Spiked by Love(46)

I shrug. “I didn’t want to give Jasmine this one.”

“Why?” Stella asks, and I feel her gaze on me.

“I always saw it as Ally’s,” I admit almost in a whisper, and both of them draw in sharp breaths.

“So, you’re asking her to marry you?” Emery squeals, and I quickly shake my head.

“No, not at all. I just want her to know I care about her. That, like this space, nothing can keep us apart. Something will always hold us to each other.”

I’m met with silence, but I thought that was genius. I am proud of it. Was. Now, I feel stupid. Especially when I look from Stella’s face to Emery’s.

Stella gawks at me and then asks, “So, wait. Why are you doing all this?”

I shrug. “Because I want to. I want her to feel special.”

“But shouldn’t you do this when you ask her to marry you? Use this ring?”

I’m getting clammy. “Yeah, what she said,” Emery says, hooking her thumb at our sister. “What’s the point?”

“I don’t know. I just want her to know how important she is to me.”

Stella and Emery look at each other and then back to me. “Or you’re trying to keep her from wanting more, so you’re hoping this satisfies her.”

“Which makes you a complete idiot,” Emery says, shaking her head. “Y’all love each other—”

“You don’t know that,” I quickly say, and again, they’re gawking at me. “She hasn’t said that.”

“Have you?” Emery asks, eyeing me. “Do you love her?”

“I care—”

“Wow, you’re a real dumbass.” Stella shakes her head.

“What? People say ‘I love you’ all the fucking time, and it never means anything. Hell, I know for a fact that it doesn’t. And when I say it, I want it to mean everything and more.”

They don’t care. Hell, I probably should care. With a dark look, Stella proclaims, “You know you’re going to ruin this, right?”

“What are you talking about?” I throw back, even though my heart is pumping like no other.

“This is all going to blow up in your face if you don’t get your head out of your ass and see you are doing all this because you love her. A lot.”

“I’m really tired of people telling me how she feels or how I feel.”

“Well, you sure aren’t listening to your heart. Maybe you’ll listen to us,” Stella tosses out at me.

I go to tell her off, but Emery captures my attention. “What are you scared of?” Emery furrows her brow. “It’s Ally. She loves you.”

I’m well past the uncomfortable state and now into panic. “I don’t want to lose her. And if I say it, it’s real, and boom! We are in this for real. Right now, we feel all this, and no one can get hurt.”

“That’s not true. If you lost her today, what would that feel like?”

I feel my stomach twisting. “I refuse to think that way.”

“Because it would kill you,” Stella supplies, watching me. “Have you thought that maybe you won’t lose her if you make sure she knows she is loved and cared for?” she asks, and I look away.

“Mom didn’t leave Dad, or him, her. Maybe at one point, things were shitty between them, but then they loved each other and things were fine. Is it easy? No. It’s never easy. You’re giving your heart to someone and trusting that they love you like you love them,” Emery tells me, and I can feel her eyes burning holes in my skin. “You know you’re not only wasting your time, but Ally’s too, acting like this. Doing these little things won’t hold her off, Ash. They’ll make her fall deeper in love with you.”

I don’t know where my sister is getting all this, but it’s making me sweat. Stella touches my hand. “Ash, please. If you give her that ring, know you’re basically giving her the three words you have inside you. Don’t say them because you think you have to. Say them because you want to. Because you feel it.”

Emery nods once more. “What she said,” she says, holding my gaze. “Because at the end of the day, who do you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

With the snap of the box lid, I close my eyes.

I really shouldn’t have involved my sisters.

Not only are they annoying, but they may be right. Really right.

I don’t know what’s scarier.

Them, or my feelings for Ally.





Chapter Twenty-Six





Ally



I feel like a princess.

I sit beside Asher at the bar, my legs pressed into his as he rubs my thigh. He looks devilishly handsome in a light gray shirt and black sport coat. The first two buttons on his shirt are open, showing a little hair, and thankfully, he’s wearing his new thick black frames. I lean my elbow on his knees, gazing into his eyes. “You’ve outdone yourself, Ash B.”

