Page 137 of The Love Penalty

He shrugs, like giving us details is too much effort, then spins out of the kitchen before we can ask for more.

I snicker and shake my head. The guy is a perpetual mystery. It's like he's only ever willing to expose a small corner of himself. But I'll keep picking away. Eventually, I'll understand how the guy ticks.

“So…” Asher takes my hand and pulls me out of the kitchen. We head back through the parlor and out to the entrance. There's a wooden staircase with a beautifully carved railing leading up to the bedrooms. “What do you think, Miss Iona. You like this place?”

I ascend the stairs and smile at the laughter above us. Sounds like Casey and Caroline.

“I like you in this place,” I finally tell him. “I love the look in your eyes and the potential you see.”

“Think you'd want live here?”

I jolt to a stop. He's two steps above me, and I gape up at him. “You want me to live here? With you?”

“Eventually.” He shrugs, then walks back down to cup my face. “I know it's too soon right now, and I'm not trying to rush you. You love being at the dorm with Caroline, and you should totally stay there, but… I mean, this summer. Would you want to stick around?”

I hold his wrists, brushing my thumb across the hair on his arms. A smile grows within me, then starts to show on my face as I nod. “I'd like that.”

“Yeah?” His laughter is thick with relief.

“Think you'll be able to stand it?” I tease him. “I can be a bossy bitch when it comes to projects like this. There's a strong chance everyone will hate me by the end.”

“I could never hate you,” he assures me.

“You used to.”

He laughs and shakes his head, pulling me in for a firm kiss before looking me in the eye. “I never hated you.”

My insides turn to mush as I bask in his affectionate gaze. “I never hated you either.”

His grin grows a little wider. “Love you, my little shrutebag.”

I laugh and slap his butt as he comes in for another kiss. I let him have it, deepening the kiss with a tongue sweep that makes him groan.

Pulling back, I smile against his mouth and murmur, “I love you, too, my lumpatious asshole.”

CHAPTER 62

BAXTER

Slipping the hammer back into my tool belt, I step back, cross my arms, and then look to Rachel for approval.

“That gonna work?”

“Yes.” She beams at the new shelves I've just installed in her walk-in pantry. “You're the best. Thanks, Bax.”

“Not a problem.” I give the bottom one a little shake to make sure it's secure. I already know it will be. I guess it's just a habit I picked up from my dad.

He's a builder. Not that I've ever worked for him… except when I was in high school.

Working on this house project over the summer has actually been way better than I thought. Dad even came down for a week to check in and help out. I wasn't expecting that, but I was grateful.

Everyone had so many fucking questions for him, but he's better at talking than I am, so I left them to it.

Since then, he's been calling to check in on how things are going at the villa and said he might even make the trip over again to see what I've been up to. I've sent him pics to make him feel like he's part of it, and even though he'll never say it, I think he appreciates the gesture.

Mom always loved pics. She wanted every detail.

Not having her around anymore has cast a gray shadow over our lives, which is why getting out of one more summer in Gladstone was a relief. My small town has a population of around five hundred people, and everyone knows everybody else's business. You can't trim a toenail in that town without someone hearing about it, and I'm sure Dad got a whole bunch of sympathy about my decision to stay in Nolan for yet another summer break… and I got a whole bunch of scathing comments behind my back.

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