Page 47 of Chasing Sparks

ou need to stop being so damn happy,” Mina teases, giving me a playful elbow to the ribs as we tidy up the main counter area.

I cock a brow at my friend. “You prefer me scowling and surly?”

“Hell no. And thanks to Asher Hammond, you’re pure sunshine.”

Planting my hands on my hips, I pivot toward her, praying my poker face holds steady. “What makes you think my good mood has anything to do with Ash?”

She leans in with a conspiratorial wink. “Because every time you see him, you light up brighter than a damn Christmas tree. Admit it, you’re in love.”

Okay, that might be a bit of an overstatement. Ash and I have been dating for the last month, and it’s been perfect. But is it love? Am I ready for that idea with a man who claims to have shelved the concept a decade ago?

Better question—do I even have a choice in the matter when my heart has already made up its mind?

“I’ll admit no such thing,” I scoff, straightening a few items on the lower shelf.

But my firm denial doesn’t faze my friend. “I love the idea. You two hated one another and then, after one magical night—poof—true love finds its mark. It’s a fairytale, just with a bit more leather involved.”

“I never should have shared my thoughts on true love,” I mutter. Serves me right for waxing poetic while we unpacked antique books full of love stories last week.

“I love your romantic ideals. It’s refreshing in a world filled with jaded hearts.”

Call me a fool, but I’m a diehard believer that Prince Charming exists—and if you believe hard enough, and wish on enough stars, one day he’ll ride in and save you from a life of loveless drudgery.

I know I’ve read way too many romance novels, but what if Mina’s right? What if my prince has arrived? Only his horse is a Harley and he’s sporting a few more tats and piercings than my original vision?

“I thought, per you, no one tames Asher Hammond.”

Mina shrugs at my statement. “Every man’s a player until he meets the right woman. You told me that, Ori, and you were right.”

“Since when do you listen to me?”

“I always listen to my elders.”

That’s it. I’m drowning her in the bathroom sink. Elder, my ass.

But despite my snort of indignation at a twenty-five-year-old doling out relationship advice, Mina’s words resonate.

Dating is a game until you find someone who makes you want to play with a new set of rules. Ash never planned on meand I sure as hell didn’t see him coming, but maybe that’s the point.

Maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way.

He’s never outright said how he feels in the love department, but he shows me in a ton of little ways—dropping off my favorite foods when I’m working late, bringing me a vibrant Christmas cactus from the greenhouse at his farm, cleaning the snow off my truck so I’m not stuck scraping ice after dark—the list goes on.

Most importantly, it’s the absence of something—or should I say,someone. Over the past month, Ash has split his free time betweenBlack Lotus, downstairs with the speakeasy crew, or at my apartment. There hasn’t been a hint of another woman, and that’s a big deal in Ash’s world.

We’ve never spoken about exclusivity, and I know Ash’s reputation all too well. He never settles down with one woman. Okay, maybe one woman a night, but never a monogamous, committed relationship.

Not his style—his words, not mine.

And I haven’t asked him.

The truth is, I’m a chicken-shit—terrified to find out we were special only in my head and unable to be angry because we never had any other type of arrangement.

But maybe I don’t have to ask. Aren’t his actions enough?

As if in answer to my question, my gaze falls on a package sitting by the front cash register. Like most deliveries, it’s addressed to me, but this one is different. I’d recognize Ash’s artistic penmanship anywhere.

Snatching up the package, I find a note tucked under the twine holding the burlap wrapping closed.

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