Page 33 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

She climbed into the car and drove to her apartment. Once inside, she dialled Asher again, and this time he answered.

“Hey, Chaya. Are you on your way?”

“I was, but I got into an accident.”

“Oh no. Are you hurt?”

“I tried to call you when it happened. But, yeah. I’m just really shaken up. I was wondering, would it be a pain if I skipped dinner with your parents.”

“Chaya,” he said, with the ever-so-slightly pleading tone. “It was tough enough to schedule this in with your shifts and all the things we have going on. You said you were just shaken. Maybe this is what you need. A night out, a glass of wine, some good company. Help you shake it off, yeah?”

She didn’t want to.

She glanced toward her bedroom, her thick and comforting bedding just calling to her.

“I really don’t want to drive again.”

“I’ll send an Uber. Ten minutes good?”

“Asher, I—”

“I’ll order you a glass of pinot and keep an eye out for you. Okay? I need to get back to Mum and Dad because, right now, I’m that prick on his phone in the middle of the bar. Uber in ten.”

And then, the line went dead.

Ten minutes.

Not enough time to shower.

So, she cleaned herself up at the sink as best she could. Touched up her make-up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a black blouse. A headache was settling in her temples, so she popped two painkillers. It wasn’t the best idea to mix painkillers and wine, but she was suddenly irrationally angry at Asher.

He’d brushed over her wishes again while making it sound like she was the unreasonable one.

Like with the wedding.

He’d been more concerned about his dinner with his parents than he had been about her. He told her he loved her, but he rarely showed her by prioritising her needs. Instead, he always assumed he knew what would be best for her. And it wasn’t like she was being demanding. The accident had really rattled her.

As much as seeing Ben had soothed her.

A part of her wanted to tell him he’d forced her to call Ben by not answering, but to what end? What purpose would it serve to upset what should be an otherwise nice evening?

She slipped on a pair of comfortable trainers, and as she headed for the door, her phone pinged.

Uber is waiting for you downstairs.

With one last breath to cool her mood and ease her jangled nerves, she jogged down the stairs.

6

Ben pulled up outside the hospital and resisted the urge to call Chaya to see how she was feeling.

It had rattled around in his brain for hours that he was the one she called. He was the one who turned up and made it right. That he was the one who’d made sure she wasn’t hurt. That he was the one who would fix the damage done, to set the world to rights.

Where the fuck was Asher?

Because, Jesus, if the guy was going to marry Chaya, he’d better look after her better than Ben could. If he was this crappy of a boyfriend and fiancé, what kind of husband would he be once the novelty wore off?

It would be one thing to back off knowing Chaya was taken care of, but…

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