Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
ASHER
Some things in life seemed to careen as if they were out of control, but nevertheless, you knew they were right.
Asher had felt that way when he decided to quit his high-paid, high-powered job as a lawyer and open an old-fashioned toy shop back in his hometown.
Everyone had told him he was nuts. That he wasn’t thinking straight. That he’d regret it.
They were wrong. Asher had never once regretted making that decision. What others sometimes failed to realize was that life was short and happiness - true happiness - was important.
And for some, making money made them happy.
But not him. After a decade scrambling up the ladder of success in a dog-eat-dog world where the people you thought were your friends would just as soon stab you in the back, the day after they slapped you on the back, Asher was done.
He’d hated the shallowness of the people who surrounded him.
He’d had no meaningful relationships, either male or female, just colleagues and acquaintances.
People who stayed on his good side when they wanted something, then shat on him if it suited their purposes.
Since moving to Frostvale, the small town his parents had left when he’d been fourteen, he’d made real friends. People he could trust and rely on, like Shepherd and Gabe.
And then there was Evie.
He remembered her from school, but their age difference, though minimal, meant she’d been just ten when his family moved away, and when he’d returned, six years ago, she’d been married and pregnant with Ollie.
She was his perfect woman. Cheerful, maternal, happy with small-town living, a homebody, like him, but still with the drive to know what she wanted from life. Adrian was a fool, but that man’s stupidity was Asher’s gain.
When he’d realized he had competition for her affections, Asher had lost his head for a time. That’s what had caused him to behave like such an ass on their date. Disappointment and jealousy were destructive influences, both of which had woefully gotten the better of him.
The understanding he, Gab and Shepherd had come to in relation to Evie? Well, that was another instance in life where things appeared to be hurtling out of control, but he knew, deep in his soul, was right.
He couldn’t explain it. It simply was.
Just as he knew Gabe’s suggestion, that the three of them visit Evie’s parents, Edward and Sally, and explain their intentions towards their daughter, was right.
Was it fast?
Yes, but it had also been a long time coming.
He felt like a schoolboy waiting to see the principal as the three of them stood on the doorstep, waiting for it to be answered.
“Asher, Gabe… oh, and Shepherd, too. What a surprise. Come on in and tell us to what we owe this pleasure,” Sally greeted as she stood back and gestured for them to enter the house.
Edward wandered into the foyer to see who had arrived and shook hands with all of them. Asher could only hope he’d still be feeling that hospitable when they explained how the three of them wanted to pursue a relationship with his only daughter. Together.
This was make or break; Asher wasn’t stupid enough to imagine anything different. Evie was already cautious about their suggestion, if not in outright refusal. She cared about what people thought, and if her parents didn’t support their relationship, it was doomed before it even got started.
“So, not that we don’t like to see you, but what can we do for you?” Edward asked, his eyes shrewd, as Sally ushered them into the lounge. Evie’s father already knew this was no normal social call.
“The three of us want to date Evie,” Shepherd, never one to beat around the bush or pretty things up, said with his usual bluntness. Asher tried not to cringe.
“I see,” Sally looked between them, but he wasn’t sure she really understood. Her next words proved it. “Well, Evie’s a grown woman, and she’s single. She can certainly make up her own mind about that kind of thing.”
Edward was quiet, and Asher had the feeling Evie’s father had a better grasp of what they were proposing.
“What Shepherd means…” Gabe, always the mediator, explained, “Is that we all want to date her together.”
“At the same time,” Shepherd added, somewhat unhelpfully, since it was still not clarifying the situation.
“In short, we want to foster a relationship between the four of us,” Asher stated, unable to take a back seat in the negotiation. He was part of this and needed to prove his commitment.
Sally looked at the three of them, then at her husband, then back at them.
Then her eyes grew wide, and she fanned herself, making Asher think she’d been reading some of the spicy reverse harem books he knew Bee stocked in her bookshop.
Then she dropped her gaze as if she suddenly couldn’t look them in the eye.
It made him want to smirk, but he reined it in, knowing it wouldn’t go down well right now.
Finally, Sally looked helplessly at her husband again.
Edward pressed his lips together, pinning them with a serious gaze.
The air crackled with tension before he finally spoke.
“And how does Evie feel about this?” he asked, his eyes boring into us.
This was a man who would protect his little girl to the end, Asher had no doubt.
He was glad Evie had that kind of support.
“Evie is not averse to the idea,” Gabe replied with his usual diplomacy. “But she’s worried what people will think; what the two of you will think. And obviously, how it will impact Oliver.”
“And how do you think it will impact Ollie? It’s a lot for a child to deal with,” Edward pressed, proving he was as protective of his grandson as of his daughter.
Gabe responded with equal gravity. “I think Ollie is young enough to accept the situation without it disrupting his life unduly. I think he’ll benefit from having the three of us to guide and support him. Just as Evie will.”
Asher couldn’t help himself. He knew he should probably bite his tongue, but the words burst out anyway. “And I think we’ll do a damn sight better job than the dick who calls himself his biological father.”
Four pairs of eyes turned in his direction. Fuck! He knew he should have kept his mouth shut, regardless of what Ollie had revealed with his secret Christmas wish to ‘Santa’. He curbed the urge to screw his eyes shut, tell them what Ollie had asked Santa for, and stood by his words.
Edward stared at him. Sally’s mouth had dropped open. Shepherd’s expression was as inscrutable as always, and Gabe frowned.
The silence in the room was stark, highlighting the sound of the little boy in question making airplane noises as he played in another part of the house.
Then the corners of Edward’s mouth curled upwards, seconds before he burst into laughter, cleaving the tension in two. He walked over and clapped Asher on the back. “Well, that’s one thing we agree on. Never did think that asshole was good enough for my baby girl.”
The relief was enough that Asher almost wilted, and he was conscious of the strain leaking out of the others, too.
Evie’s father walked back to his armchair and relaxed into it. “All I want is for my daughter to be happy. If that’s in an unconventional relationship with the three of you, then so be it.”
He looked at his wife, and the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation, the kind that alluded to the deepest kind of connection. The type of connection Asher yearned for in his life. For the first time, he felt close to fulfilling that dream.
“Well, now that’s decided, I think I’ll make some coffee,” Sally announced.
Shepherd, always the most uncomfortable in social settings, shuffled his feet and checked his watch. “Umm… I’m going to go to the bakery and see if Evie’s finished.”
Edwards nodded, and Sally smiled. “Bring our girl home. I think it’s time for birthday cake, and to celebrate the beginning of a new era.”