Loving You (The Asher Family #2)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

QUINN – LAST SUMMER

I hate to admit this, but faking a smile isn’t as easy as it used to be.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Andy, my friend—or travel acquaintance, or whatever you want to call her—wraps her arms around her boyfriend’s neck and kisses him over and over.

He stands from where he’d been down on his knee in the sand and kisses her back.

The friends around us are clapping and cheering. I hear a bottle of champagne pop somewhere.

It’s clear that some of the people here knew this was about to happen and some didn’t.

I’m in the group who didn’t know, but that’s fine. I have travel friends, and I have real friends, and right now, I’m surrounded by travel friends.

That’s not to say that my travel friends aren’t real—we just have a different kind of relationship. We take trains, boats, and planes all over the world to see new places. I post all about my trips and get paid for it .

Right now, we’re on the beach in Lefkada Island, Greece. It’s absolute heaven and one of my favorite places to visit. I’ve been here three times now, and I came back this time not for work but because Andy, the new bride, invited me. I was about to head back to the States for the summer, but something told me one more week would be worth it. I could sit on pretty beaches and let the sun kiss my skin and relax me. The pictures I’d take would be my own, and I didn’t have to do anything I didn't want to do. It would be the perfect short break to remind myself why I love what I do. Until this moment, it has been all of those things.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that this is happening for her, but the exact moment she screams out the third yes is when I realize I’m officially surrounded by couples.

I instantly feel out of place as each couple greets the happy pair two by two.

After I see the last one approaching, I stand, dusting the white sand from my legs as I make my way over to them.

“Can you believe it?” Andy gushes, holding out her hand to admire the square rock on her finger.

“It’s gorgeous,” Ashley, who I’ve only met a handful of times, says, and the other girls who came with Andy agree with her.

“It's perfect for you,” I say, grabbing her hand.

Out of all the girls gushing over the diamond, I know Andy the best. We’ve traveled a lot together. After that it’s Ashley. The others I just met this week.

The guys huddle up, doing their typical man thing where they slap each other on the shoulder and tease each other over their newfound happiness, secretly super excited for one another.

I have an older brother, and I’ve watched as he and his friends all did the same exact thing as they fell in love. I get it. One day you’re living your life to the fullest and depending on no one, and then bam! Someone walks in and all of the sudden, you can’t think straight. If you think about making a sandwich, you’re simultaneously wondering whether they would like one, too, and maybe you should call them. Then before you know it, your every waking thought is about someone else, and it’s hard to admit how vulnerable that makes you.

At this point, even though those things haven’t happened to me, I feel like I’ve lived it a dozen times.

“We should go out for girls' night to celebrate,” Ashley says, and Andy instantly nods.

“Let’s tell the boys that they are on their own tonight.”

Each girl runs off, sharing quick words with their other halves, and then we all head back to the resort to clean up for the night. Swimsuits clearly aren’t the vibe we want to keep through the evening.

As the girls walk ahead of me, I pull out my phone to snap a picture of the clear blue water.

I’d rather sit here and soak up the fact that a view like this isn’t something we should ever take for granted, but then again, a girl only gets engaged for the first time once.

I quickly type out a caption for my social media page and tag the location. I have to jog a little to catch up with the girls.

Unlike the rest of them, I’m not out here traveling off Mommy and Daddy’s money. I’m here because I traveled so much with my parents when I was younger that when my social media page took off, brands and businesses reached out to me to talk about their products or visit their locations. It’s fun, yes, but almost everywhere I go, I’m working.

Which is exactly why I love going to the States during the summer. I spend two, sometimes three, months with my grandmother in her small town of Lovers, Wyoming. The entire time I’m there, I get to enjoy myself, and that’s all that is required of me .

“Now we just have to find a man for Quinny and the group trips will take on an entirely new vibe,” Ashley says.

Oh, here we go. This conversation, again .

And don’t even get me started on “Quinny.”

Ick.

I hate to sound ungrateful, because I truly feel like they all say this out of love, but it’s exhausting to hear them talk about this at every engagement.

“Oh, let’s not talk about anything but Andy and Sully. I’m so happy for you,” I say. It’s Andy’s night, not mine.

“But you’re the last one of us not engaged,” Ashley goes on. “What about Sully’s brother, Danny? He’s always fighting for your attention.”

I ignore everything about her statement. Danny and me … ugh, I hate being wine drunk. That is a night I never want to relive again, and Danny needs to accept that I told him friends is all we could ever be.

“Don’t you want this?” Chancy asks.

“Not to mention, it gets lonely traveling alone,” Ashley adds, and the other girls nod, choosing this moment to add to the conversation.

“Going home to someone really is the best feeling.”

“And the late-night phone calls.”

“Oh, and the good morning text messages.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Come one, Quinny, don’t you think that having a guy in your life to share these memories with would be fun?” Andy asks, stopping the entire group before we part ways to our rooms.

Instantly, all eyes are on me.

I’m like a walking contradiction, because although I have a social media following with millions of followers, I hate when the attention is on me .

“Yeah, to sleep next to and wake up next to and talk to all day and night and?—”

“I do have that,” I blurt out and then cross my arms to cover the good bumps that break out on my skin. On the beach, my bikini and sarong was fitting, but in this hallway it’s like the dead of winter in Wyoming. Or maybe it’s just the thick weight of the lie I just told.

“You do?” Andy asks with the biggest smile on her face.

I nod as bile creeps its way into my throat.

God, I hate lying, but let’s be real, once this trip is over, I won’t see these girls for at least six months, and I can easily have endured a breakup in that time.

“That’s amazing!” She wraps her arms around me. “Why haven’t we met him?”

That’s a good question. I force another smile and think of why they haven’t met this new imaginary boyfriend of mine that gives me all the gooey feelings.

“He doesn’t like to travel,” I say because it feels like a perfect explanation.

They all pause in shock.

“He doesn’t?”

I shake my head.

“Why not?”

Sheesh. I should have known the questions wouldn’t stop.

“Because it’s nice to date someone who is the complete opposite of me,” I say, proud of my quick thinking.

Andy smiles with a nod like she gets it.

“What’s his name?” Ashley asks, and truthfully, I’m starting to not enjoy hanging out with her. She’s pretty damn nosey.

I take a deep breath, my mind running through all the details I’ve just told them, and instantly one man comes to mine.

He really does hate to travel, and he really is the complete opposite of me. He also lives in the same small town as my grandmother. The chances of these girls ever meeting him is extra slim.

No one will ever know I’m lying, and after tonight, I can forget all about this moment.

So I hold my head high, smile for real, and I give them a name.

“Miles. His name is Miles.”