Page 138 of The Ruse

Asher cleared his throat. “So anyway, do you think you can tell Logan or Jace where I’m going?”

“Oh, um, sure,” I said. Then shaking my head, I said, “I mean, I guess I can do that.”

Not that I wanted to. I didn’t want him to go see Bailee.

Not tonight when things were so weird between us.

“Okay, perfect.” He studied my face for a moment, and it almost seemed like he wanted to say something. But then he shook his head and said, “I’ll see you later, Elyse. Enjoy the rest of your evening with Nash.” His gaze flicked to my necklace again, like he thought it must mean something more to me than it really did. “I’ll see you back at school next week.”

Then he turned toward the front doors and left.

And as I watched him leave, I had the feeling that if I didn’t do something now, I might miss any shot I had at a relationship with Asher Park.

41

ASHER

“Asher, wait,”I heard Elyse’s voice say from behind me as the hotel doorman was about to shut the door of the black sedan that Bailee had sent for me.

“Yes?” I asked, holding my arm out so the doorman would keep the door open.

What did she need to tell me?

That she’d picked Nash?

Because I was pretty sure I’d gotten the memo after watching them all night.

“I—” she started to say, before shaking her head and seeming to rethink the direction of her words. “I know tonight has been bad. And nothing went the way I wanted. But please don’t go back to her.”

“What?” I asked, poking my head farther out the door to hear her better.

Did she just ask me not to go back to her?

Like she thought I was going to hook up with Bailee?

But the street was busy and loud with traffic, so maybe I’d heard her wrong.

Elyse stepped closer, visibly shivering on the hotel steps as snow lightly fell on her bare shoulders. “I didn’t choose Nash,” she said through chattering teeth. “I know everything looks bad, but…” She sighed and rubbed her arms. “I didn’t pick him. W-we’re just friends.”

They were?

“Hey, are you getting in or not?” Bailee’s family driver asked. “There’s a break in the traffic, and I need to pull onto the road.”

“I need a minute,” I said.

I needed a minute to think. Which was really hard to do when my mind was trying to figure out a million things at once.

Elyse must have seen me hesitating because she said, “Don’t pick Bailee.” She shivered again. “Please.”

“Are we going or not?” the driver asked impatiently.

“Yes,” I shouted back to her. “Just…one second.”

I shook my head. Before the driver could say anything more, I bolted from the car and ran up the two steps to Elyse.

“Can we talk about this in the car?” I asked, taking her arm in mine, my heart racing. “I have to go, but I want to talk to you, too.”

“You want me to come with you?” Elyse frowned. “To see Bailee?”

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