to distract her from Asher’s yumminess. “You want to know a secret?”
“What?”
“Edie was a cheerleader too.”
His eyes widened. “No! You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “Nope. All four years of high school. And I have photographic evidence to prove it. I get this cake in the oven and I’ll show it to you.”
Asher spun, staring at her cupboards. “Where are your cake pans?”
Esther laughed. “Slow down. I have to mix it up first.”
“I can still get the pan out and get it ready for you. And turn the oven on.”
He had a point. “Cabinet beside the stove,” she said. “Get the two round ones.”
While he got the pans out and greased them, Esther set to work measuring ingredients into the mixer she took from the island.
“What do you want the oven set to?”
“Three twenty-five,” she answered.
She heard the beeps as he set the oven to preheat.
“So, what kind are you making?” He came closer to stand beside her.
“Chocolate. Leah loves M&M’s, so I thought I’d make a chocolate cake and decorate it with the candy.”
“That’s cute. And her parents didn’t object? Or didn’t you ask?”
“I asked. Rob actually didn’t have a problem with it. He seemed more surprised than anything. He just told me that she’d like that, then thanked me.” That part had surprised her. She hadn’t expected him to say yes, let alone thank her for doing it.
“Well, I’m glad he didn’t give you any grief. He might not be Leah’s biological father, but it sounds like he cares.”
Esther agreed. The man was gruff and gave her the creeps, but he was kind to Leah. He put up with all the craziness of her life without much of a fuss. “He does, yes.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“Hand me the pans you prepped.”
He picked them up and set them next to her. She detached the mixing bowl from the stand and split the batter between the pans. After tapping them lightly on the counter to get the air bubbles out, she rounded the island and put them in the oven. With a few quick taps, she set the timer, then turned around and gave Asher a wide smile. “You ready to see Edie as a cheerleader?”
“Yes. Can I take pictures to use as blackmail if I ever need it?”
Laughing, Esther led him toward the stairs. “I’d love to say yes, but I value my life. And my relationship with her.”
He chuckled, following her upstairs. “Yeah, she probably wouldn’t speak to you for a while.”
“She’s still going to be ticked I showed you. But there are just some things that aren’t meant to be hidden away. Edie as a cheerleader is one of them.” Reaching the landing, she led him into her bedroom and went into her closet. All her old photos were in a box on a shelf. Standing on her toes, she reached for it. Her fingers grazed the edge. Why did she put it up so high?
“Here. I’ll get it.” Asher stepped up behind her.
Heat from his body radiated into her back as he reached over her head for the box. Esther didn’t dare move. Any direction she went, she’d end up touching him. At this hour, her defenses were at a minimum. Self-preservation meant staying right where she was.
His hand closed around the box, and he brought it down, handing it to her as he stepped back.
She cast a quick look at him and took it. “Thanks.” On swift feet, she high-tailed it out of the closet’s confines and into the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, she lifted the cardboard flap.
The mattress dipped as Asher sat next to her. She planted her feet so she wouldn’t slide toward him and kept her eyes down. Perhaps looking through the pictures in her room wasn’t the best idea. But they were already seated and she had the box open, so it would be a little strange for her to suddenly stand up and run away.
Doing her best to ignore the two-hundred pounds of yummy male magnetism next to her, Esther leafed through the packs of photos in the box until she found the ones from high school. It didn’t take her long to locate the ones from her junior year—Edie’s senior year. She flipped open the envelope and pulled out a set of pictures, quickly flipping through them.
“Is that homecoming? Don’t tell me she was homecoming queen too?”
“Pfft, no. Sierra Wells took that honor.” Esther rolled her eyes, then chuckled. “On the phone the other day, Edie said she wanted to bring Jordan home for a visit just so she could sit in the local coffeeshop and show him off to all the girls in high school who turned their noses up at her.”
“Even though she was a cheerleader they did that? Didn’t that automatically make her one of the ‘cool’ kids?” He air-quoted.
“To a degree, yes. But she didn’t hang out with them—at least, not all of them—outside of cheer. Edie always had her nose stuck in a book or was doing something else on her own.”
“What about you? Were you a party animal?”
“No. I went to more than Edie, but I still spent a lot of time with a few close friends and by myself.” She glanced at him. “You?”
“Actually, no. I know I’m not shy and will be the first to dance when there’s music, but I didn’t have your typical high school experience.”
“Oh? How so?”
“I graduated at sixteen. I probably could have skipped another grade, but my dad wouldn’t let me. He didn’t think I was mature enough for the older kids. Which I probably wasn’t. My first year of college was rough. I remember feeling very, very young. But once I made a few friends who were nerds like me, it wasn’t so bad. They kind of took me under their wing and kept me safe, so that was nice.”
She fixed her gaze on him for several long moments. “You know, Edie said you were smart—a genius—and I’ve sort of seen that in action, but until now I never really thought about what that meant. Or just how smart you really are.”
