Page 18 of The Better Choice

“If he’s stillnotyour boyfriend when you get off work, come back.”

Her jaw nearly dropped as she said the words. “Come back here?”

“What else would I mean by that?”

A smile grew on her face. “Okay,” she practically screamed, her voice way too perky. “I will.”

He scowled, looking a bit happy in spite of himself. “Don’t read too much into it…or whatever.”

She nodded, unable to tame her smile. “See you tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, turning away and shutting the door. She hadn’t missed the brilliant smile that had grown on his face as he dismissed her.

Chapter Nine

At work that night, Blythe moved with a lightness she hadn’t known in a while—maybe her whole life. That was what falling in love was like, wasn’t it? Light. Shining through you. Lifting you up. No matter how many times you fall in love, every single time always feels like it’s the first. Like this time is somehow different. Somehow better. Okay, so she wasn’t falling in love just yet, but that didn’t stop the expanding feeling her heart had claimed for its own. She watched the clock, the hands moving slower and slower as she grew closer to the end of the party.

At just past eight, one of her female coworkers, Tyler, approached her. “Hey, Blythe, there’s someone outside for you.”

“What?” she asked. No one in New York knew her. Except her aunt, and why wouldn’t she call? Well, her aunt or Finn. Or Asher. She hated the hope that fluttered through her at the thought of Asher. She’d chosen not to respond to his text and she’d ignored the phone call that came through around noon, but he’d made no further attempts to contact her. It wasn’t him. Probably. “Can you cover?” she asked, turning to head back toward the kitchen.

“Sure,” Tyler responded. “Go ahead.”

She walked through the swinging door that led into the kitchen and set her empty tray down. As she walked toward the back of the house, she spied him through the glass of the storm door. “Asher?”

He nodded, his eyes narrowing as he saw her, an uncertain smile spreading across his cheeks. “Hi,” he said.

“What are you doing here?”

“I tried to call.”

“Yeah, I saw.”

“You’re ignoring me?” he asked.

She twisted her mouth in thought. “I’m not ignoring you, I just need time to figure out what I want.”

“I know. I assumed.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Look, can we just…talk?” he asked, reaching for the door handle. She nodded, stepping out as he pulled it open.

“What do you want to talk about?”

He sighed. “About how much of an idiot I am.” His words surprised her. His face showed a small, hopeful smile as he waited for her to speak. When she didn’t, he went on. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I’m sorry if what happened took you by surp—”

“You don’t have to do this,” she interrupted.

“No, I want to.” He took a breath, reaching for her hand. “When you walked away from me last night, I realized something I hadn’t until that point. I’m crazy about you, Blythe, and that scares me. We haven’t known each other long, not long enough for me to feel this way about you. But I do. And what scares me even more is the idea of you walking away for good and me never seeing you again. I…I don’t know if I could do that.”

She furrowed her brow. “So, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying…if you need us to be exclusive, I think I can do that.”

“I don’t want to give you an ultimatum, Asher. That’s not the point. Last night just surprised me. I assumed we were exclusive, and that was my fault—”

“No, no it wasn’t. I should’ve been more clear.”

She patted the top of his hand with hers. “It was both of our faults. But, to be honest, I’m not sure that I can do the non-exclusive thing. That still may be a dealbreaker for me.”

“Then I’ll—”

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