Page 112 of Be My Bride

The screaming guitar riff.

The broken-hearted singer crying about his empty heart.

I’m there.

In the song.

In the moment.

And then I glance up and everything stops.

A familiar building looks back at me. Shabby paint. Two thick dumpsters. Windows filled with a mixture of light and darkness.

This is Asia’s apartment.

I drove without a specific destination in mind and somehow ended up here.

My heart led me to her.

Her apartment’s on the third floor.

I can’t see anything from up here—thankfully. Which means that she’s been safe from pervs and prying eyes all the years before I met her.

That’s important.

Because I want to protect this woman.

For the rest of my life.

My heart pounds a frantic rhythm as the light glows, piercing the darkness.

I sit there in my car, my hands tight on the steering wheel.

I tell myself to go, but I don’t make any moves to.

One minute passes.

Then thirty.

Then an hour.

I stay there in Asia’s parking lot until she turns off all the lights.

Twenty-Seven

Asia

“That looks fabulous, girl.” Tierra grins brightly and twists her finger in a circle. “Spin around.”

“You don’t think it’s too…”

“What?” Elizabeth arches an eyebrow.

“Much?” I wince, glancing down at the red cocktail dress that hugs my figure and shows off my cleavage. “It’s just a dinner with an engineer, right? Shouldn’t it be more… formal?”

“The Jensen deal is very important.”

“I’m aware,” I mumble.

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