He lifted a shoulder, a red flush creeping up his neck. “It’s not a big deal. I am who I am. I’ve always felt that way.”
His words pulled a smile from her. “That’s a great outlook to have. I wish more kids were like that. More accepting of themselves, you know?”
“Yeah. But it takes some mental toughness and a family to support it. I probably would have been more self-conscious about it if not for my dad and my grandparents. They helped me accept my intelligence by being vocal about loving me for me.”
A sharp pang went through Esther’s heart. He was right. Not every child had that.
Clearing her throat, she looked down at the pictures, quickly flipping through them to find the ones she wanted. “This one is from senior night.” She handed him a picture of Edie and their parents at the homecoming game. They smiled at the camera, Edie holding a single red rose and all decked out in her cheerleading uniform.
“Oh my goodness.” Asher let out a soft laugh. “That’s priceless.”
She handed him another one. It was the same picture, but now she was in it too.
“You two looked alike even then. Almost like twins.”
“We’ve been mistaken for twins. More than once.” With the right makeup, they looked nearly identical. They’d fooled a couple teachers before as a prank.
Esther flipped through more photographs, finding several more images of Edie and herself in their cheerleading garb.
“Mom and Dad have video of our routines. And from tumbling classes when we were really young. I’m sure they’re saving it to use to embarrass us with our children sometime down the line.”
Asher gave a soft chuckle. “No doubt.”
Esther opened another pack and shuffled through the pictures. These were from prom.
Asher let out a low whistle. “Wow.”
“What?” She glanced at him.
He nodded to the pictures in her hands. “You looked great.”
She pulled the photo from the envelope and held it up, smiling at the memories that assailed her. “That was a fun night. It was Edie’s senior prom, my junior, so we both got to go. We danced until they shut it down, then went to the after-prom and danced some more. My feet hurt so much the next day—for several days, really—but I’d have done it all over again.”
“Sounds like fun. I never went to prom.”
“No?”
He shook his head. “I was too young. My birthday is in mid-May, so I was only fifteen when we had our senior prom. What girl wants to go with a guy who can’t even drive?”
“Then they were dumb. I bet you were cute even at fifteen.” She blushed as she realized what her words implied.
His wolfish grin confirmed it. “You think I’m cute?”
Esther rolled her eyes. “Don’t even act like you don’t know. It’s not attractive. I doubt there’s a living, straight woman on the planet who wouldn’t find you gorgeous.”
“Maybe, but I’m not with any of them, am I? And I asked you.”
The heat in her face climbed higher. What was he getting at? “Why does it matter?”
He put the pictures on the bed behind them and leaned closer. “Maybe because I find you cute too.” His dark eyes captured her gaze and held it. “Not just cute. Beautiful.” He lifted a hand to smooth a tendril of hair off her temple. “You’re beautiful, Esther.”
Ooooh, Lord . What on earth was he doing? “Asher…” Her forehead wrinkled as she frowned, confused.
His fingers trailed over her cheek to skim the edge of her bottom lip. “Would you stop me if I kissed you?”
Would she—what? Esther blinked several times, attempting to process what he said. Was he serious?
One side of his mouth lifted in a shy smile. “Sorry. Sometimes my filter doesn’t work.” He dropped his hand and started to lean back, but Esther grabbed a handful of his t-shirt.
“No.” She shifted closer. “No, I wouldn’t stop you.”
The smile on his face slowly died, and an intensity darkened his eyes, turning them into midnight pools.
He brought his hand back up and wove it into her hair, bowing his head. Esther held his gaze until his face blurred, then closed her eyes. A breath later, his lips brushed hers. Just a touch. But it was enough to send a torrent of heat rushing through her. As it radiated down her spine, he pressed his lips to hers again, harder this time. The electric burn picked up speed, rushing down to her toes, only to fly back up to pool in her belly.
A soft whimper escaped her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and sidled closer. The hand in her hair held her head steady as he deepened the kiss. He slipped his other arm around her back, engulfing her in his embrace.
For long moments, he nipped, then soothed her mouth, tasting her. She returned the favor, learning he liked it when she sucked on his bottom lip as much as she liked it when he did it to her. And that his dark hair was as silky as it looked. The cool strands curled around her fingers.
Distantly, a chime broke through the spell they’d woven. Esther’s eyelids fluttered as her mind registered that the sound wasn’t going away.
In a blink, the source of the noise clicked. She sat back abruptly, staring at him with wide eyes. “My cake,” she whispered.
“Cake?” His brows dipped, then smoothed out. “Right. The cake.” His hands fell away.
During their kiss, the photo box had slid to the side. Esther righted it and set it on the bed. “I better go check on it.”
He gave her a jerky nod and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Go ahead. I’ll put the pictures away.”
Esther pressed her swollen lips together and nodded once. Thoughts bounced around her brain, refusing to form into words. He’d addled her brain, and she needed a moment to gather herself. She knew it was a chicken move, but she did the only thing she could.
She fled.