Page 168 of Forever To Me

But then she reaches out and grabs my shirt, yanking me down, and kissing me like she’s trying to make up for lost time.

And hell, I kiss her back like I’m trying to do the same.

Kissing her again feels like finally coming up for air. Like I’ve been drowning without her and didn’t even realize how bad it was until now. I tilt my head, deepening the kiss, my hands gripping her waist, pulling her flush against me because I need to be closer. Need to feel her against me and to make up forevery single second I spent pushing her away. I've missed her so much.

I chuckle, grinning down at her, and something shifts in her expression.

She tries to stay mad. But she fails spectacularly. Instead, she exhales, shaking her head, and laughs.

Softly at first. Then full-on belly laughs roll out of heruntil she leans into me, shaking her head against my chest.

I press my lips against her hair, still grinning.

“Guess I’ve got a lot to make up for, huh?” I murmur.

She tilts her head up, smiling, eyes still glassy. “Yeah, but you’re getting there, Asher.”

And just like that. Everything is going to be okay. I know it's not going to be easy, but nothing easy is worth it. I'm going to fight for us. Nothing will ever come between us ever again. It's Violet and me against the world.

I’ve played in front of thousands of people. I’ve faced music executives and the sheer terror of raising a teenage daughter. That last one has been the hardest by far.

But none of that prepares me for what Violet tells me right before her parents pull up to my house to meet me for the first time. And I'm already nervous.

She stands in my kitchen, arms crossed, looking nervous as well. And that's not helping any.She looks at me nervously, “So, uh… I should probably warn you about something.”

I frown. “About what?”

She exhales. “My parents are… like really huge fans of yours. Huge.”

I blink. “What?”

She winces. “Like… massive. Like ‘Mom had a poster of you in her laundry room, and Dad considers you part of his hernia surgery recovery story’ kind of huge fans.”

I stare at her. “Stop messing with me, Red.”

“Oh, how I wish I was.”

Before I can respond, the sound of a car pulling into my driveway makes my stomach drop. What have I gotten myself into?

She grabs my wrist, eyes deadly serious. “Just…please be ready for what's coming.”

“What do you mean? I don't understand.”

“You will,” she mutters, right as there’s a sharp knock at my front door, three fast, no-nonsense raps like I owe someone money.

“Jesus,” I mutter. “Am I meeting your parents or the FBI?”

Violet mutters something under her breath, but I can’t hear it over the sound of my pulse as I open the door. The second I do, all hell breaks loose.

“HOLY SHIT!”

Violet’s dad staggers backward, his hand flying to his chest like he’s having a full-body crisis.

Her mom lets out a high-pitched gasp and smacks his arm. “Language, Eli!”

But Eli isn’t listening. His wide, disbelieving eyes are locked on me. “It’s—you’re—Asher Wyatt?!”

Violet groans. “Dad, please don’t?—”

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