But maybe tonight is the night he tells me.
Or I tell him I’m more than likely going to move when I graduate, and he dumps me.
The possibilities are endless at this point.
I lick my lips as we both look over the menu, and then we order our entrees. We’re both ravenous, not only for food, but for each other. I hand off the menu to the waitress and reach for my wine. He takes a long pull of his water, and our eyes meet over the candlelight. His face glows from the low lighting, and I can’t help but smile.
“What?”
“This is really nice,” I admit, and he sends me a quirky grin before lacing our fingers together. I take a deep breath and beg for a conversation topic to come to mind so I don’t jump him. “So, you told your sisters about me?”
He nods with a rueful grin. “Funny you ask. Apparently, everyone in my family knows but my mom.”
I’m confused. “I’m sorry?”
He rolls his eyes. “Aiden told my dad to get back at me for telling everyone about him and Shelli—”
I laugh. “Oh yeah, when you were trying to get your mom’s ring for Jasmine.”
Something shifts in his eyes, and for once, I don’t know what it is. “Yeah. And good for him, it was a nice burn.”
“Such a nice burn. You threw him to the wolves like a little crybaby.”
He holds up his palm. “Whoa, please spare my feelings. I was young and stupid.”
“It was like nine months ago. You’re still young and stupid.”
He squeezes my hand, and we laugh together. “Anyway,” he sings, and I grin. “Emery overheard my dad and Aiden’s conversation. I wasn’t going to tell them when I asked for their help today, but Emery doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.”
“Oh no, that’s not her way of life.”
He nods. “It was interesting, to say the least.”
“I bet. Those two are a hoot.”
“That’s one way to put it. They’ve grown, like, a lot.”
“Yeah. That’s how I feel about Journey. One minute, he’s a snot-nosed brat, and now, he’s still a snot-nose, but he’s taller than me.”
He grins. “He’s a good kid.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “The girls are wonderful too. They just demand attention.”
“God help the guys they trick into relationships.” He eyes me with a teasing gleam in those gray depths. “But I do tend to surround myself with women like that.”
I laugh as I reach for my glass. “Hey, don’t act like you don’t like that about me.”
He strokes his thumb along mine. “I’m not. Just stating facts.”
I side-eye him. “Sure.”
He grins as he looks down at our hands. “I think I need to go talk to your dad. With everyone knowing on my side, my mom will find out sooner rather than later, and she’ll tell your family. I don’t want Jakob to find out like that. I want to tell him.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“We can go together.”
I smile. “Okay. Or we can start making out and just call him into the room.”
He blinks. “I thought you liked me? Are you trying to get me murdered?”
I giggle, shaking my head as his face lights up across from me. Lord, he’s so beautiful. When his phone sounds, he makes an annoyed face before he pulls it out of his pocket. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
He reads the message and then rolls his eyes, tucking it back into his pocket. “Stella, being dumb.”
I bring in my brows. “Huh?”
He shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”
“Tell me.”
He meets my gaze, and his lip quirks at the side. “Don’t laugh at me.”
I shake my head. “I will not promise that.”
“Then I’m not telling you.”
I scrunch up my face, thinking really hard if I can contain myself. Usually if he says that, I can’t. “Fine.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
He lets out an embarrassed laugh, and then his eyes capture mine. “We sat in the car before we went into the mall, looking for songs to send you.”
There is no laughter in me. Mainly because my heart has exploded. “Really?”
“Really, and it was so silly because nothing felt right. And then the one that did, I felt I wasn’t ready to give you.”
“Aw, what song?”
He gives me a look. “I’m not telling you.”
“Why?”
“I might use it later,” he says, eyeing me through his long lashes. “But she was texting me another song that she says ‘fits us perfectly.’”
“Which one?”
“Again, not telling you. I haven’t heard it, and I want to listen to it first.”
“So rude,” I complain, and he winks.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
His words are more a promise than anything, and that excites me more than it should. Our entrees are brought out, and we dig in. We eat off each other’s plates, and the conversation is so easy. So us. I very much skirt around the edges of where I sent my resumes, and he says every sweet thing in the book, except the three words I’m dying for. He finishes before I do, and when the waitress takes his plate, I send him a forgiving smile.
“I’m getting full, but my mom didn’t raise a quitter,” I admit, and he laughs.
“It’s fine. Take a break.”
“So supportive,” I say as he grins. I lean back in the chair, thankful that my dress gives the food baby growing in my gut some room. I feel him watching me, and I look over, shrugging. “What?”
“I’ve got something else for you.”
I arch a brow. “What? Why? Asher, you’ve given me so much tonight. It’s really the perfect night.”
He swallows as he opens his jacket and pulls out a little box. “I want you to know how I feel about you.”
My heart actually stops as he places the little mahogany box in front of me. I look from it to him and then back down to it. I feel my heart kick back up and start to pounding. “What is this?”
“Open it.”
I look back at him. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
He scoffs. “I’m glad I’m not because you would have ruined it.”
That takes a bit of the pressure off. Kinda. “I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what?”
“What this is,” I explain, and he looks at me blankly.
“Then open it.”
I’m almost afraid to. With a shaky hand and my heart pounding in my ears, I slowly open the box to the most stunning diamond duet I’ve ever seen. And holy hell, the diamonds are huge. I cover my mouth as I look back at him. “Did you just get paid?”
He laughs loudly, his whole body moving with the action as I glance back down at the box. “Do you like it?” he asks, and I feel the tears in my eyes as I reach for the ring. It’s a gorgeous white-gold band holding one emerald-cut diamond and a square-shaped one. The space between the diamonds is so unique. I slowly slide it onto my right ring finger since hopefully, one day, he’ll give me something for the left. Though this ring looks like it belongs on the left. I hold out my hand to take in the gorgeousness he’s just given me, but he takes my hand in his, nodding.
“Perfection. I knew it was made for you.”
Breathless, I fight back tears. “This is too much.”
“No, you deserve it,” he says softly. “And I want you to know, Ally, despite this space, nothing can keep us apart, because like this band, something will always hold us to each other.”
My lip wobbles as he traces his thumb along the band and diamonds, his eyes never leaving mine. He’s so proud of himself, and it fills me with such unbelievable love. “You’ve been working on that since you got the ring, huh?”
“Yup, a lot of thought went into it. Stella and Emery weren’t impressed,” he admits as a tear rolls down my cheek.
My voice breaks as I say, “Well, I am thoroughly impressed.”
His lips turn up in the most gorgeous grin. “That’s all that matters.”
Our eyes meet, and everything goes numb. Never in my life have I felt what I feel for this man. I wait, begging with my eyes.
Say it, Ash.
Say it.
But his stare is so level. “Are you happy, Ally T?”
He isn’t going to say it. I lick my lips, and softly, I say, “So much so. You’re about to get the best loving of your life.”
He nods, so damn sure of himself. “I know.”
So cocky! And boy, do I love it.
But the one thing that demolishes me inside is that I didn’t need any of this.
All I need are those three words.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Asher
Ally wasn’t playing when she said she was going to give me the best loving of my life.
I arch into the wall with my shoulders, sliding deeper into the back of her throat as she sucks me into oblivion. I squeeze my eyes shut as I drag in a deep breath, unsure how the hell the Lord gave my girl a mouth like this. Not only is she quick-tongued, she sucks like a damn dream.
“I almost don’t know if my cock loves your mouth or your pussy more,” I somehow get out, and when she laughs around my cock, a shiver runs up my spine.
She runs her tongue up the length of me, a smacking noise leaving those beautiful lips before she asks, “What is your favorite?”