Page 97 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“What?”

I slapped my hand over my mouth and forced myself not to laugh. “Nothing.”

“It’s not funny.”

I shook my head, but a giggle burst free. “I’m sorry, but who gets banned from playing board games?”

“It was traumatizing!” he insisted. “While all the other families were playing games, I was forced to read books!”

That only made me laugh harder. Asher’s fingers linked with mine and he smiled at me as we shared this hysterical moment together.

“It’s about time I saw that beautiful smile.”

“Leave it to Patrick to force it out of me.”

Asher glared at me in fake consternation. “Are you saying I’m not funny?”

“You’re more serious.”

“I’m only serious because we’re stuck here,” he grumbled, firmly reminding me of exactly what our situation was. “Maybe I would be funnier if you actually got your ass out of bed at a decent hour and entertained me. You sleep like the dead.”

And just like that, the levity of the moment was gone. All it took was a simple reminder of the secrets I held onto to squash all the happiness of the last half hour. I smiled at him as the guilt twisted up inside me. I was sleeping like the dead because I had upped how many pills I was taking a night. I rationalized that it was good for me, that as long as I was actually sleeping, it was good for me. But I wasn’t sure he would see it that way if he found out.

“Well, you wear me out at night.”

“Christ,” Patrick muttered, pushing up from his chair. “And on that note, I’ll leave the two of you to discuss your sex life without me around.”

Asher smirked at him as he left. When it was just the two of us during the day, I could almost pretend that our lives were perfectly normal, that we didn’t have this cloud hanging over our heads. And at night, until he fell asleep, it almost felt like we were really a couple. But then the darkness crept in and I couldn’t hide from the shadows that haunted me.

I didn’t want him to think that I was fragile and weak. He saw a strength in me that I used to feel before I turned on my father. Back then, I thought that I could take him on and be a better person for it. Now, I wasn’t sure that woman still existed. As much as I wanted her to, she was buried somewhere deep inside me, and I wasn’t sure she’d ever return.

“Hey,” he said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Tomorrow’s the day.”

“The day for what?”

He looked down at our intertwined fingers and then to me. “The doctor is coming to see your mom.”

I blew out a harsh breath as my heart rate picked up. I’d been waiting for this for so long, it was hard to believe it was finally happening. “What time does she get in?”

“Tonight. We’ll head over first thing in the morning.”

“And you already told my father?”

He nodded. “He wasn’t really happy about it, but he agreed. It’ll give me a chance to find out more about what’s going on with the business.”

“Do you really think he’ll talk to you?”

He looked uneasy about the whole thing. I was beginning to wonder if this was a good plan, no matter how much I wanted my mother back. “A man like Ambrose doesn’t reveal anything until he’s ready. I’m not sure how he’s going to react to all this.”

“Do you think he’ll try something?” I suddenly wasn’t feeling so great about this plan at all. The idea of walking into his house, into a potential ambush, made chills run down my spine.

“I would say no because you’re his daughter, but with him, anything goes. But don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

I gripped his hand tightly. As much as I wanted to believe him, I knew that bad shit happened all the time. No one could protect me if my father had anything to say about it.

36

ASHER

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