Page 46 of Hiding for the Holidays
I shake my head. “No, it snowed last night, they’ll need to come in my truck with me.” He nods and heads off downstairs.
I take a steadying breath then step inside, taking a seat beside her and gently rubbing her arm as I whisper, “Wakey wakey, shortcake.”
“Mmm?” she mumbles adorably as she turns towards me and her eyes slowly blink open.
“I wasn’t sure if you'd set your alarm. What time do you usually get up?”
I ask as she sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. I see Asher’s fingers flex on her hip and her eyes drop to where he’s holding her, slowly widening in surprise. She whips her head around to find him lying in bed beside her.
Her cheeks turn bright red as he slowly opens his eyes and smiles up at her. “I’m sorry, I must have fallen asleep,” she says, her eyes looking anywhere but at either of us.
“What are you apologizing for?” Asher asks as he moves to sit up beside her, yawning widely. “I’m the one who fell asleep in your bed.”
She doesn’t seem to know what to say, and I start to feel bad for her. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, even if I do wish it was me in bed with her instead of Asher.
“It’s quarter to six. Do you want to shower before Asher? He normally takes his around seven.”
“Oh, um, sure, thanks.”
“Of course.” I move off the bed to give her space to escape the room. “Holler if you need anything.”
She goes to her bag and pulls out a tiny bag of bathroom supplies, then practically runs across the hall to the bathroom.
As soon as the door shuts, Asher’s on me. “You really couldn’t let me have a little longer with her?”
I turn to him with narrowed eyes. “I already did. I got up forty minutes ago and showered so you two could sleep a little longer. I know you both need it.”
“So why wake us now?”
“You know why.”
“It doesn’t mean she’s chosen me, you know.”
“Not that you’re giving her much of a choice, crowding her in her bed.”
“She didn’t want to be alone.”
“Did she say that?” I ask with worry. Was she afraid of being on her own? She’d been living on her own for as long as we’d known her. Had she been afraid all that time?
“She didn’t say those words, but I can read between the lines.” I frown, turning to stare at the closed bathroom. “I told her I liked her.”
My wide eyes spin back to Asher. “You what?”
He shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal, looking down at the marks on his hands. “But I also told her I know she’s going through something and I wasn’t going to press her for anything until she was ready.”
“Fuck.” I scrub my hand through my hair in agitation. Was I too late?
“You really like her, too. Don’t you?” he asks as I glance back at him.
“Yeah. I don’t know that I can back off, Ash.”
He shrugs. “Then don’t.”
I frown in confusion. “Whatdo you mean?”
“I mean, we don’t have to fight. At the end of the day, it’s her choice. And I don’t want you to back off now and resent me for it later.”
I consider it, and no matter how I look at it, I don’t see any other option.
