Chapter Nineteen
Asher
When Emma walked into the office on Monday, I could tell she had shut down. Damn, I had hoped she was now comfortable enough to get past at least some of her defenses. I had my work cut out for me, if there was any chance for us.
“Good morning, Emma.”
“Morning, Asher.” She put her bag in the desk drawer and took her seat.
I took mine next to her. “I’d like us to go to R she was relaxing, and that was good.
I dug into my salad. “I’ve had one serious relationship.” Might as well get it out of the way.
“Your tone has me thinking it wasn’t a good one.”
“It wasn’t.” I hated talking about Tiffany, but if I wanted a relationship with Emma, it was necessary. “Tiffany was my wife.” Emphasis on the past tense.
“You were married?”
“Unfortunately.” And what a disaster that had been. “I found Tiffany in bed with another man.”
Emma’s fork hovered in midair. “What the…” She carefully placed the utensil back on the plate. “Why would anyone do that?”
I blinked. “Most ask me what I did to make her cheat on me,” Asher commented.
“I bet none of your friends here asked that.”
“You have some great instincts and insights.”
“Go on. Are you okay with telling me what happened?” She picked her fork up again.
“Tiffany told me she cheated on me because I wasn’t giving her the satisfaction she needed.” I took a bite of my salad.
Emma stared at me and then started laughing. “I wouldn’t presume to comment except to say that I can’t imagine you not satisfying a woman.”
Another reaction I didn’t expect. I sipped my iced tea with a prayer that I wouldn’t choke. “Why do you say that?” I wanted to know what was going on inside her head.
“Because when you kissed me, you woke feelings I’d never imagine were possible.” Her cheeks turned red when she realized what she’d just said.
Satisfaction flowed through my veins at her words. “You enjoyed our kisses?”
She bit her lip and looked down at her plate before raising her head and looking me directly in the eyes. “Yes, I enjoyed them.”
Yes! Mental fist bump.
“I’m glad. Because I want to do more of that.” I actually managed to sound almost calm.
“Asher.” Her voice was low, and she glanced around.
I grinned. “Anyway, I walked away from the marriage.”
She nodded and pushed away her empty salad plate. “Men just want to get close to me because of who my parents are.”
I opened my mouth to ask who her parents were when she shook her head and said, “Not here.”
I nodded. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I take long walks, read, or just binge watch something. What about you?”
“I enjoy watching sports, hanging out with friends, and hanging out by the ocean.”
“Your home is close to the water?”
“To Puget Sound yes, but nothing beats the ocean. Listening to the waves, watching the birds and the people hunting sand clams.”
“Do you spend a lot of time at the beach?” She took a bite of her sandwich.
“When I can. I have a place out on the coast.” I ate one of my fries and watched as she dabbed her lips with her napkin. Lucky napkin.
“How nice. I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean. But that’s one heck of a commute.”
“Yes. Which is why I live where I do. I can still see the water every day.”
We chatted about really mundane stuff as well as the upcoming R knowing what works in as many dynamics as possible is important.”
“I agree,” Emma said. “I didn’t mean to be offensive. I honestly never thought about it like that.”
“We pride ourselves on inclusivity,” I said.
“Good.” She tilted her head. “We might need to make a few slight changes to the app, but honestly, I like this.”
“I like you,” Marcus commented. “You get it.”
Emma grinned. I sat back and relaxed. This was going to be…interesting.