CHAPTER 37
Olivia
LATE JULY
Ten little fingers, ten little toes, eleven weeks along, little bear grows.
CECE
My mom heard at the senior center that Asher proposed at Dolcetto’s last week. *Laughing face*
GINGER
I’m gonna be best friend offended if this is true.
ME
How on earth would anyone get that from what they saw?
I picture my mom clapping and laughing.
CECE
I’m sure if my mom heard it at the center, the whole town is gossiping.
ME
Well, the only way they could prove otherwise is if they snuck into Asher’s and saw us sleeping in separate rooms every night.
GINGER
*Eye roll emoji*
CECE
How long do you think you can keep this charade up before, you know …?
GINGER
The levee breaks. And by levee I mean *Eggplant emoji* *peach emoji*
GINGER
There are definite feelings between you and Chief Reed, aka your hot baby daddy, who gives you his bed and I’m sure has a huge *eggplant emoji*
GINGER
Remind me again why you two aren’t trying to make a go of this?
ME
Because I’m not about to trap him into something he doesn’t believe in. I’m fine just being co-parents and friends. And after my little scare, I’m happy to be at his house.
ME
I don’t want to complicate things any more than they are. We’ll figure the rest out later.
As I read my message back, it’s obvious I’m trying to convince myself at this point.
GINGER
Sex is the least complicated thing there is, darling.
ME
You’re impossible.
CECE
She’s got a point.
ME
You can’t both be devils on my shoulder. I need at least one angel to tell me to keep my head straight.
GINGER
Need I remind you? We’re NOT Angels. You’ll have to look elsewhere.
Lucy hands a customer her bag with two bikinis and a cover-up as I set my phone under the counter, ignoring my devilish best friends.
The shop has been swamped all morning. It’s an absolutely perfect day weatherwise, a sunny seventy-five, and we’ve sold enough designer swimsuits today alone to operate the store for the next week, but my feet are sore, my breasts are aching, and I’m absolutely exhausted.
On the up side, it’s been two weeks since Asher took me to the hospital and I haven’t had any spotting since.
I’ve been living in my newest line of strapless floral A-line dresses, since they’re nice and loose around my waist, and every day that goes by, I’m breathing a little easier, learning to accept what the ER doc said about it just being a one-off from my exam.
My needy hormones have calmed down a little too, which I think can be attributed to the fact I’ve barely seen Asher since he’s been working doubles.
“So will you take a few months off? Or what will you do?” Lucy asks, cutting through my thoughts. I told her my news the other day.
“I haven’t really gotten that far yet.” I shrug, realizing I’m not ready to think about leaving my first baby, my shop, for any length of time just yet. “I’m not sure yet.”
“I’ve got you here, Liv. The shop basically runs itself now, and you could just do all your buying from home. I’m so excited for you.” She smiles wide. “You’re going to have a little fashionista!”
I smile in return. “I’m thinking the baby is a boy.”
“Excuse me, but there are many men who are incredibly fashion-conscious, like … holy hell … him.” Lucy’s eyes drift to the door as she holds up the universal sign for chef ’s kiss.
I turn, expecting to greet a customer, but instead I get Asher looking like a fucking snack.
He’s in dark jeans, a black T-shirt, and his trademark sunglasses.
But what confuses me is the big, deep brown, tattered cowboy boots on his feet and the cowboy hat perched on his head.
Another image for my dream bank.
“Livi,” he greets, kissing my cheek right in front of Lucy. I hear her suck in a breath when she realizes who he is. “You must be Lucy. It’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Y-you too,” she answers quickly. Asher extends a hand over my head and I turn in confusion to see Lucy handing him my purse and phone over the cash counter.
She’s smiling like a schoolgirl now, and I turn to look at him through her eyes. He’s so gorgeous it almost physically hurts, especially in that damn hat.
“What is this?” I ask, looking between the two of them. Asher reaches up and strokes my cheek with his thumb.
