Page 35 of Outside The Wire

“Is he here?” I heard another woman whisper.

Holly didn’t think I could see her swatting at her friend, but it was pretty obvious what she was doing. Being the good boyfriend that I was, I pretended not to notice.

Boyfriend. Yep, that’s what I was going with. I’d never been one before, but I was laying it out there. Even if it was only in my head.

“Asher,” she said, stepping out into the main room. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to drive you home. The roads are terrible.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine.”

“There’s ice everywhere. It’s not safe.”

“Aww,” her friends sighed from the back.

“I’ll take your friend home, too.”

In a flash, her friend popped out from the back and stuck out her hand, grinning widely at me. “Hi, I’m Noelle, bestie of Holly Lane and a huge fan.”

Christ, they were just alike. It was actually kind of comical. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Asher, as nice as it is for you to offer, I need my car in the morning,” Holly explained.

“Yeah, me too,” Noelle shrugged.

“Not a problem. I’ll drive you in early.”

“And we also?—”

“Get your hot cocoa every morning. I’m aware. Just tell me what time we need to leave.”

Noelle stared at me with puppy dog eyes and Holly— well, let’s just say I’d probably be getting one hell of a goodbye kiss tonight.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Holly asked.

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure. Now, what do you need me to do to help you finish up?”

She glanced around, then to Noelle. “We just have to lock up.”

“I’ll do it,” Noelle offered. “Go ahead and get your things.”

Holly waited for Noelle to leave the room, then walked over to me with a grin on her face. “So, what inspired the drive over here and the offer to drive us home?”

There was no way in hell I was going to tell her about my protective instincts. That would lead to more questions that I wasn’t ready to answer. Hell, I wasn’t sure I would ever tell her about that part of my life. I had left it behind, and I planned on it staying in the past.

“My windshield was iced over, and I just got to thinking about how long it would take you to clean off your car. So, I was going to come and warm up your car for you, but then I got on the road and it was icy as hell. Call me crazy, but I didn’t want to risk you getting into an accident. I sorta like you.”

“Yeah?” she smiled up at me as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “Just sorta?”

“Well, the jury’s still out. I mean, you did measure carpet by rolling around on the ground.”

She smacked my arm and started to walk away, but I tugged her back to me and placed a searing kiss on her lips, reminding her just how much I liked her. When I let her go, she stumbled back a step, pressing her fingers to her lips.

“I’m just gonna—” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and giggled as she spun around, nearly walking into a doorframe.

I chuckled at her reaction. I had to admit, it was one of the things I liked about her. She was real with me, not trying to hide the effect I had on her because she wanted to play it cool.

I never really had that chance with Jade. Everything was shoved at us, arranged, and tainted by our situation. And by the time I finally opened my eyes and really saw her, it was already too late for us. That was part of the reason I wasn’t hesitating in the slightest with Holly. I didn’t want to waste a minute when it felt right.

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