Page 84 of Wish You Were Mine

“It’s Nate.” He sounded oddly distant. Perhaps he was speaking through Bluetooth in his car. “I have good news and bad news.”

I drew in a breath. “Tell me.”

“The good news is, we found a fingerprint on that rock.”

For the first time that day, my mood lifted. “That’s great!”

He grunted. “You haven’t heard the bad news yet.”

“What is it?” I asked, uncertain whether I really wanted to know. Couldn’t I just enjoy that slice of good news for a while first?

“We haven’t found a match. It’s obviously still early, but we’ve run the prints through the local system and haven’t had any hits. We’re now running it through the national database.”

“Oh.” My excitement dissipated. “So, does that mean it wasn’t a local?”

He sighed. “Just that if it was, they haven’t committed a crime in this jurisdiction. Honestly, I’m not sure if this will lead anywhere. It might, but don’t get your hopes up.”

39

SUMMER

I breezed out through the sliding doors after waving goodbye to Cal and came to a sudden halt. There, waiting by my Ute, was Asher. I paused for a moment, weighing the feelings that rolled through me at the sight of him. As always, I was glad to see him, but irritation lingered, prickling beneath my skin because he wouldn’t even consider the possibility that someone might have it out for him.

I started walking again and called out as I drew near. “I hope you had a quieter day than yesterday.”

“Yes, thankfully.” He seemed off though. His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“What happened?” I asked.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

I cocked my hip and leveled him with a look. “Come on, Ash. Do you think I can’t tell when something is wrong?”

He sighed. “I had a run in with Lionel Lowry this morning.”

“Fucking Lionel,” I muttered, pressing the key fob to unlock the door. I pulled the back side door open and tossed my bag inside. “You know what happened to him wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah.” But his tortured expression said he didn’t fully believe it. Why did I have the misfortune to fall for a stubborn man who excelled at self-blame?

“He knows it too,” I told him. “He just takes it out on you because you’re an easy target.”

He scowled. “Am not.”

I arched my eyebrow challengingly. “Are too.”

He laughed and ran his hand through his hair. “Anyway, are you free tonight? I’d love to spend some time with you. I could come over to your place if you need to go home.”

The words came out quickly, as though he was nervous, and I melted a little inside. After years of pining for him, it was nice not to be the only one affected. That said, we couldn’t go on like this, so undefined and uncertain.

“What is this?” I asked, drawing on the courage that had gotten me this far with him.

He frowned. “You mean, you and me?”

“Exactly.” My hand twitched toward him, but I kept it at my side. If anyone saw me holding his hand, the cat would be out of the bag. “Are we dating? Is this just some weird kind of friendship? Because I can’t do friends with benefits with you.”

His lips parted. “No, Summer. I’d never ask that of you.” His fists balled at his sides. “I want to date you. I want a future with you. I’m just… I’m worried that I won’t be enough for you.”

My heart stuttered, “Excuse me?”

---