Page 94 of Moonlit Thorns

She sighs. “Asher…”

“I said I didn’t like her. I didn’t say he couldn’t like her.”

She smiles and pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss my jawline. “That’s more like it. Now let’s go enjoy our evening.”

I plan to do just that because I can already tell that tonight is just further confirmation of how well Anabelle fits into my life.

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

ANABELLE

Though I was really nervous about tonight, I’m having a great time.

I was worried that people would look at me and wonder why Asher is with me or think our age difference is inappropriate, but everyone has been really nice. The fact that we’re all wearing masks helps, I think, because it’s difficult to tell my age, but nonetheless, I don’t feel completely out of place, which was my worry.

Kol even says a few words to me throughout the dinner. I have to count that as a win. Sid is his usual charming self, and Nero does his best to include me in the conversation.

Asher doesn’t say much unless he’s spoken to directly, but he’s constantly touching my leg under the table or putting his arm around my shoulders. I know his silence probably has more to do with him getting used to the idea that he has to let Nero live his life and less to do with me.

Near the end of the dinner, the event planner comes to the table and tells Asher that it’s time for him to deliver his speech.

Asher nods and turns to me. “I’ll be back in a bit. Stay with my brothers.”

I nod.

“Wish me luck?”

“He doesn’t need luck. He’s done about a thousand of these since the old man died,” Sid says.

It’s jarring to hear their father mentioned so casually. I try to keep my face blank, so as not to let on that I know anything about what went on when they were children.

Asher steps up on the stage and takes the mic, introducing himself. He starts in about why we’re all here tonight and the importance of the work that the charities who will benefit from the fundraising efforts tonight are doing.

It’s a side of him I rarely see. He’s charming yet powerful, persuasive yet not heavy-handed. Everyone in the large ballroom hangs on his every word, and when the speech concludes, everyone applauds loudly.

I realize that the feeling in my chest is pride at what this man overcame that hardly anyone in this room knows about. Sure, it informs who he is, but he wasn’t crippled by his past. He rose above. And pride at the fact that he’s mine.

As soon as he’s close to returning to our table, I pop up from my seat, embracing him once he makes it over to me. “That was a wonderful speech.”

He pulls back and kisses me. “Do you want to go share that dance now?”

I look behind us and see that indeed, people are making their way onto the dance floor. “Absolutely.”

Neither of us bids goodbye to anyone at the table as I let him lead me onto the dance floor. When Asher takes me in his arms, I realize there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I have fallen for this man despite my best efforts, but I think that perhaps he’s fallen for me too.

He glides me around the dance floor, and even though we’re in a room filled with people, it feels intimate somehow. The heat of his hand on my back through the fabric of my dress permeates my entire body. We spin and rotate, maintaining eye contact, and it almost feels as though we’re having a conversation without speaking.

The music swells, and I feel it in my chest, as though my heart is near to bursting as I realize how much this man means to me. How the idea of the two of us not being together isn’t something I can comprehend any longer.

The song ends, and we stand in place, staring at each other.

Asher gently slides my mask up so that it sits on my hairline and cups my face with one hand. “Anabelle, I?—”

“Asher!” Nero comes up behind him and stands at our side. “Shit, sorry for interrupting.”

Oh my god, I think he was about to tell me he loves me.

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