“I took the day off, and I thought you could use one too. One you can’t say no to because I prearranged it with your shop manager. Told her you had a date.”
“Congratulations,” Lucy says to Asher, and he nods in response.
“Ready?” he asks, as if I’d ever say no.
I nod and hold up a finger. “Gimme one sec?”
“’Course,” he says, saluting Lucy goodbye, who is smiling at Asher adoringly as he heads for the door.
“Holy shit,” she whispers. “He called the shop this morning before you got here and asked what you had on the go. I did not expect him to look like he just walked off the pages of fucking GQ !”
Asher clears his throat. “Aye, the store’s not that big.”
Lucy blushes beat red as she looks from me to him. “You better go with him before I do.”
“Can still hear ya,” Asher quips as second-hand embarrassment washes over me for Lucy. But she doesn’t seem fazed as Asher just shakes his head and I turn to follow him.
“Have fun!” Lucy calls to us.
Asher slides his hand over mine to lead me out of the store, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever get tired of how it feels when he holds my hand. I’d know his anywhere with the scars that line his palms. The feeling is wholly and uniquely him.
“What are we doing?”
“Well, we’re gonna see if we can help you with that stress the doctor talked about avoiding.”
His presence is warm and safe and makes me want to crawl into his arms and breathe him in until the pact we put in place is completely nonexistent.
“Oh, and I got us lunch from the Sage and Salt.” He gives my hand a little squeeze. “I knew you’d be hungry, little mama.”
Fuck. What pact?
Twenty minutes later I’m finishing the sandwich he brought me, still trying to guess what we’re doing as we pull down the driveway of his property.
“This is just a stop. So you can change.”
I sip my lemonade as the sun streams through the trees, marking the gravel drive with dappled light. We slow down as the smell of lavender hits me, and I turn to watch the bees buzzing in the swaying purple field.
“Spa?” I continue my guessing.
“Nope.”
“Hmm.” I tap my chin as I look out the window. “We can’t go trail riding.” I gesture to my low belly. “And my days of riding on the back of your motorcycle are over.”
“For now,” he says with a promise that rushes through me.
“We aren’t day drinking.”
He chuckles. “Pregnancy really is just a long list of fucking passes, isn’t it?”
“Yup. I can’t do shit anymore.” I laugh with him. “You can still do it all, though. I could live vicariously through you.”
“I’ll be riding bareback just trashed through Silver Pines holdin’ my half-empty bottle of JD while you watch on the sidelines in your bubble wrap, Livi.”
Asher is really laughing now—it’s such a beautiful sound—and he leans over to pinch my thigh.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I say as that familiar sizzle runs up the top of my leg.
“No, I wouldn’t,” he gives. “Sadly, it wouldn’t be any fun without you.”
We grow silent as I let those words sink in, because lately that’s exactly how I’ve felt, and knowing he could be feeling the same is both scary and exhilarating.
When Asher parks the truck I look around, still none the wiser as to what his full plan is as he comes around to open my door.
“Right. Come on then,” Asher grunts out. I laugh, because even when he’s being sweet, he still has this edge to him.
Nothing seems out of place when I enter the house, until I see a little flash of orange in my periphery.
I have to look twice because it looks like Dick but … cleaner and more … fluffy. I look to Asher in search of answers.
“Still don’t like the fucker. But I know you do, and I want you here. So we made an arrangement, he and I.”
“An arrangement?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I took him to the vet and then the groomer this morning. He got a clean bill of health, so if you want to keep him inside more often, or all the time, he’s yours.”
My mouth falls open as Dick rubs against my legs. He’s so soft after being treated, such a handsome boy that looks so much like Biscuit the sight makes my heart squeeze in my chest.
I nuzzle into his freshly groomed fur before setting him down, and he wanders off, exploring his new home with cat-like curiosity.
I face Asher, tears brimming in my eyes, trying to understand how this man even wrangled Dick to get him to the vet.
