Page 49 of Forbidden Hearts
“Olivia wanted you to come back with her, Phoebe, and I need for Liv to be comfortable. It’s why I came here when she said she needed me.”
About that . . .
“What if you get a call?”
“Then your dad is going to have to handle it. I called him, let him know I had to leave, and that I was going to be unavailable for a few hours. I’m not always proud of the things I do, but I will always put her first.” He jerks his chin to the booth. “It’s why we . . . the other night.”
My stomach drops as I think about his hands on me, his rough voice, and his lips. Oh, I thought his eyes were sinful, but then I had his kiss. “We already discussed that.”
I don’t need this to be any more awkward than it already is. “It deserves a second discussion. What happened just now, her clinging to you, needing you with her? If I took that away, what kind of father would I be?”
“Why would you take that from her?” I loathe the desperation in my voice as much as the desire that courses through the words.
I do not want to want him.
Yet, I do.
“Because you already can’t stand me half the time, andwhenthis goes bad, it’ll be Olivia who suffers. It doesn’t matter if I want to touch you, kiss you, or relive that goddamn night over and over because I won’t. I am not going to give in to you, not again.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “When did you hear me ask for anything from you? We kissed. Once. I don’t see what you’re so spun up about.”
I’m pretty proud of myself for the way I held that false bravado together.
He leans forward. “Your mouth said one thing, sweetheart, but your body says something else.”
My jaw falls open, and I glare at him. “I think you’re confused.”
“Your nipples are hard, and you squirmed in your chair. It can’t happen.”
I hate him. I hold on to that because it’s so much easier to dislike him than it is to see all the good things I’m not allowed to have.
“You’re ridiculous. I don’t want it to happen. The other night, I clearly was not thinking.”
“Neither of us were.”
“Right, so that’s that.”
He laughs once. “That has to be that.”
Does he want more of that?
It doesn’t matter because we both know it’s stupid. I’m leaving in a few months if I get accepted into another program. I sure as hell won’t be staying around here. I need to put my past behind me, move on, and be the woman I know I am.
This, right here? Administering tests and coming up with innovative ways to treat hearing loss, is what I want to do. I want to help provide families with better, more affordable options.
“Which is why I said it was a mistake.”
Asher looks away. “Be her nanny and her friend.”
“What do you think I’m doing? Look, I have proven myself with Olivia. I may have sucked as a babysitter years ago, but I don’t right now. I’m juggling college applications, nannying, bouncing from house to house, and dealing with the most horrible, mortifying, and humiliating experience of my damn life, and the last thing I need is to complicate that any further, so shut up. I’ve already agreed that the other night was a bad idea. Let’s move on already.”
He moves in. “What experience did you have that was humiliating?”
I jerk back, hating that I spilled that little tidbit. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. You just said it. Is that why you left school?”
“No. Nothing happened, I was confused.”
