Page 95 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“Morning.”

He turned and nodded to me. “Morning.”

“So, listen,” I started, taking a deep breath. “There seems to be a misunderstanding between us.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his eyes zeroing in on me.

“I mean, it’s okay. Anyone would have overreacted like you did. It’s understandable. A man in your position with all those emotions running wild…you’re bound to be a little defensive about things.”

His lips twitched at my words. “Is that so?”

I nodded, letting out a deep sigh. “I mean, they always talk about women overreacting, but men are worse than women. Seriously, the way you snapped at me was over the top, but I get it. I’ll try not to take it personally.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” he said, his face morphing into a smile no matter how hard he tried to fight it. “I wouldn’t want you to think that I wasn’t in control of my emotions.”

“Never,” I said with mock seriousness. “What would the others think?”

“Yeah, I really have to watch how the others perceive me. Next thing you know, they’ll be asking if I’m on my rag.”

“Are you?”

“Shh,” he said, sitting up straight, looking around to see if anyone else was watching. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“My lips are sealed,” I said, miming zipping my lips.

“Well, now that we’ve got that settled, do you forgive me?”

“Like I could stay mad at you. Those puppy dog eyes you’ve been shooting my way are making it impossible to hold onto my anger.”

“My mom always said I could persuade any woman to do whatever I wanted.”

“She was right,” I chuckled.

With that out of the way, he was definitely more relaxed. I drank my coffee and stared out at the changing leaves. It was getting closer to fall and the warmth of summer was fading away. It wouldn’t be too much longer that I would be able to spend my days out here. I would be stuck in that house, alone with my demons. I was much better during the day. I’d gotten to the point over the last month that I was able to fake it really well and pretend that I was okay. I even spent a little time in my room every day, just to prepare for winter. I knew I’d have to be inside and if I started freaking out, Asher would worry about me.

“So, how about a friendly game of Scrabble?”

I shifted in my seat to face him. “You want to play Scrabble?”

“Well, you suck at Chess.”

“I do not suck at it. It’s a hard game!”

“Okay, then I’ll pick an easy one for you. Shoots and Ladders.”

I squished up my face in disgust, but he only grinned in return. “I don’t actually have the game, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to create my own board. Then again, maybe we could make an interactive game in the back yard.”

“I’m capable of playing a hard game.”

“I don’t know…” He shook his head, clucking his tongue as he stared at me. “You seem a bit…fragile for anything that might cause you to lose.”

“Then try me,” I dared him.

“How about Monopoly?”

“The original version or one of those weird themed ones?”

“Original, of course.”

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