9. Sutton #3
“Okay.” I bit my lip and looked up at Asher.
“We can grab a cab since we don’t have as much stuff.
” He shot me an annoyed look and let out a grunt.
“You picked us up because I had boxes. I don’t have to bring anything home so I can grab the car seat base and…
” I trailed off. He just kept looking at me with hard eyes.
“Fine.” I shook my head. “But you don’t get to be all worked up when Sophie cries when you put her in the car seat.
And I can promise you that she will but she’s completely fine.
” My eyes felt trapped in his as he nodded once but I could see a little frown.
He wasn’t going to like her crying, it seemed, for any reason.
The spell was broken after a few moments when Quinn and Knight started laughing. I looked over at them. I’d kind of forgotten they were there.
“Do you realize you just had a whole conversation with him and he didn’t say a single word?”
I tilted my head, thinking it over for a moment before letting out a laugh of my own. I hadn’t really noticed that he didn’t actually reply to anything I’d been saying.
“You’ve translated Asher’s grunts and looks faster than anyone I’ve seen. Took Noah a few months to figure out he needed to shut up when he got one of those looks.” Knight pointed at Asher with amusement in his tone, his eyes dancing between us.
“I was not telling her to shut up,” Asher bit out with a glare at his friend.
We said our goodbyes and got into Asher’s truck without either one of us saying anything, though his hand had lingered on my back, heat rising up from his touch.
Sophie did cry a little as we got her settled, which made Asher’s jaw tense slightly as he watched me buckle her in. But once the car started, she quietened down, which the car always helped with.
There were times when she was a few months old and wouldn’t go to sleep, probably feeding off my own stress, so I’d gotten us both in the car and drove. She’d fall asleep within minutes and it gave me room to breathe.
Asher had low music playing in the background this time and I watched the city pass around us as we headed back to my apartment.
There was a comfortable silence between us and I liked that neither of us felt like we had to speak.
After a long day of smiling and talking, I didn’t mind that I was getting a reprieve.
Except it was giving me time to think, well, more accurately, spiral. I was fidgeting with my fingers, rubbing my thumb with my other hand, as the silence started to feel heavy.
When we pulled up outside my apartment, Asher went to turn off the car but I grabbed his forearm, stopping him. He looked over at me with a quirked eyebrow.
The sun had started setting and the golden-hour sky was doing him wonders.
The scruff on his jaw looked thicker than he normally wore it and yet it did nothing to hide the severe cut of his jaw and cheekbones.
His hair was illuminated from the sky behind him and his amber eyes, which were locked on mine, almost looked like they had flecks of gold running through them.
“I’m not after your money,” I said in a rush.
Quinn’s comment about what Asher had thought of her when they first met was playing around in my head.
“I know I’m a mess and I don’t have super nice stuff but I’ve provided for my daughter without any help and I have no intention of changing that.
I want to be friends or whatever, if you want, but it has nothing to do with your money and I need you to know that. ”
His frown only got deeper the longer I talked. When I stopped, we sat there for a few moments. I opened my mouth to keep going but he cut me off. “Never thought about it at all. Why would you say that?” He watched me closely.
“Quinn just mentioned something about when you first met her.” I tried to look away but he put his hand under my chin to stop me.
“I’m protective of my people, it’s why I asked Quinn that question when I first met her. She also taught me that not everyone is after us. I didn’t even think that about you, not once. You’ve worked hard to give that happy girl all she needs. Never even crossed my mind, got it?”
When I nodded, his eyes softened. He tapped his finger on my chin before he dropped his hand and got out of the car. I sat for a moment, letting out a breath from the tension he had left me sitting in.
“Asher.” I stayed in my seat as he pulled my door open.
He lifted an eyebrow, one hand on the door, one on the frame keeping me in as I turned to look at him.
“I feel like I’m just getting my head above water.
This job is great. I finally have a good schedule, and I’m starting to feel more like myself, more than I have in a long time.
” He kept watching me as I let out a sigh.
“I would really like it if you and I were friends. I could use some friends.”
I watched him closely for a reaction to my comment but none came. Nothing changed on his face. I felt my cheeks heat up. Maybe that was a stupid thing to say. Maybe he had done all of this today out of—
“Friends I can do,” he replied, cutting into my internal spiral. With that simple agreement, he tapped the door and stood back, offering me a hand so I could step out. I cleared my throat, took his hand, and slid out of the truck.
I grabbed Sophie’s car seat and watched as he unclipped the base. I followed behind as we moved it back to my car and then he insisted on walking me up so he could carry the seat for me.
My new friend left me in my apartment with a long look and a gruff demand for me to lock the door behind him.