Page 66 of The Last Time

“You were saying,” I say to him with my mouthful.

Brie laughs hysterically. “She take big bite,” she says with glee.

I raise my eyebrows at him while he still looks shocked.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

Brie is still in a fit of giggles, which makes Asher and me lose it. Before I know it, the three of us are cracking up together.

An elderly couple walks by, and the woman stops in front of us. “You three make a beautiful family,” she says.

“Ooh, umm,” I begin to say, but stumble over my words.

“Thank you,” Asher cuts in.

Oh my god. He didn’t correct her. He didn’t freeze up in fear like I would’ve assumed. He just gladly took the compliment and let her go on with her day. It takes several minutes for my erratic heart to finally calm down.

We eventually finish our food as it starts to get dark.

Asher looks around at the crowd. “We should probably go find a good spot for the fireworks.”

He puts Brie on his shoulders, and the two of us walk side by side to the grassy area with the best view of the fireworks show.

The entire time, my mind is stuck on the woman’s comment about us being a family. It does feel natural right now, the three of us together.

But it’s dangerous to have these thoughts. This was never discussed, me meeting his daughter. I don’t want to let my heart fall for her, because I’m definitely already falling for her dad, which isn’t part of the plan. I’m leaving soon.

“Here we go,” Asher says as he finds a giant rock. He motions for me to take a seat then reaches for Brie, bringing her down to sit in between us.

We made it just in time for the fireworks to start. Brie has each of her little hands on one of our legs as she watches the sky in fascination.

“Wook at the colors,” she says.

“They’re beautiful,” I reply. “I like the blue ones.”

“Me too.” She rests her head on my arm and yawns.

My heart melts into a puddle of love for her. I try to steal a glance at Asher without him catching me, but he is already watching us with tenderness in his eyes.

The moment is so perfect it’s bringing tears to my eyes which I frantically try to blink away.

Once the grand finale approaches, the noise level increases, and Brie now has her hands over her ears.

“Too woud,” she tells us.

Asher chuckles. “I think we should head back to the car anyway. It’s way past her bedtime. I could take you home if you want. Unless you plan on meeting back up with the rest of the crowd.”

“No, a ride home would be great. Thank you.”

We walk back to the car while Brie is in Asher’s arms resting her head on his shoulder. By the time we get to the car, she is passed out.

I can’t resist rubbing her cheek as he places her in her car seat.

He comes around to open my door and helps me hop into his truck. I let him focus on maneuvering out of the crazy traffic while I keep peeking back at Brie. Her angelic face while she sleeps is precious, and I find that I can’t get enough.

When we’re finally on the road and out of traffic, I see Asher’s shoulders relax.

“She’s incredible,” I whisper, not wanting to wake her.

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