Greer froze, clutching her phone. That question had hit too close to the mark already. Her hand strayed to her stomach, and she thought of the baby. What would Asher say? Was Greer a mistake?
"None I've regretted quite as much as being with you," he told Donna coldly.
Ouch. Okay, while that wasn't super helpful for Greer, it had to have hurt Donna.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you today, Asher." Donna's voice had taken on a teary edge. "I made mistakes and they cost me your love. I want you back. I want what we had back."
"That's what this urgent meeting was about? You told me it was about Greer."
Her heart thumped wildly and she clutched the phone tight in her hands. Please love me, please love me, please love me. Please don't be the asshole I'm worried you are.
"It is, to an extent. I want to know what's going on between the two of you. I want to know if there's still a chance for me."
There was an achingly long pause, and then Asher spoke. "I'm in love with her."
Greer silently fist-pumped in the booth. Hot tears of happiness sprang to her eyes. There was no reason for him to bring her up unless it was the truth. Whatever else was going on, she could believe in that.
"Oh." Donna's broken little voice barely registered over the phone. "I . . . I see."
"You probably don't." He sounded almost amused. Cold.
"Actually, you're right. I don't." Donna's voice strengthened and Greer's hands got sweaty with nervousness on the phone. "What is it about her that you've fallen in love with? Because I'm not seeing it. Is she rich or something?"
And just like that, her gut clenched. This was difficult to hear. Hurtful, too. Donna had warned her, but every word was like a dagger in her chest, and she dreaded Asher's response. What was he going to say? It's just the baby. There's not much else to it.
Oh god, she might shatter into a million pieces if she heard those words come out of his mouth.
She didn't want to listen, but she pressed a finger to the earbuds anyhow, trying to increase the volume so she wouldn't miss a word.
"You wouldn't understand, Donna."
"Try me?"
His sigh of irritation made Greer's shoulders hunch defensively. "She's the only person in my life that has ever completely and totally had my back."
Oh.
That . . . that wasn't what she expected to hear. Nor had she expected to hear the soft note in his voice as he spoke. Hot tears poured down her cheeks. She'd had his back? When? How? She'd always loved him, but lately-
"What do you mean?" Donna's voice had resumed its sugary note.
"I mean that looking back, I see a lot of things I was too blind to see in the past. Greer's always been there for me. When I needed a friend, she was the first to extend her hand. When I needed money, she sent me a loan. She saved my business. She saved me. She's given me so much of herself and I've given her nothing but grief, but I'm determined to change that."
Greer gasped. He knew about the money? But she'd been so careful. She swiped at the tears running down her face. He'd never said to her . . .
"So it's gratitude? Is this like a pity fuck?"
"I know it's hard for you to believe, Donna, but I'm actually interested in Greer as a person, not just as a wallet. I love her. She makes me happy. Happier than I've ever been."
"I love you," Donna said, voice pleading. "I made you happy. Don't you feel anything for me anymore?"
"Actually, yes. I do feel gratitude toward you, because if you hadn't made my life so miserable, I would have been too blind to see the greatest thing in my life standing right in front of me."
Okay, she was going to openly start sobbing right about now. Greer pressed a napkin to her mouth to quiet herself, but the tears kept rolling down her cheeks.
"You're an idiot," Donna said, and there was a wealth of hurt and anger in her voice.
"I guess you've given up thoughts of reconciliation if we're back to calling me an idiot?" He sounded amused. "That was fast."
"You think she has your back? Your sweet little Greer will always support you?" There was another rustle of fabric and what sounded like stomping feet. "You want to know the truth, Asher? Come with me."
Oh no. Greer stared down at the phone in her hand. Don't do it, Donna. Don't-
"There you go," said a triumphant voice just as Greer pulled the earbuds out of her ears. Donna stood at Greer's booth, extending a triumphant hand at the guilty party. Asher was there with her, a hint of a frown on his face.
Greer just swiped at the tears on her cheeks.
Donna waved her rhinestone-crusted phone in the air. "You've been on speakerphone the entire time. How's that for trust?"
The look on Asher's face darkened. He looked at Greer, then at Donna. "This was all a setup by the two of you?"
"No," Greer said quietly.
"If by setup, do you mean we want you back?" Donna put her hands on her hips. "I thought I did."
Asher looked back at Greer again, as if daring her to deny what had happened.
She couldn't. She licked her lips, anxious, and quietly turned her phone off and stuck it in her purse. "Asher-"
He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. "Come with me, Greer. We need to talk."
Yeah, they did. Greer nodded and slid out of the booth. She couldn't help but notice that Asher grabbed her hand again the moment she was standing.
"So what now?" Donna asked. She tossed her beautiful red hair. "What about me?"
Asher leaned in to her. "You can go fuck yourself." Then he tugged on Greer's hand. "We're leaving."
Chapter 14
Asher was furious.
Furious, and he knew he didn't have any right to be. Seeing Greer there with Donna and realizing they'd pulled a trick on him? Realizing that he'd been going on and on about how Greer had always been there for him only to find out she was deceiving him right under his nose? It pissed him off and he knew that made him the world's biggest hypocrite, but he didn't care. They needed to have a private discussion and not in front of Donna.
So he clasped her fingers in his and pulled her along in his ruthless march onto the sidewalk. Greer's small hand was clammy in his as he dragged her through the crowded streets of New York.
"Where are we going?" she asked after they swerved through a tangle of people.
He didn't know that, either. His brain was a jumble of anger at the situation and relief at seeing her again. He wanted to pull her against him and kiss her until she was blue in the face just because she looked healthy and whole and he'd found her. He was so damn glad he'd found her. And yet . . . he wanted to bend her over his knee and spank her for leaving him without a word. He wanted to spank her again because she'd been deceiving him.
"Your apartment?" she suggested delicately when he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and people began to swerve around them.
He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to protect her. Even in his anger, he didn't want her to be shoved or hurt. He noticed that she moved instinctively closer to him, and it helped cool his anger a bit. Asher nodded. "My apartment." He moved to the curb and raised a hand, flagging a taxi. When one stopped, he opened the door for her and she got in.
The moment he slid in next to her, her thigh brushed his and a rush of memories came crashing back. His anger and frustration at her disappearing without a trace again. His misery when he realized he'd somehow fucked up again and she was ignoring him. His frantic need to find her again, only to be turned away at the door to her building. Hours staring at his phone, willing her to text him back, just to get nothing in return.
On impulse, he pulled her against him and cupped her chin. "You can be mad at me later, but right now, I'm going to kiss you."
She gave him a puzzled look from behind her glasses. "What-"
He silenced her with his mouth. No excuses, no explanations, just a meeting of lips and a quiet reassurance to him that she was there and she was his. She didn't fight or protest; she melted against him. Her arms twined around his neck and she leaned into his body, her tongue stroking against his, and he felt a surge of fierce, possessive pleasure.
Whatever was going on between them wasn't too broken for her to kiss him. He'd take that small victory.
He continued to kiss her, licking at her sweet mouth with deep strokes until the car stopped. She stared up at him, dazed, a look of drugged pleasure on her expressive face. "Upstairs," he said between kisses. "We'll finish this upstairs."
Of course, by the time he'd paid the cabdriver and they'd taken the elevator back to his apartment, his head had cooled a little. He watched her, noticing the guilt in her expression and the way she fussed with her glasses to deliberately avoid eye contact. Yeah, someone was definitely feeling a little awkward at being caught. As well she should, he thought with irritation. What she'd done was a shitty, shitty thing.