Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ASHER
“I can’t believe you’re gonna get married ,” Nash said, shaking his head as he stared over at me. “To Nat.”
I rolled my eyes and threw a wadded-up napkin at my friend. “So you’ve said.”
Laughing without restraint, Nash batted the napkin away. “I’m sorry. This is just a lot to take in.”
“You think it’s a lot for you to take in?” I gestured behind me to where June, Ava, and Ella ran around the yard, Owen bouncing happily in his jumper in the middle of it all. “I’ve sort of been thrown into the middle of a shitstorm, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Something in my tone must’ve tipped off Nash, because he sobered immediately and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “You’re right. This is a big deal. An even bigger deal than when I moved in with Rory.” He laughed. “Remember when I didn’t want to tell Nat that detail?”
“I remember when you didn’t even want to tell her you were just datin’ her sister.”
“I thought for sure she’d never speak to me again—after rippin’ off my balls, of course. It was always us three against the world, including her sisters.” Nash grinned, shaking his head. “Now, beyond all odds, I’m with one of those sisters, and it looks like it’ll be you two against the world.”
“I don’t know about that… She hasn’t said yes.”
That was when Nash was supposed to reassure me. Tell me I had nothing to worry about and that our mutual best friend would take one for the team, without question. That our perpetually single, wanderlust-filled, Havenbrook-hating friend would tie herself to me and this town simply because I’d used a signal we’d instilled ten years ago.
I was an idiot.
This whole thing was a pipe dream. There was no way in hell Nat was going to agree to this. No way she would willingly give up her life, simply because I asked her to. Yes, we were best friends. And yes, any one of us would do anything for the other one.
But this wasn’t just anything. This was everything .
The side door opened, and Nat strode in, freezing in the doorway as her eyes darted between me and Nash.
Natalie Haven had always been more than just a friend to me. She’d been a sounding board, a partner in crime. My first crush—and my first heartbreak, if you wanted to really break it down.
Of course, she knew nothing of that. But that wasn’t something I ever needed to speak about, since it had started and stopped faster than I could blink—back when she and Nash had gotten it in their heads to see if there was a spark between the two of them. News flash—there hadn’t been.
Their single kiss had almost destroyed their friendship right then and there, and thus the friendship between all three of us. It hadn’t mattered if I’d been head over heels in love with her—for the record, I hadn’t been. Well, I was pretty sure I hadn’t been, anyway. But I’d decided the possibility of a relationship wasn’t worth jeopardizing the promise of the best friendships of my life.
Now, I only hoped I hadn’t made a colossal mistake asking her to do this in the first place. I just kept telling myself this wasn’t real. It wasn’t something we’d get tied up in. Wasn’t something that could potentially cause heartbreak. It was, for lack of a better term, a business decision.
And I could only pray she’d seen it as such and would give me mercy and agree to my ridiculous proposition. Because without it—without her—I’d be back to square one, fighting to keep June and Owen with little hope of doing so.
“Hey,” she said, tossing the keys to my sister’s car on the counter as she strode toward us.
“Well, I think that’s my cue,” Nash said, pushing to stand.
Nat narrowed her eyes on him. “That’s two times in two hours that you’ve fled as soon as I’ve walked in a room. If you’re not careful, Nash King, I’m gonna start takin’ this personally.”
“Aw, Nattie,” he said, hooking an arm around her neck and tugging her to him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You know I love you.”
It was the same move, the same words, any one of the three of us had made a thousand times in our relationship. We’d always been casually affectionate with one another, never steering away from easy touches or generous hugs. We’d said I love you to one another more times than I could hope to count.
And yet, now, when I watched this exchange between the two of them, a fire stoked hot in my stomach, the glowing embers of jealousy catching me off guard.
I’d faced that particular emotion a time or two in my past. Nothing overt, but just the whisper of the feeling once in a while during previous relationships. But I’d never felt it with Nat. Until now, apparently.
“Don’t even think about tryin’ to sweet-talk me. Unless you brought me one of those cupcakes, I never wanna speak to you again,” Nat said, her retort lacking the heat the words conjured.
“Looks like it’s my lucky day, then.” Nash reached over and popped the top of the bright-pink cupcake box he’d brought over.
She beamed up at him, pushing up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re forgiven, even if you didn’t bring me my favorite.”
“Are you kiddin’? I brought you chocolate-chocolate. Since when is that not your favorite?”
Since she’d had banoffee pie in the UK last year, had discussed it with Lilah at some point, and had gotten the baker to add a cupcake version to her menu.
“Since I don’t know. My new fave is banoffee.”
“What the fuck is a banoffee?”
Nat laughed. “Only the best dessert in the world. But chocolate-chocolate is perfect.”
“As most free cupcakes are,” Nash said dryly.
With a laugh, she plucked the cupcake from the box before peeling down the wrapper and diving in, uncaring of the fact that the move left a dollop of frosting on her nose.
Nash rolled his eyes at her before walking to the slider that led to the backyard and bracing himself against the frame. “Girls, it’s time to go now that we’ve gotten June nice and sugared up!”
