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He stared at me. “I knew she wasn’t like the others right then. She was something…more.”
Mom clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes damp. “Oh my, that’s some meet-cute.”
My dad was smiling. “That’s my princess. She has the biggest heart in town, even if she hides it.” He winked at me, clearly charmed by the story.
I couldn’t look at Asher. I didn’t know what to think or feel about that story. I’d always kept busy with cheerleading and that whole crowd. Asher and the hockey team had been a different world. We had orbited each other for a long time, never really interacting, except the occasional brush…until senior year. Then he’d hated me, seemingly for no reason, and I’d been a brat right back to his obvious dislike. Now, we were no longer orbiting. Our worlds had crashed into each other. No matter what happened in the future, now I could say I’d known him. He had been a part of my life, for however long it was going to last. The final thought made me sad, and I pushed it away.
A knock at the door pulled my attention.
Francis poked his head in. “There’s an urgent call for you,” he told my father.
Mom sighed and set down her fork. “We’re eating.” Dad patted her hand, and she pulled it away.
“I’ll be back in just a minute. Let’s take a break before dessert, how’s that? Maybe Winter wants to give her boyfriend a tour of the house.”
“I’d like that,” Asher suddenly piped up.
Mom rolled her eyes at Dad’s suggestion but took her cocktail and magazine back to the couch in front of the fireplace.
Asher stood and held his hand out to me. “How about that tour?”
I bit my lip and stood, too. “Fine.”
We turned left out of the dining room and started along the endless hall of the ground floor. I pointed out rooms as we went.
“What’s this?” Asher asked, sticking his head behind a discreet door.
“Powder room,” I muttered. I couldn’t believe we were only halfway through the evening. Everything was going well, but I was just waiting for one of us to slip up. Being caught in a lie at this point would be beyond embarrassing.
Asher grabbed my hand and tugged me to the powder room. “Come here. Christ, your fingers are cold.”
Inside the powder room was small and cramped. Far too intimate for my oscillating emotions. Asher shut the door behind us and leaned back against it, eyeing me up and down.
“What is it?” I wondered.
“You. You need to relax. You’re wound extra tight, and you’re going to blow this whole thing.”
“I’m not that tense.”
“It’s coming off you in waves. You need to calm down. Take a deep breath.” His tone was so bossy.
“Stop telling me what to do,” I snapped. “I’m fine!” My voice rose shrilly toward the end of the sentence, in direct opposition to my words.
He seemed completely unconvinced. “Try again, without the foot stomp this time.”
“Ash,” I fumed, and crossed my arms over my chest. “I might be tense, but you’re just making me mad.”
He had the cheek to smirk. “My God-given talent. Anyway, I’ve got an idea for how to make you loosen up. Get on the counter.”
“Was that story real? The one about the diner?”
He nodded. “You don’t remember?” He grinned and then tutted. “See, it doesn’t matter what walls you put up, or parts you try to play, your true nature comes out, Winter.”
“My true nature?” I repeated.
“If you gave a homeless guy food one time outside the diner, you might remember. If you did it all the time, you probably wouldn’t. Time to face facts. You just aren’t as mean as you like to pretend you are.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just fidgeted, suddenly feeling shy. What the hell? I couldn’t even take a compliment from this guy?
