And then I couldn’t stand not kissing him any longer.
So I kissed him.
It was long and tender and slow, his lips matching mine in their rhythm and pace, responding perfectly to my every desire. His mouth was warm and wet, his cheek lined with stubble that rasped across my skin in a perfect counterpoint to the softness of his lips, and I moaned lightly at his touch, my champagne falling forgotten from my fingers as I reached up to tangle them in his hair instead. His lips left mine, beginning to travel down my neck, over my collarbone, and then—
And then the phone rang.
Asher looked up at the phone, then back at me, flustered. “I—I could just leave it—”
He looked so adorably worried that I might be offended that I couldn’t help but laugh. “Go answer it. I promise not to evaporate.”
He gave me a smile and quick cheek-kiss and stood, taking his cell phone from the table. “Yes, what is it—” Suddenly his brow creased, his shoulders going tense. “We’ll be right there.” He hung up.
We? A jolt of worry shot through me, and I stood. “What’s wrong?”
Asher was already grabbing our jackets, his face grim. “There’s been an emergency at the shop.”
My heart stopped. “An…emergency?”
“A water pipe’s burst. We may have just lost our studio and our entire stock.”
Oh shit.
NINE
Water was already leaking out of the edge of the doorframe as we approached, and as soon as Asher wrenched at the handle, water cascaded out over our feet. I gasped, my heart plummeting as we entered.
The shop was a disaster zone. The murky water was up to my ankles, soaking boxes of lingerie, staining the throw rugs, eating its way into the walls. It looked like there had been a hurricane. My stomach twisted with nausea, my heart raced.
“How—how could this have happened?” I whispered.
Asher didn’t respond, but waded quickly into the water, following it to its source. I stayed where I was. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help. It was just that my shaky legs didn’t seem to be able to move.
The world seemed to swim before me, each sight that greeted my eyes worse than the last: an irreparably stained silk teddy wrapped around a mound of soggy cardboard that had once been a box, a sodden couch that cost more than my college tuition sitting in the middle of the room, important receipts and bills of sale scattered all across the interior lake like bits of dirty snow.
I must have made a mistake. I must have fucked up somehow. I had forgotten something, had made some crucial error, and this was all my fault.
I could feel my heart speeding up even more at my guilt, my rib cage crushing my lungs as they fought for air and blackness crowded the corners of my vision. The soaking wall I’d been leaning on gave a little under my weight, and I straightened up and away from it, expecting the entire thing to collapse before me.
I could hear my mother, my old professor and mentor, the loan officer at the bank, all their voices in my head: Didn’t know what you were doing, not experienced, not professional, you’ll make a mistake, Katie, you don’t know what you’re doing…
“Got it!” I snapped back to the present as Asher reappeared from the back, holding a wrench, his wet shirt plastered to his chest and his dark hair slicked down on his head. “One of the pipes burst, but it was just one and I’ve shut it off now.”
“What does it matter?” I whispered. I couldn’t seem to find my voice. It had disappeared with all my hope. “With all this damage…” I couldn’t make myself finish the sentence.
“Hey.” Asher took my shoulders and shook me. “Look at me, Kate. None of this is unfixable.”
I shook my head. “Maybe if we had time, but…we don’t.”
“Hey! Who’s this talking? It doesn’t sound like the Kate Jameson I know.”
Asher hooked his fingers under my chin and gently tilted it upward, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“Do you think Steve Jobs gave up when he had a setback? Do you think Grant did, or me? You are stronger than this. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever known, and even if I’ve overestimated your heart by a factor of a hundred, you’re still made of sterner stuff than half the Wall Street barons I’ve ever met.” His voice vibrated with emotion. “You can get through this. We can both get through this. I—I believe in you. All the way.”
Tears loomed at the corners of my eyes, but I couldn’t look away from his. “You…you really…”
He nodded, not looking away. “I do. Really, I do. We’ll get through this.”