“Animals really help with stress.” He says the words like it’s no big deal, but I see how much thought he put into making me happy. Something in me snaps. This fucking man. “But I draw the line at him sleeping in my—”
I jump into his arms, his words trailing off as I hug him tight.
Asher hesitates not a moment before his strong arms come around me.
I stay right here like I’ve been dying to all this time, allowing myself to breathe in and let his warmth surround me.
Feeling how good he feels. Right now, our situation isn’t complicated because, in his arms, like this, I just want him.
Even if I can’t have Asher forever, I want him now. I need him now.
Pulling back, I finally look up and prepare to thank him again but, when I do, it’s as if time freezes.
Because when Asher’s eyes meet mine they’re dark, and his hold tightens on my lower back, pulling me closer like he doesn’t want to let me go either.
We drink each other in as the afternoon sunlight streams through the windows.
“Fuck, Liv …” His voice ripples through me as he tips his forehead to mine. We breathe the same air as I find bravery, moving my palm to his bearded jaw, my hand small against the wide angle of it.
I’m practically panting as I stand on my tiptoes, close my eyes, and kiss his cheek, my chest pressing to his as I linger there way longer than I probably should if I want to keep my heart intact through all of this.
A sound I can only compare to a low growl rumbles in his chest.
“I’m so fucking tired of trying to fight this …” he warns, but it’s not the tone of a man fighting. It’s the tone of a man begging, and that alone makes me throw caution to the wind.
“Kiss me, Ash,” I whisper into his lips as I grip his face and pull it down to mine. The smell of spiced pine washes over me, igniting my entire body as he growls.
“ Fuck. ” Asher crushes himself to me and seals his mouth over mine. I go limp as his hands press hungrily into my lower back, squeezing me like he can’t get enough, and it’s clear, pact or no pact, neither of us has a shred of restraint anymore.
This kiss isn’t soft or gentle. This kiss is full of want.
This kiss makes me feel completely breathless as his tongue meets mine, licking and tasting, toying with me like he’s been thinking about this as much as I have.
Like he wants me the way I want him. Everything around us fades, and all I hear is our beating hearts.
The possessive greed Asher kisses me with is all-consuming. I’m lost in him, overwhelmed with the way he knows what I need without asking and the way his hard length is pressing against my abdomen.
“H-hear me out,” I start with a pant when we finally part, trying to gather a proposal because his thumb grazing under my shirt across the skin of my waist has me reeling.
Either pregnancy or temporary insanity makes me bold and un-ashamed because I slide my hand down and press my palm to his solid cock through his jeans.
He sucks in a breath and I moan when I remember his size.
“We’re pretending anyway, right? Half the town thinks you proposed to me …
and the other half knows I’m carrying your baby.
” I stroke him softly as my eyes find his, feeling him stiffen further under my touch.
Lust makes his eyes dark and stormy in that way I’ve envisaged for weeks.
“Being pregnant makes me a lot more needy than usual and, the way I see it, this is all your fault.” I stroke him again, and this time he bites back a groan. “You kinda owe me, Reed.”
“Christ, woman.” His hands fly to either side of my face and he presses his lips to mine, kissing me deeply until I’m dizzy with my palm still stroking his cock. I pull in a breath when his lips move to my neck, then my shoulder.
“Maybe, just when absolutely necessary, we can be friends with benefits. You know, do each other a solid.” I smirk at my choice of words because he’s so solid right now. “Unless of course you’d like me to reopen my eMatch profile instead?”
I’m bluffing as I back up and let go of his cock, trying any thing to make him give in.
Asher’s fast, tight grip over my forearm stops me, then he’s tugging me back tight against him. My breath catches as his heavy chest presses against me and his deep gray eyes search mine, hungry and alive with need.
“I’m a man of my word,” he growls, his voice pure gravel. “If your needy little cunt is desperate to be touched, the man who touches you is me. ”
Shit.
I look up at him through my lashes, the sun illuminating his broad silhouette as his chest heaves. “So touch me, Asher, I need you.”