Chapter 43 Asher
Asher
There’s more?
Fuck. Me.
Bri is fucking gorgeous in anything she wears, but this dress? I promised to take her out, but jealousy is a power surge circulating throughout my body, knowing everyone with a pulse will be looking at her.
The velvet hugs every inch of her curves, worshiping every inch like a lover. Her warm, earth-tone colored hair falls wildly down her back. My fingers ache to wrap it around my fist and kiss her stupid. She’s a goddamn vision.
“You, Bri, are breathtaking. I hope you have bail money because I can’t be held accountable if any man looks at you.”
“So dramatic. Can you help me put my heels on? I didn’t want to trip down the stairs.” Bri extends the hand with her shoes toward me. I squat down in front of her, her arms resting on my shoulders.
I barely resist the urge to nip at her ankles, but we have a reservation to get to. The second shoe is on, and I pick up the fallen bouquet of calla lilies. After my Target run and getting ready, I had plenty of time to stop and get her flowers.
“These are different. Normally it’s roses.”
“I asked the florist what flowers represent beauty, and she recommended these.”
“Oh” is all Bri gasps, her face alight with awe and appreciation.
She brings the flowers against her chest, her whiskey eyes shimmering with love and appreciation. She is magnificent, and I can’t wait until she figures out our plans for the evening.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes, let me put these in a vase and we can head out.”
Her heels click against the vinyl flooring. When she makes her way back to me, I hold out my hand to interlock our fingers together. I brush a kiss across her knuckles before tucking her arm underneath mine.
I open the car door for her and buckle her in before heading to the driver's side. As soon as I start the car, she’s already asking questions.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going? Am I dressed okay?”
“We are going to Lagoon for a special dinner, and yes, you are dressed perfectly. You always look good, bear.”
“What strings did you pull to get in there?”
“Cas helped me,” I admit.
“Thank you, Cas.”
“For real. Hey, Bri, if you could have any bookish item in the world, what would you choose?” I already know the answer, but I want to make sure nothing’s changed.
“Oh, that’s easy. I love the Twisted series by Ana Huang. Have you seen those special editions? My heart would swoon. One day, I’ll have them.” She lets out a wistful sigh, and the piece of paper is burning a hole in my pocket.
We pull into the beachfront restaurant and the valet approaches my car within seconds. We walk up to the hostess stand and when I give her my name, she asks us to follow her. The restaurant isn’t super busy. I’m not sure if this is Cas’ doing, or if it’s just a slower night.
“Wait, where are we going?” Bri asks.
“Patience, bear.” I squeeze her hand and throw a wink over my shoulder.
“Chef Marnie, Asher and his date have arrived,” the hostess informs the chef before turning and walking away.
Chef Marnie turns around and offers us a warm smile. Wisdom and happiness are etched across her face in the form of laugh lines and crow's feet, evidence of a well-lived, happy life. Although her hair is covered by her chef’s hat, loose, gray, curly tendrils frame her face.
“Well, hello. It's so nice to meet you. Are you ready for your cooking lesson?”
Bri whips her head to me with a surprised expression on her face. “Are you serious? This has been on my—”
“Bucket list. I know, I remember.”
“Y-You remember that? That was over ten years ago.”
“I remember everything about you, Bri. Are you ready to cook?”
“Yes.” Bri does a little happy dance in her heels and my heart melts.
Chef Marnie walks us through the dish we’re gonna make: chicken marsala.
We have matching off-white aprons and hats to protect our clothes.
Bri is in charge of chopping and stirring things, as I prepare our chicken.
We listen to Marnie's instructions, and we sip our complimentary champagne while the chicken cooks, occasionally flipping the meat around in the pan so it doesn’t burn on one side.
The smell of oregano and mushrooms permeates the room, making my mouth water.
We wash our hands and have been instructed to walk through the way we came in, and the hostess will take us to a private table.
We are guided to a secluded area with cobblestone pavement, and a pergola hangs over our heads with vines twisted along the columns.
Fairy lights are strung throughout the place, and scattered across the ground are black, metal tables.
The hostess guides us to a table that has a bottle of wine chilling on ice.
I pull Bri’s chair out for her before walking around to the other side.
“This is incredible, Asher. The view is breathtaking.”
“It really is.” She’s looking around, but my eyes are trained on her. Brianna is stunning, her skin twinkling underneath the glow of the lights. She takes my breath away every single time I see her.
Our food arrives ten minutes later, and we focus on eating what we created. Damn, we did good. We make small conversation in between bites and sips of wine. Classical music begins to play over the speakers. I wipe my face with my napkin before getting up.
I extend my hand toward her. “May I have this dance?”
Bri places her hand in mine, face beaming so bright the stars look on with envy. I spin her once, twice, three times before we begin to sway, hearts colliding in a rhythm uniquely ours. Having her in my arms with a look of pure awe and trust shimmering up at me is my paradise.
“This is the most amazing date I’ve ever been on. You have your work cut out for you for our future dates.”
“This is only just the beginning.”
“What? There’s more?” she asks, pure wonder in her voice.
“Mmhmm,” I feel my lips curl in a playful smirk, “now, what do you say we get out of here and head to the next place?”
I settle our bill, and the valet has our car ready by the time we get to the front entrance. Bri’s hand stays locked in mine as we make our way to the car.
I’m barely out of the parking lot before I pull off to the side of the road. My excitement to give her the gift is overwhelming.
“Wait, why are we stopping?”
“I was planning to give you this at the house, but I just can’t wait.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the black, silk envelope—another Target find—and hand it over to her.
“W-What’s this?” Bri fingers along the envelope’s flap, a frown stretched across her face.
“Open it and find out.” I don’t have to tell her twice.
Bri not so gracefully tears open the envelope.
When she opens the piece of paper, her gaze flickers between me and the content printed across it.
She blinks once, twice, three times before letting out an ear-piercing squeal.
Her entire body dances in the seat. Well, as best as one can while still being strapped in.
“ASHER! I—How did you…Why did you…How?”
“Avery—”
“Oh, my. I…I can’t believe you’d do this for me. That’s why you asked about what bookish thing I wanted. Oh, you’re good, Mr. Larson. I…Thank you.”
“Anything for you.” Bri sniffles, and I notice tears falling like shimmering diamonds down her face.
“Damn it, Asher. My makeup is flawless, and you’re ruining it with your generosity.”
“And you’d look gorgeous with makeup smeared down your face. Ready to go? We have one more thing to tick off the list for tonight.”
“There’s more? I’m not sure I can handle anything else.”
“Trust me, you’ll love what I have planned next.”
Ten minutes later, we’re pulling into our driveway. And Bri has yet to look away from the piece of paper clutched in her grasp.
“Bri, we’re home. Go ahead and put comfy clothes on, and I’ll meet you in the backyard.”
And just like that, she’s off like a rocket. I have already moved most of my stuff into Bri’s, so I don’t have to go home to get a change of clothes. As she gets unready, I gather everything I need to bring outside.
I texted Cas earlier to blow up the air mattress after he set up Bri’s new reading chair.
I had her new books from Target on the kitchen table and asked if he could put them on her chair.
And from the loud squeal that comes from upstairs, I assume she’s found it.
It’ll only be a matter of minutes before she charges downstairs and sees everything I’ve set up.