Page 110 of Third Time Lucky

His jaw tightens, a fleeting shadow of guilt crossing his features. ‘Of course, I wouldn’t stand by and watch him self-destruct or intentionally hurt anyone. But Aaron is stubborn. He doesn’t listen to reason. None of this is abnormal for him and we warned her about him. I told you this would happen.’

I told you? Did he just ‘I told you so’ me?Everything is fine, Luce, you’re having a grown-up conversation and even grown-ups don’t always say the exact right thing.

‘You did warn us. And I thank you for that because it helps to know. But I refuse to sit back and watch Madison get hurt, knowing you could tell Aaron he’s in the wrong and at least make him aware of what he’s doing, so he can break it off without destroying her,’ I declare fiercely, a steely resolve settling within me. ‘She’s already been through that once and I don’t know how well she’ll fare a second time.’

He crosses his arms over his chest, his sleeves taut around his tattooed biceps. Not gonna lie; I’d much rather have those arms around me than get all defensive as they are.

‘So, we’re fighting because they are?’

‘No,’ I say firmly, meeting his gaze with determination. ‘We’re notfighting. We’re discussing a situation affecting our friendsandus. We’re also stepping into something more than friends and I want to ensure we’re on the same page regarding things like this because I’ve been burned, Ash. Bad. So have you. I don’t want to wake up one day two years into this and find out you’ve been keeping secrets from me like Brandon did. I don’t know if I’d ever recover.’

His eyes soften as he takes in my words, understanding dawning on his face. He reaches out and grasps my hand, a silent apology in his touch. ‘I would never keep secrets from you,’ he says.

I raise an eyebrow skeptically. ‘I didn’t think he would either – then he became a professional liar.’

In that instant, I see the gears turning in his mind, and I know he comprehends the weight of my words and the terror lurking beneath them. But before we can delve further into this conversation, a jolt of alarm shoots through my wrist via my Apple Watch: a Zoom call in five minutes.

‘Perhaps we can revisit this later because right now I have a crucial meeting with a top-tier client,’ I say.

As I turn to leave the kitchen, I feel his eyes burning holes into my back, but he remains silent, as if paralyzed by the whole situation.

God, ma’am, sir, whatever, please, help. It’s too late to stop from falling for Ash. I’m there. I want to love the hell out of that man. Please make it easier.

36

ASHER

Fucking, Aaron. Despite Lucy’s reassurances that we were just in discussion, yesterday felt like our first real fight. All because of Aaron and his fuckboy ways. I hated it, feeling like I’d somehow let her down. I would never hurt Lucy, and now I’ve got to make sure Aaron doesn’t via Madi? It’s so fucking complicated. I already warned him about this, yet his mind is on himself as usual, and now he’s fucking up my life too. She’s not wrong about that.

She and Madi spent last night together, probably burning Aaron’s voodoo doll in a trash can somewhere; who knows? He didn’t call me last night either, so I’m totally in the dark here because I tried contacting Lucy, but she hasn’t answered my calls, which is understandable considering she’s been busy. When she finally did respond to my text messages, her responses were short.

My emotions are in turmoil – I’ve fallen hard for this girl, and now I’m a complete mess. I don’t want to lose her already. A part of me hopes she needs time to process her thoughts and recognize my innocence. She had her heart broken recently. I get that, and I’m willing to prove whatever she needs and go as slow as necessary to reassure her that I’m on her side. She deserves that.

Yet, I just spent an entire night with my mind swirling, while doubt and uncertainty took hold of me, and now I’m questioning whether I have unknowingly contributed to this predicament without realizing it. I tell Aaron to shut up when he’s crude. But it doesn’t stop. Maybe I need to be a better brother and dig a little deeper. And I’ve got the perfect opportunity to do just that because he and I are at the restaurant officially moving in, putting the final touches on everything. Our soft opening is in two weeks. I wanted to test the waters before I put the word ‘grand’ on anything – that’s scheduled six months out.

I meticulously place my prized collection of knives on the magnetic strip next to my station, each blade gleaming and reflecting the warm glow of the kitchen lights as I wait for him to arrive.

‘Moving day!’ Aaron calls as he walks in the front door.

‘Moving day,’ I repeat, forcing a smile at his enthusiasm, trying to push aside the tension that lingers between us – tension he probably doesn’t even feel because, for him, blocking a number solves all his problems.

We both get to work setting up the kitchen. I steal glances at him occasionally, wondering if he even realizes the impact of his actions on my budding relationship. Occasionally, I catch his eyes flicker toward me, a glimmer of guilt dancing in them before he quickly averts his gaze. So, we’re not talking. Got it.

‘What’d you do last night?’ he finally asks, his words slicing through the silence like a razor-sharp knife.

‘Stared at my ceiling,’ I mutter.

He raises an eyebrow in confusion. ‘Sounds like a blast.’

‘What about you?’

‘I went to a club and almost became the lord of the dance,’ he boasts with a smirk.

‘You’re definitely the lord of something,’ I mutter under my breath, mentally adding ‘idiots’ to the end of the sentence.

‘What was that?’ he asks, giving me a stern look.

‘I said?—’

---