Page 70 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

I turned on my heel and headed for the door. I needed to get out of this house.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Outside. Or is my chain not long enough for that?”

His jaw clenched hard as he stared at me with what looked like remorse. I almost asked him if he regretted any of it, but did it really matter at this point? I shoved the door open and headed outside. I had to stop thinking he was any different than my father. He was exactly like him, and he would show his true colors one day.

27

ASHER

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant when I said you had to get close to her.”

I shoved my fingers through my hair and sighed. “Fuck. I know.”

“Do you? I’m pretty sure she hates you right now,” Patrick said, walking over to get his own coffee.

“Shouldn’t you be on guard duty right now?”

“Why? Are you afraid she’s going to actually get off the grounds?”

I stared at him accusingly. “You seem to like spending time with her. Every time I turn around, you’re right there with her. Why is that?”

“Hmm, I thought I was her protection detail, which I happen to take very seriously. On top of that, I like her. I want to get to know her. That’s something that as her husband, you should be interested in also.”

“I never said I wasn’t.”

The amused expression on his face said he didn’t buy it. “Could have fooled me. Were you hoping that yelling at her would make her fall at your feet?”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously,” he continued. “I have to admit, you really have a way with women. She thinks you actually believe she’s working with someone else, even though we have all lines of communication monitored. We know it didn’t come from anyone on that island. And you even told her you were taunting her father. But instead of believing you,” he laughed. “You somehow got her to believe she had something to do with it!” He burst out laughing, which I did not appreciate. “Man, you’ve got this marriage thing down to a T. If and when I ever decide to get married, I’m coming to you. I know you’ll have the best advice.”

“I get it,” I snapped. “I screwed up.”

“And you keep screwing up. What I don’t get is why,” he said seriously. “I saw you with her last night. You wanted nothing more than to protect her. But then you open your fucking mouth and everything goes sideways. Why?”

I clenched my jaw angrily. “She doesn’t trust me.”

He laughed humorlessly. “No shit. And she’s definitely not going to trust you if you keep acting like a douchebag. I told you to talk to her, not make things worse.”

“I know.”

“Chase told you to talk to her,” he added with a nod. “Out of anyone, I really thought you would listen to him.”

“I know,” I bit out.

“Hell, even Lock is all for you talking with her.”

I slammed my coffee mug down so hard on the counter that it shattered. Blood dripped down my hand where a shard sliced through my palm. He nodded at me, tipping back on his heels. “Good job.”

“Fuck, I’m screwing everything up.”

“No shit. But you can still fix this.”

“Yeah? And how do you suggest I do that?”

“Tell her the fucking truth.”

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