Page 93 of Even if It Hurts

“I was,” he said without missing a beat, then slanted his head in the smallest movement that still seemed so big. “But then I couldn’t figure out if I was actually mad or terrified that something would happen.”

For a second, I saw it. The same lethal mixture of rage and fear that had pulsed from him when he’d gotten the call last night flashed through his eyes then. But when he glanced at where Kaia was chewing on teething beads, everything disappeared.

“But I’ve seen how much it wrecks you when you think you do something that might make me uncomfortable,” he went on. “I figured if you were putting y’all in danger like this, you felt like you had to.”

Even though he’d been uncharacteristically kind in his delivery, guilt unfurled in my chest. “When you put it like that,” I murmured and took another sip. “I did try to think of the best place.”

“Public,” he reminded me.

“You were afraid your apartment wasn’t safe,” I gently countered. “They had my address which, I get, is in Huntley. But you said they would be looking for wherever I was—ifthey even looked for me. So, I told Hudson not to close out my hotel room, and he left my phone in it to see if anyone tracked it there. As for here...” I gestured to the adorable square.

“There are never so many people out that it’s hard to sort through them all, and it’sHuntley,” I said as if that was all the explanation I needed. “I know everyone here. I would know if a stranger was coming at me. And we’re at the Square, so people can only come from one direction.”

Asher studied me for so long that I opened my mouth to apologize and ended up releasing a stuttered breath when he said, “You’re incredible.”

“What?”

“It’s dangerous,” he added, backtracking a little. “I still wouldn’t have risked either of you. But what you did, that line of thinking...you’re incredible.”

A wave of heat crept into my cheeks at his unexpected praise.

Clearing my throat, I glanced at the cup in my hand and teased, “So, is it your plan to keep me locked up in your apartment forever? Because we talked about this. You eventually have to let me go.”

A smile briefly stole across his face, stunning me and stalling my heart for long seconds before it faltered back into that frantic beat.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Asher smile. Not really. And there was something about his smile, even as fleeting as it was, that transformed him completely. Made him softer. Somehow even more handsome than before.Mine.

Because that smile had undoubtedly beenmine.

“Told you I’m not letting you go,” he murmured as something impish and wholly intimate danced through his eyes. “But, honestly, I want you wherever you’re comfortable.”

“Honestly, Mr. Briggs?” I asked in a soft tone that had his eyes darkening with heat. “You should smile more.”

“We were watching,” a feminine voice said defensively, jolting me from the little bubble that had formed around Asher and me. Baskets of food were dropped onto the table as Mallory added, “We weren’t far.”

“We wereright there,” Hudson said on an irritated groan as he set more food on the table and lowered himself onto the bench opposite us. He gestured from Mallory to Asher and me. “I told her I texted you, and she was still ready to bolt back here the entire time we were waiting.”

“I knew where y’all were,” Asher confirmed with a nod as Mallory punched Hudson in the arm.

“AndItold you I wasn’t supposed to leave them,” she snapped.

Hudson’s lips parted, but I hurried to say, “I asked you to.” I gestured to where Jackson had been sitting just minutes before. “That conversation needed to happen and didn’t need an audience. So, thank you.”

Mallory stared me down for a few seconds before meeting Asher’s gaze as if expecting his fury.

Apparently it wasn’t just me.

But Asher asked, “Is it always like this out here?” instead, once again shocking me.

I looked between him and Mallory’s blatant surprise a few times before clarifying, “In the Square?” At Asher’s confirming grunt, I said, “Yeah.”

He made a face before reaching for one of the baskets. “Huntley’s nice.”

Even if it hadn’t been for the way the people across from us were staring at Asher as if he’d grown a second head, I was sure his carefree words and demeanor would’ve stunned me into silence.

“Yeah,” I began a while later, the word drawn out with all my hesitation even as I glanced around, trying to see Huntley Square with new eyes.

The cobblestone street leading up to the dead-end square wasn’t the main street of Huntley, but it was easily everyone’s favorite part of town. Lined with well-kept boutiques, little shops, and local restaurants, it was the perfect place to get...well, anything, really.

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