Wish You Were Mine (Destiny Falls #3)

Prologue — Nine Years Ago

PROLOGUE — NINE YEARS AGO

SUMMER

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bailey asked as we wove between people, making our way to the makeshift dance floor at Drunken Destiny. Bodies writhed as our graduating class let loose, celebrating the end of our school career and the beginning of whatever came next.

“I’m certain.” Despite the nerves that rioted in my gut. “I’ve waited long enough. It’s time.”

I was officially no longer a high school student. I was old enough to vote, drink, and have sex. I was a woman now, not a girl, and it was about time Asher Heaton realized it.

Bailey sipped her juice. “How are you going to ask him?”

“I’m going to get straight to the point. I’ve been practicing in the mirror.”

She rolled her eyes, her mouth curling in a smile. “Of course you have.”

I drank a few mouthfuls of raspberry vodka, my eyes finding Asher in the semi-dark. After years of seeing him at nearly every family gathering, recognizing his profile was easy. He stood beside my older brother, Liam.

His best friend.

I couldn’t see Asher’s face, but I knew it was gorgeous. Square, but with a pointed chin. Dark eyes and rich chocolatey colored hair. Then there were those broad shoulders. I’d spent so much time staring at his back that I could practically draw them blindfolded.

“So…are you going to do it?” Bailey asked, perhaps concerned by the fact I hadn’t moved an inch. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine. There’s no rush.”

I brushed my hair away from my face. I’d left it loose because Bailey said it made me look older.

“I’m just preparing myself,” I said.

After all, it wasn’t easy to tell a man you’d loved him since the dawn of time. Or for the past few years, at least. Although I’d decided not to use the word “love”, in case that scared him off. But that didn’t make the prospect of spilling my guts to him any less intimidating.

“You’ve got this.” Bailey hugged me. “You’re stunning. You’re smart. You’re kind. He’d be lucky to have you.”

Aww.

“I love you,” I told her.

“Love you too, beautiful. Go and get him.”

I straightened my back and clasped the bottle more tightly. I took one step, and then another. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam from school ask Bailey to dance. She set her glass aside and took his arms as they began to move.

Another step.

I made my way slowly around the people watching the action. Neither Liam nor Asher were on the dance floor. In fact, they were hardly paying the dancers any attention at all.

A guy tripped in front of me, and I darted out of the way as he caught himself in a drunken stumble and managed not to fall. I waited for him to get out of the way before continuing. Finally, I stood before Liam and Asher, my heart beating a mile a minute.

“Um, hey.” I cleared my throat, and they both turned to me.

A smile creased Liam’s face. He was my third oldest brother, after the twins—Max and Nate—and he fell solidly in the midzone as far as brotherly protectiveness went. Nate and Connor were the most protective, while Max and Toby tended to think I could take care of myself. Liam sat somewhere in between.

“Hey, Summer,” he said. “You’re officially done with school. How’s it feel?”

“Pretty good,” I admitted. “Although I’m still going to be a student.”

He shrugged. “It’s a bit different though, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I glanced at Asher, and he sent me his charming, toothy smile. “Liam, can I talk to Ash alone for a minute?”

“Sure.” Liam looked surprised but didn’t argue.

“Thanks.” Before Asher could protest or Liam could change his mind, I took his hand and pulled him toward the corner. Actually, this would probably be best done outside. There would be less risk of being interrupted or overheard.

“Do you mind going outside with me?” I asked.

“That’s fine.”

He disentangled his fingers from mine but followed close behind. A shiver of awareness rippled up my spine. He was so much bigger than me. Wider through the shoulders, with strong arms I’d dreamed of having wrap around me. He always smelled of the woods, and I longed to bury my face in his chest and breathe him in.

We left through the main entrance, and I slipped around the side of the pub, into an alley between Drunken Destiny and the neighboring building. I shivered again, this time with anticipation.

Asher shrugged off his jacket and offered it to me. “You’re cold.”

I bit my lip. Of all the times I’d imagined myself wearing his clothes, it had never been out of practicality. More of a silly fantasy where he instructed me to walk around naked except for his T-shirt.

Still, this was romantic because it was real. Even if I wasn’t actually cold. I took the jacket and slipped my arms into the sleeves, inhaling his scent.

“What’s up?” he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I…’ I gathered all my courage and took a breath. “I like you.”

His mouth quirked. “I’m glad to hear it.”

I rolled my eyes. Men are so dense. “No, I mean I like you. I think you’re really handsome, and maybe we could date.”

The last words ran together in a nearly incomprehensible stream.

His eyebrows knitted together. “Summer—”

“I’m eighteen now,” I blurted out, cutting him off. I couldn’t read his expression, and since he hadn’t swept me into his arms, I was scared of what he might say. “I’m not at school anymore. I’m an adult.”

He winced and tugged his hand through his hair. “You know I care about you.”

My stomach sank. Somehow, that didn’t sound good. “I do.”

“I know you used to have a crush on me,” he said.

I fought the urge to bury my face in my hands as humiliation swamped me. He knew?

“I thought you’d gotten over it,” he continued. “I’m sorry, Summer, but I don’t see you that way.”

I looked down. There was absolutely no way I could gaze into his eyes as he crushed my heart. To my mortification, tears welled in my eyes. I blinked rapidly, and tried to swallow but there was an enormous lump in my throat.

“Have you tried?” I asked quietly. “Maybe you’ve just never tried to look at me that way, but if you do, you’ll see how good we can be together.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, and I immediately shook it off. “I’m really sorry, but it’s not going to happen. To me, you’re Liam’s little sister. That’s just the way it is.”

Then, I couldn’t stop the tears. They streaked down my face, and I felt every inch a girl and not at all a woman.

He reached for me. “Don’t cry, Summer.”

“Don’t touch me,” I sniffed, pulling away from him.

For five years, I’d had a crush on him.

I always pictured us sharing a happily ever after in Destiny Falls once I was old enough.

What a joke.