Page 24 of From Asher, With Love

He turns to look at me. His eyes narrow, and his eyebrows dip in annoyance. I don’t care. He’s the one who sat down with arrogance dripping from his all too perfect mouth. “I don’t drink. Is it that strange?”

“Well, no.” I swallow. “I mean, if you don’t want to drink,it’s not strange. But we are at a beer garden, so naturally, I just thought…”

“You thought wrong.” He lifts his arm from under the table and rests it on the edge, his gold watch glinting in the twinkling lights strung above us.

“Oh.” My cheeks burn with embarrassment. I suddenly feel like I’ve stumbled into a topic where I’m forcing Asher to be vulnerable in front of everyone. But curiosity still gets the better of me. “Since when?”

“Second year of college.” He sniffs, looking down at the table at nothing. “I drank way too much my freshman year and realized how fucked up I was. I didn’t want to fall down that path when I knew exactly where it would lead.”

I knew his mother’s death influenced him, but I never thought it would drive him to the point of going completely sober.

West returns with our drinks before leaving us again. The group each take a sip of theirs, eyeing each other over the rims of our glasses.

Asher’s first year of college was immediately after he left me and Connecticut behind. I should have known better than to assume alcohol hadn’t influenced his life in one way or another. His mother was an alcoholic, and the repercussions of her drinking led to where Asher and I are today: perfect enemies and perfect strangers.

The entire table falls silent.

“Oh, well, that’s good then,” I finally say, because I’m unsure of what elsetosay.

“How’s the flower shop?” he asks, catching me off guard.

I’m not entirely certain it’s genuine.

“It’s good.” I nod. “Business is thriving.”

Short and to the point. I don’t want to give Asher too muchinformation. Or the truth. I glance over his shoulder to Selene, silently begging her not to spill the truth.

“What part of the city is it in?” Asher swipes his tongue across his smooth lips after he takes a sip of his water.

I arch an eyebrow, unsure of his motive for wanting to know the location of my shop. “Upper West Side.”

“Huh,” he says, smirking. “Sounds like I might have to stop by some time and check it out.”

“Right.” I roll my eyes, unconvinced he will ever take the time out of his busy schedule to visit my store. “Don’t worry about it. I know my little shop is beneath billionaires like you.”

The tip of Julianna’s foot taps against mine, and I quickly look up and across the table.

“Stop it.”She mouths the words quickly, half turning her face away from Holt and Asher.

“It’s fine,”I mouth back, giving her another smile before I pick up the lightest beer from the selection in front of me. I take a sip, thankful for the relief it brings. The bubbly liquid coats my tongue, fizzing its way down my throat.

When I place the glass back down on the table, Asher’s staring at me again. My breath catches in my throat, and butterflies erupt inside my stomach. I cross my legs, knowing my lace thong is absolutely drenched at this point.

As they say, old sensations die hard. Or is that habits? Either way, my entire body is running on muscle memory at this point.

“Hey, Ash,” Holt interrupts, cutting the tension. “How’s it going with Allen Simon?”

Asher looks away from me, closes his mouth, and the muscles in his jaw tighten. He scoffs, clearly frustrated as he runs his hand across his mouth before sighing heavily. “He hasn’t returned my calls yet.”

“Well, shit,” Holt blows out.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened, and I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I mutter, the bitterness leaving me before I have the chance to pull it back. “You’re in real estate. Isn’t your job to negotiate? To manipulate others to cut a deal?”

I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth. Asher tenses beside me, and the air is thick with our sour history. My cheeks flame red, and I want to run and hide from everyone’s constant stares. I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut.

Seconds pass with the entire table sitting in silence. A lump forms in my throat, and my heart flutters. Julianna quickly glances at Selene before looking back at me.

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