After Nash had ushered Rory’s girls out the front door, shooting raised brows at me on his way, I was alone with Nat for the first time since I’d dropped the bomb. June’s laughs and Owen’s squeals floated in from outside as my niece danced circles around my nephew.
“Nat, about what I asked?—”
“Let’s do it,” she said. So breezily, as if she hadn’t completely changed the trajectory of both of our lives with those three words.
Not only that, but I hadn’t exaggerated last night when I’d told her what a sacrifice this would be. Until now, she hadn’t spent more than seventy-two hours in Havenbrook since she’d bailed on it eight years ago. And now she was willing to stay who knew how long for me.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Nat said, and I snapped my mouth shut. “You used downpour for the first time since we enacted it. Did you think I wouldn’t do whatever the hell you asked? That’s the whole point of an SOS.”
I blew out a long breath and shook my head, running a hand through my hair. I stood and strode toward her. “Well, I hoped you would, but this one single downpour outranks all of the past ones combined.”
She raised a brow. “Even when I called you to bail me out of jail and you not only had to drive two hours to get me but also had to put up the money—which I’m pretty sure I never paid you back?”
I gave a definitive nod. I’d spent that car ride vacillating between anger and worry—only the latter directed at her. The former, not so much, considering she’d gotten locked up for assault—as in, some asshole had gotten handsy with her in a bar in Bumfuck, Georgia, and she’d punched him square in the nose. Broke it, too. “Even then. And, yeah, you still owe me for that one.”
“Not after this, I don’t.” She shot me a smirk. “How about when I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere at three in the mornin’ and called continually until you finally picked up?”
“Then, too.”
“And what about when?—”
I rested my hands on her shoulders, my thumbs brushing along her collarbone as I bent my knees to stare directly into her eyes. “More than all of them, Nat.”
She met my gaze for long moments, something passing between us until she cleared her throat. “We should set some ground rules.”
“Like what?”
“Like…how long are we doin’ this for?”
I blew out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know how long this will last. How long can you stay?”
“I opened up my schedule, but I’ve got a shoot at the end of the month.”
“Okay. That shouldn’t be a problem—even if we haven’t had the final hearing, that doesn’t mean you can’t go. What about not havin’ any shoots on the calendar for the time being?”
“I’ll be all right. I’ve got some money set away.”
“Okay, that’s good. Any other ground rules we need to establish?”
“Um…yeah? What do we do about other people?”
“Well, they’ll definitely have to know. Sort of defeats the purpose if they don’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean other people we’d like to date. Doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to go to all this trouble if we’re just gonna end up caught with our pants down.”
That ember of jealousy flickered again in my stomach, and I brushed it away. “I think it’s probably best if it’s just you and me till this is all done.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Are we really doin’ this?”
“Looks like…”
She reached out and rested her hands on my hips, her fingertips slipping just under the hem of my T-shirt and sending shock waves against my skin. We stood only inches apart, puffs of her sweet chocolate breath whispering across my jaw.
And though we’d certainly been closer than this at other points during our friendship, I could say, without a doubt, I’d never felt this invisible force between us. Drawing us closer. Making my eyes drop to her lips before snapping them up to connect with her gaze. Making me lean nearer to her, as if our mouths were tethered together, a string tightening with each breath.
Nat, for her part, didn’t shove me away. Didn’t laugh or punch me in the stomach, or any of the hundred other responses I’d assumed would happen. Instead, she stood there, her face tipped up toward mine, lips parted as if she felt it, too.
“Uncle Asher.” June’s voice sounded from outside, and I whipped my head toward the pathetic noise, just as she opened the screen door, stepped inside, and proceeded to throw up all over herself and the floor. Once she was done, she looked up at us, her hands on her stomach. “I don’t feel good.”
Nat and I stood frozen for probably longer than a mom or dad would have, but to be fair, I’d never encountered projectile vomit from a kid. And I could say with absolute certainty Nat hadn’t either.
Lowly, she said, “I might have agreed to marriage, but I did not agree to cleanin’ up puke. That’s all you.” She squeezed my hips before sidestepping me and striding straight toward June, careful to avoid the mess on the floor.
“Wow, that’s a lot of brown, little girl. This is an important life lesson I’ve been on the receivin’ end of many times—just because you can have that many cupcakes doesn’t mean you should.”
“Okay…” June said, her voice little more than a wobbly croak.
With a wrinkled nose, Nat pulled the soiled shirt off June and tossed it behind her toward me, and I caught it on reflex. “C’mon, greedy girl. Let’s get you cleaned up while Uncle Asher deals with all this.”
I laughed out a groan before snapping into action. First order of business—making sure Owen was doing okay outside on his own. He was bouncing, babbling away as he sucked on his fingers and glanced around at the wonder that was outside.
Thank God for small miracles, because the last thing I needed was him—who was wilier than a fox and would no doubt paint the walls and himself in this vomit if I weren’t careful—near while I handled cleanup.
I didn’t know what I’d do if Nat weren’t here to help. If I had to do this by myself. How I could possibly manage cleaning up June, while at the same time watching Owen, while at the same time doing laundry and mopping the floor.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about it, because Nat was there and she’d agreed to stay. For now, anyway.