Page 36 of Suddenly Single

“I was wrong all along.” I muttered, my mouth suddenly dry. “About Cort and…”

“Shhh.” Asher laid his index finger over my lips. “I know.” He scooted closer to me, and laid his arm over my shoulder. “I’ve missed you, terribly.”

“Oh?” Damn it, my heart was pounding so hard it almost felt like a panic attack.

“Hey, baby, relax. You’re so stiff. It’s just me, and…”

“Can I stay the night with you?” I blurted out, and Asher’s eyes widened. “Please?”

Chapter 21

Asher

“There’s nothing I’d like more.” I breathed. “But are you ready for it? Because we have a lot of stuff to work through, and…”

“Asher.” Carter picked up my hand and held it against his chest. “Yes, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but you are the only man I’ve ever loved. I miss you.”

It felt like something was stuck in my throat. I coughed, then stood up and held my hand out for Carter to take. “I walked here. Would you mind driving us back to the cottage?”

Carter grasped my hand, and I pulled him to his feet. “Yes, of course I’ll drive.”

Without letting go of his hand, we strolled through the house until we were in the kitchen. We were about to enter the tack room when Florida’s voice drawled in the dark. “Y'all better be going home together.”

We turned around, but couldn’t see through the darkness. “We are.” Carter’s voice trembled, then we walked outside to Carter’s black Mercedes, which was glowing in the moonlight. I opened the passenger door and sat.

“Ouch!” I’d sat on something square and hard. I pulled it out and saw it was a gift-wrapped box. After Carter settled into the driver’s seat, I held it up so he could see it. “What’s this?”

“Oh, that. It’s a gift, kind of.” Carter chuckled.

“For me?”

“Yes, it’s for you. Actually, it’s for both of us.” Carter switched on the ignition and started inching down the driveway. “Wait until we get to the house before opening it.”

“Carter. Do you remember when we used to dance together in the old boathouse?” I turned to watch his expression. A slow smile spread across his face. “Let’s do it tonight. It’s been so long since we danced together.”

“I’d love to.” Carter turned to me. “Aren’t the lights broken in the boathouse? They were the last time we went down there.

“I want to hold you in the moonlight.” I took his hand and squeezed it. “We can dance on the pier, or on the river bank. It honestly doesn’t matter, as long as we are together.”

Carter drove past the cottage, continuing until the end of the pavement. Once he switched the car off, we both got out of the car and I took his hand again. The moon was so bright that it was easy to see the dirt path leading to the boathouse.

“Oh shit, Carter. Your shoes might get messed up walking through the…”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m the Imelda Marcos of Richmond and have plenty of shoes to spare.” He grinned, then he pulled me forward. The path used to be a tiny road where my grandparents would pull their boats to the river, and the landscapers still kept it clear. A few moments later, we could hear the low roar of the rapids.

“How long has it been?” Carter squeezed my hand. “Two years?”

“Yes, something like that.” It felt so right being with him, and when the James river came into sight, we both stopped in our tracks.

“God, it’s so beautiful.” Carter murmured. “Why did we stop coming down here?”

I knew the answer, and it was an uncomfortable truth we both needed to face. “Because we were always hanging out with the wackadoos up at the main house. They like to drink and party, and we fell into a routine of doing the same. By the time the partying ended for the night, we were too wasted to even consider dancing in the moonlight.”

“Oh, yeah.” Carter’s voice hitched. “You know I love your family, but maybe we spent too much time with them.”

“Maybe we spent too much time drinking with them.” I bit off the last few words. Ever since our relationship soured, the suspicion that we were partying too much had grown within me.

“Maybe.” Carter whispered, then we stared out at the river for a long moment, saying nothing. The moon was perfectly reflected in the water, which appeared blue in the moonlight, despite being a muddy brown. There was a tiny island in the middle of the water, and it had a tree with tiny flowers softly glowing white in the night.

---