Page 140 of Outside The Wire

“Nope,” he grinned. “He breaks out in random show tunes at the drop of a hat. You better be nice to me or I might invite him here for an extended visit.”

“You wouldn’t,” she glared at him.

“I would, and I might even sing along with him just to piss you off.”

She marched right up to me, her eyes never straying to Asher’s. “You know, every nice thing I said about Asher in the beginning? I take them all back.” Then she spun on Asher. “And I hope you lose all that nice thick hair and have to do one of those ugly comb overs.”

She stomped past us, slamming the door behind her as she walked out of the shop.

I winced as Asher ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously. “She can get a little mean when she’s mad.”

“No kidding,” Wyatt snorted as he hobbled off the floor. “Glad I’m not permanently hitched to that one yet. I think you just saved me five years of misery.”

34

ASHER

Pissed didn’t even beginto describe how I was feeling right now. I wanted to be understanding of what Jade was going through. I really did. But for her to go to Holly’s shop and manipulate her was going too far.

The elevator let me off at her floor and I stomped down the hallway to her room. I didn’t give anyone warning that I was coming. Maybe I should have, but I had been too angry to think about anything other than the fact that Jade had gone a step too far.

My fist landed with a loud thud against the door over and over until she swung it open, shocked at the anger on my face.

“Asher—”

I shoved past her into the room, spinning on her as I did my best to tamp down the worst of my rage. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Her mouth dropped and she took a step back in fear. “I—what do you mean?”

“I’m talking about you showing up at Holly’s store—telling her stories about our past. Why the hell would you do that?”

The door swung open and Chase stormed in, glaring at me like I was a piece of shit. “Do you want to make a little more noise? I’m not sure the rest of the floor heard you yet?”

“Tell me!” I said, ignoring Chase.

“Asher, you have to understand?—”

“I don’t have to understand anything. Why would you go there?”

“Go where?” Chase asked in confusion.

“To Holly’s shop.”

Chase’s gaze snapped to Jade’s in question. “You went to Holly’s?”

“Patrick took me. I just wanted to meet her.”

“You mean intimidate her,” I accused.

“Well, if she can’t handle it, that’s not my problem,” Jade snapped.

I barked out a laugh at that. “Handle it? Jade, this isn’t your father’s world we’re living in. What you did was downright shitty.”

“What I did was check out the woman my husband’s sleeping with,” she argued, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re married to me, yet I haven’t said a word about the fact that you went to her last night. How do you think it makes me feel that you were inherbed last night?”

“That’s none of your business!” I shouted.

“We’re still married! How can you say none of this is my business?” she cried out. “I woke up and you weren’t there! You were supposed to be by my side for the rest of my life and you left me!”

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