He grins, his eyes dancing with excitement as he drinks me in. “You look absolutely incredible, Ally T.”

And when he winks, my breath catches.

“Are you sure? I feel like this dress is so Stella Ann and not Allison Mae.”

It’s a tight, formfitting red dress that hangs dangerously low on my breasts. It stops at my knees with a slit up my thigh. Very much something Stella would rock and have men drooling all over her in. I’m pretty sure these are her red-soled heels. I can’t bring myself to ask, though, because if Asher bought these for me, I might hump his face right on this bar.

I’ve never felt more loved in my life.

Asher slides his hand up my slit to my hip, gazing into my eyes. “I feel Allison Mae is owning this dress. You’re hot as all get-out, baby.”

My lips quirk. “You’re so getting laid tonight.”

He nods, all confident-like. “Oh, I know.”

My face breaks into a grin as I bring my glass of wine to my lips. My stomach is swirling with desire, but my nerves are eating me alive. I spent the day working on my resume and finding out where I want to send it. I’ve focused a lot on Nashville and the surrounding cities, but the jobs I really want are in the Midwest. I want to be a part of a team, working with athletes to help maintain their mental health. The only team here I’d want to work with is the Assassins, and that can’t happen. I could transfer to football or even soccer since we have those teams here in Nashville, but my heart says hockey.

I’m scared to find out what Asher will think. What he’ll say. I know he’ll be supportive; that’s Asher. He’s the best when it comes to me reaching my goals, but will he be with me through it? Will he come with me? Can he come? So many questions and my stomach hurts thinking of them. As I sit here, staring at him, I don’t want to leave. I want to stay right here, under his hooded gaze, feeling like he sees nothing but me.

I want to shake him. Scream at him to tell me he loves me. Scream back that I love him. But I just don’t think doing that will help. I’m on his time, and I agreed to that. But a part of me just wants to say it and let it out into the world. Maybe then it’ll help him get to where I am.

But it could also scare him off.

I need to change the subject.

“Emery picked out the fuzzy white jacket thing, huh?”

He grins as he nods. “Yeah. Do you like it?”

“Oh, I love the whole outfit.”

“Good,” he says. “Do you like the shoes?”

I press my lips together, shifting them back and forth because of the gloss I’m wearing over my dark red lipstick. “I love them, Ash. They’re amazing.”

He grins. “Stella said you needed them.”

I’m breathless. “You bought them for me?”

“Yeah. Can’t have a hot dress like this without shoes to match.”

Why do I feel like I’m about to cry? Wait. Is he going to tell me he loves me? “I’m overwhelmed by all of this, honestly.”

“Just how I wanted you,” he says, leaning toward me and pressing his lips to mine. “I want you to know how special you are to me.”

I gaze into his eyes, and the words are there. Come on, Ash. Say them. He cups my face, running his thumb along my jaw, and he’s going to say it. I know it.

“Mr. Brooks, your table is ready.”

I can’t stab a hostess, right?

He sends me another wink before getting up and helping me off the barstool. He takes my hand as I grab my wine, and together, we head toward our table in the back corner. Like the gentleman he is, he pulls out my chair for me. “You look really good in those shoes, Ally.”

I beam over my shoulder at him. “Stop it. I can’t with you.”

He grins. “Want to take the fuzzy thing off?”

I nod, and he helps me out of it before putting it on the back of my chair. Before I can sit down, though, he snakes his arm around my waist, pulling me to him, and he kisses my shoulder. Even the hostess is swooning at this point. I gaze up at him as I sit down and take the menu from her. As he lowers himself into the other chair, he unfastens the button to his jacket, and it’s basically porn for me. For the love of all things holy, this dude isn’t playing around tonight. I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I want him more than I’ve ever wanted him in my life.

I’m also falling so totally in love with him, that it’s almost torture.