Page 21 of From Asher, With Love

His arrogance about me working with Cyrus has chiseled itsway under my skin. Why, if he doesn’t want to be around me, wouldhewant to work with me? I’ve tried not to think about it since seeing him the other day, remembering that Asher is the one who left me all those years ago. He chose this. Now I need to remember what it took to let him go. I need to remember what it took to forget what he did.

Shoving thoughts of Asher aside, I knock on Julianna’s door three times in a row and rock back on my heels. I’m wearing my favorite knee-high, sequined boots, paired with my favorite black sequined dress. The cleavage dips lower than most of my other dresses, and the back is open down to the tailbone. I can’t remember where Julianna said we were going. I didn’t care as long as it got me out of my apartment and away from thoughts of the boy who stole my heart ten years ago.

I’m doublechecking my outfit when Julianna opens the door.

“Oh, good. You’re here.” She swiftly wraps her hand around mine before tugging me inside. “Almost ready,” she says, leaving me by the front door and disappearing back to her bedroom at the other end of her penthouse apartment.

I glance around the open living room and kitchen. Julianna’s clothes are draped over every surface of her living space. Sweaters and dresses are lying across the back of her sofa, and piles of dresses are grouped onto her large, glass coffee table.

“Don’t mind the mess!” she yells as if she can read my mind. “I was purging my closet, ready to donate a ton of clothes, and I lost track of time.”

“Where’s Selene?” I call back from the hall, loving the fact that Julianna thinks to donate her clothes when others of her fortune are quick to throw them out.

She reappears in the doorway at the end of the hall seconds later, stepping into her dress with only her bra and panties on. I didn’t even realize she answered the door barely dressed.

“She got caught up writing another chapter in her book, so she’s meeting us there.”

Selene’s true passion doesn’t align with mine, as much as I wish it did. She’s my best friend, and she’s also a killer employee. But I know flowers and plants aren’t where her heart lies. Words are more her thing.

“Okay.” I nod, inhaling a deep breath. “Is Taron coming?”

Julianna pauses while slipping her dress over her waist. Her eyes harden, and her face stiffens. “No.”

I hold my hands up in surrender, sensing her annoyance. “I won’t ask for more details.”

“Good.” She shimmies her hips, and her black dress stretches over her curves before she slips her arms into the sleeves. “Because I don’t want this night to be tainted before it’s even begun.”

“You know…”—I smile—“I find it funny you were relentless when you wanted to hear about Asher, but you won’t spill as easily about Taron.”

Her face falls, followed by her shoulders. “I promise I’ll catch you up on where I’m at after tonight. I just want one night of fun and nothing serious.”

My heart aches for my best friend. I love Julianna and just want her to be happy. Despite her immense wealth, I know she hasn’t skated through life, and I can’t help but agree with her. I don’t want to think or talk about Asher tonight.

I smirk. “Pinky promise?”

Her grin reappears. “Pinky promise.”

“Great.” I clap my hands together. “Now, where are we meeting Holt and Selene at again?”

Julianna disappears from the open doorway to her bedroom before reappearing with a bright purple, metallic handbag. She meets me in the living room. “One of his friends opened this new beer garden over in the Village. It’s supposed to be thisamazing place with at least a hundred beers on the menu, or something like that.”

“But you don’t like beer.”

“Holt assured me they have cocktails as well.” She stands in front of the large, round, gold-framed mirror on the wall near the front door and swipes a fresh layer of lip gloss over her lips. “Apparently this guy owns a million bars in the city and it’s what he’s known for.”

“Nice.” I nod.

After Julianna slips on her heels, we head out the door and head toward the front of the building to meet her driver, who is taking us to the Village. Once there, we join the gathering crowd outside.

The red brick exterior of the beer garden is covered in strings of golden lights. Along the front and side of the restaurant, patio tables are scattered across the concrete, with a small votive candle sitting in the middle of each one. A large grand opening sign hangs above the bar’s front door, and the place is already beginning to fill up. People stand outside, huddled in groups while others are sitting inside near the main bar.

Julianna and I walk in, quickly spotting Holt sitting at a table on the back patio. The patio isn’t nearly as full as the inside; the loud music and chatter quickly drowning out, meaning it’s quieter out here. Holt already has a beer flight sitting in front of him. Five small beer glasses sit on top of the wooden board, each beer is a different color.

Julianna slides onto the bench beside her brother while I take the chair across from them and soak in the atmosphere. Bright green bushes are situated in each corner of the area. It takes me a moment to realize we’re basically sitting in the back alley of the restaurant. The owner of this place has transformed it into something completely different. Warm, soft guitar music lilts quietlyin the background.

“Hello, Charleigh,” Holt greets me, pulling my attention away from the musician plucking at his guitar.

I smile. “It’s good to see you, Holt. It’s been a while.”

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