Page 19 of Something to Talk About

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Okay, so there’s still the giant elephant in the room. I need to tell him the reason of my divorce, right?” I already know the answer to this question. I’ve told my therapist today I needed to. She agreed, and now I’m asking for some kind of reassurance.

“Absolutely,” Catherine states.

“Yes, and please report back with a picture.” I roll my eyes at Minnie. She’s been asking me for one since Catherine stated my new neighbor is hot, dragging the ‘t’ at the end.

“Sure, I’ll get right on that. Should I just ask him and say my crazy sister is demanding a picture where she’ll probably run a full background check on you, or should I wait to do it while he’s sleeping? Because you know that’s not creepy or anything.” She’s being ridiculous.

“That’s not a bad idea. Send me his first and last name. Better yet, don’t even worry about it. I can do a search on his address, grab his name from the property appraiser’s website, and do a little more digging myself.” Okay, now she’s bordering on needing help.

“Where’s Clay? He needs to calm your ass down. His name is Asher Fontaine. Look him up on social media, but do not try and be a part of a three-letter government agency. He’s a firefighter, a freaking hands-on uncle, and other things that you’re not privy to. I trusted you with Clay. Please trust me.”

“Minnie, my girl, Lennie is right. Plus, Russell has Asher’s phone number, and it won’t take us much to hop ona plane if need be.” Catherine is the voice of reason, like usual.

Asher: Wish I were there with you. Going to try and get some sleep. See you tomorrow, gorgeous.

“We lost her again,” Minnie says when I finish reading the text.

“I’m here. I’ll respond in a little bit,” I reply.

“Well, I, for one, think we should finish this conversation. You’ve got Clay, I’ve got Russell, and Lennie has Asher. Lennon, my sweet girl, I’m happy for you. I think Minnie being apprehensive is normal. You have protected her for a long time, and now she’s giving you some of that back. I love you both, so I’m getting off the phone. We’ll chat soon because we’ll all need the scoop after you talk to your Asher.” Catherine nods, Minnie smiles, and I’m glad I called these two.

“Love you, Momma Catherine. Love you, Minnie.”

“Love you right back,” Minnie says. Clay comes through the door in the background.

“Love you girls, talk later.” We all hang up, one after the other. They’re probably going to spend time with their significant others and, I’m finally going to respond to Asher.

Me: I wish you were, too. Good night <3

I wait a few more minutes to see if he’ll reply but hope he doesn’t. Asher needs his rest, especially with his line of work. With no response, I place my phone on the nightstand, plugit in, and grab my e-reader. I’ve already showered, eaten, and did a load of laundry. Now I’m in bed for the night and can hopefully fall asleep after reading a chapter or two. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough when I can see Asher again. I sound like a lovesick schoolgirl. It hasn’t been even twenty-four hours, and I’m counting down the minutes until I’m back in his arms.

15

ASHER

“Man, you aren’t going to believe this shit,” Jagger says, standing in Lennon’s laundry room and pulling on the wires to do a thorough look through before the electrician comes. I had a sneaking suspicion something wasn’t right, and I know the codes with being a firefighter as well as helping out in the construction business.

“Not sure I want to know, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion about what you’re going to find.” She’ll probably kick my ass and then the company’s ass that did the electrical work with what Jagger is about to tell me.

“There’s a splice, a motherfucking splice.” I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and now I’m gonna have to be the bad guy before Lennon gets home to deal with this shit.

“Jesus, fuck, got another problem. She’s got a warranty on this shit. Now I’m in a pickle because I’d rather one of ours work on this than the company that was hired during the inspection,” I say.

“The problem being? She’s your woman. I know what I would damn sure do.” Jagger pulls the wire through the opening, allowing it to hang where there’s a wire nut connecting two pieces of wire. There isn’t even electrical tape covering it.

“You think Kennedy is independent, I think Lennon could give her a run for her money.” The only reason I’m standing here right now is because I reassured Lennon about ten damn times that this isn’t a big deal.

“Not surprised. Never had any use for a meek woman. The last thing we want is for a woman to roll over and take it without a fight.” Jagger takes a step off the ladder. We move out of the laundry room and into the kitchen to wait for the wannabe electrician or Lennon. Whoever comes first, we’re going to need to communicate on what’s going down pretty damn fast.

“True enough.” I look around Lennon’s kitchen, noticing all the personality she put into this place. A night-and-day difference from Estelle. While they seem to have the same eclectic tastes, Lennon’s house is bright and airy, whereas Estelle preferred the room to be darker even during the day.

“It’s go-time,” Jagger says when he hears the same thing I do. The closing of the door alerting us that someone’s here. I’m trying to figure out how to tell Lennon the bad news when she flings the door open, drops her bag, and rushes toward me.

“Asher, I have to tell you something. It’s probably going to make or break this relationship. I’ve been dying to get this out since my therapy appointment and then talking to my sister and Catherine. It’s only made me feel even worse.I should have told you from the very first kiss when I poured my heart on you in the laundry room.” She is on one of her rambling streaks. Nothing will deter her from getting this out. Letting her know Jagger is here won’t help, so I just let her keep talking while she’s standing in front of me. I’m going to have to thank Luke for the uniform at his office. The black scrub top and bottoms mold perfectly to her curvy figure, her hair is pulled up in a ponytail, and she’s got colorful socks on her feet. When I got home this morning, Lennon had her mug in her hand, keys dangling from her fingers, and a bag on her shoulders. I barely made it in time to kiss her before she set off for work, but I made it, and let me tell you, that is the best way to start my day.

“Gorgeous.” My hands cup her cheeks as hers go to my chest, fingers clenching into my pecs.

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