Page 31 of Where the Stars Heal

“So, what’s the plans for the day?” Connor asks.

“I’m going home to die on my couch before work tonight,” Madi grumbles into her hands.

We all chuckle at her. She really is having a hard time over there, and I have no idea how she’ll pull herself together for work tonight.

“Halle, what are we doin’ today?” Asher speaks up over Madi’s grumbles.

My eyes snap over to him. His focus is entirely on me, like no one else at this table exists, and that makes me feel more exposed than I care for.

“Weare doing nothing,” I fire back at him.

Asher’s eyes narrow at me, and I smirk, turning to Connor. “I was actually going to ask if you knew how far the next town is and if they have an art store. You guys don’t seem to have one here, and I need to grab some things.”

“You are not driving over to the next town in your beat-up old car, Halle. Your brother will lose his damn mind,” Asher cuts in before Connor has a chance to reply to me.

“I gotta agree with Ash there,” Connor says. “Hunt will kill us if he knew we let you go on your own. It’s an hour’s drive, and I’m not sure your car over there will handle it.” Heshoots a pointed look at my car parked across the street from us.

I roll my eyes at them.

“Uhm, okay. I have one brother, not three, and that car,” I point at it, “got me here to Sunlit Cove, remember?”

“Not to mention leaving you in a town where no one knows you,” Madi adds.

Their worry about me makes me pause. Is this what it’s like to have people who actually care about you? Or are they just saying these things because they’re Hunter’s friends first? Maybe they’re doing him a favor, not me.

“I’ll be fine, guys,” I say stubbornly, crossing my arms.

“I’ll take you,” Asher says, his voice holding firm.

My body tenses with frustration, and I lock eyes with him. Determination flares in his, daring me to argue back. I open my mouth, but Madi jumps in before I can say anything.

“Halle, girl. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let Ash take you.”

Connor and Madi stand, grabbing their things off the table and untying Ace from the chair. They look back at us with mischievous grins on their faces like they know something I don’t. Connor throws his arm over Madi’s shoulder as she walks up beside him.

“We’re gonna walk back to Hunter’s. I’ll take Madi home and let Hunter know where you guys will be today.”

“You two have fun now,” Madi taunts, winking at me.

They walk off, leaving Asher and me sitting alone out the front of Sunlit Espresso together. The silence between us feels suffocating, and I start to fidget. Unsure about this whole situation, I try to come up with any excuse to tell him not to bother coming with me.

Asher stretches his arms above his head. “Come on, sweetheart,” he says with a grin, “let’s go on a road trip.”

Standing, I start walking toward my car. My heart is racing, and I don’t know if I can handle sitting so close to him, let alone spend a whole day with him.

“It’s fine, Asher. I can go on my own. I don’t want to put you out,” I say over my shoulder.

He catches up to me and grabs my elbow, spinning me around to face him. My eyes go wide, and I bite the inside of my cheek. He’s so close to me that I can see the muscle in his jaw tick.

His thumb sweeps over my cheek as he moves to tuck my hair behind my ear, causing my heart to beat faster.

“Don’t do that,” he says softly. “I want to go with you.”

He takes a step back and smiles at me before spinning on his heel and walking over to his truck. He sees me, doesn’t he? I can feel it. When I’m around him, I don’t have to pretend. There’s no point because when I do, he sees right through it.

Biting my thumbnail, I glance back at my car. This whole trip could be a disaster. We could end up fighting, and I could come back spiraling. But what if it doesn’t happen like that at all? What if it’s everything I didn’t know I needed? My head starts to ache as I try to quickly work out what I’m going to do.

“Halle!” Asher shouts from his truck.

---