Page 58 of From Asher, With Love

I bring Charleigh in for another kiss, when a buzzing sounds comes from her nightstand, followed by another one, then another. Charleigh groans against me before reluctantly pulling away. She reaches for her phone and reads her text message.

Her mouth falls open on a gasp, and she shoots straight up. I sit up, worry settling in my gut.

“Fuck,” Charleigh mumbles. She brings her thumb to her mouth, nervously chewing on her nail. “No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.”

“What’s wrong?”

She keeps her eyes on her phone, quickly typing out a response to whoever messaged her. “Selene’s at the shop and said our entire refrigeration system went out overnight and the backup energy supply didn’t kick in. Every single flower arrangement for a sweet sixteenth I have scheduled for pick up tomorrow is on the verge of being destroyed. It was over two hundred arrangements, Asher.” Charleigh’s sweet eyes fill with tears. Her chin wobbles. “Fuck, what am I going to do? I can’t afford another refrigerator, and if I don’t get them back in a controlled environment, we’ll lose them all.”

I pull her attention away from her phone, hooking two fingers under her chin. “We’ll get it figured out. I’ll help.”

She nods as she tries to contain her panic. A tear slips from her eyes, and like a hammer to the chest, I see Charleigh’s passion for her business. Flowers are her life, and I know she isn’t just worried about disappointing her client. She’s sad because the flowers she sacrificed never fulfilled their purpose. They died for nothing.

“I don’t know how you’ll be able to help, but thank you,” she whispers, pulling me in for a kiss.

I kiss her back, wracking my brain with how to help. Ideas are floating through my mind when my phone rings from the pocket of my suit pants draped at the foot of the bed. I fish it out and read the name on the screen.

I look up at Charleigh. “My dad.”

“It’s okay.” She looks down before swinging her gaze back up to mine. I have a million thoughts and questions. There’s so much wedged between us. Charleigh’s flower shop. Her issue of firing me. Us sleeping together. Now my dad.

It’s all too much for the moment, and I can feel Charleigh sensing the weight of what it all means the same way I do.

“It’s okay. Take it.” She inhales a shaky breath, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I need to get to the shop before Selene has a mental breakdown.”

I want to kiss or even touch her again just to tell myself this is still real, but when Charleigh’s hand slips away from my cheek, I don’t get the chance. She’s already walking toward her closet.

Remembering my phone still ringing, I quickly answer it. “Hey, Dad.”

“Asher,” he says. His voice is weak, and I can tell he isn’t having a good day. “You never called me back. Did Janette give you my message?”

“She did.” I push my hand through my hair, glancing over my shoulder at Charleigh. The door to the closet is left wide open. She’s now wearing a mini skirt and a black lace bra. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you. Yesterday was a crazy, busy day. I was going to call you later, actually.”

I can’t take my eyes off Charleigh as she slips her feet into knee high boots, followed by tugging on a thin tank top. I only ever mentioned Charleigh to my father once after my mom passed and I went to live with him. After telling him I had a girlfriend I thought was better off without me, he never asked questions. Maybe it was because our relationship was new and he didn’t want to push me on the details. Or maybe it was because he understood and knew I just needed time to process. For a moment, I think about telling him I’m with her now, but I decide not to change the topic of conversation to me. He’s more important at the moment.

Once Charleigh is fully dressed and moves to the bathroom, I finally climb out of her bed and get dressed myself. I’d really like a shower, especially with Charleigh, but I know there’s no time. She needs to leave now.

“How has the city been treating you?” My father’s meek voice hits my ear again.

“It’s turning out to be not so bad.” I smile, watching Charleigh run a brush through her hair.

This. This is the life I envisioned with her all those years ago. I lost the dream throughout the years, and I’m not certain I have it now, but this glimpse into what it could be is pretty fucking incredible.

“Do you still plan on moving back to L.A anytime soon, or did you reconsider staying in New York after our last conversation?” He coughs into the phone, pausing a few seconds to catch his breath. A heavy wheeze follows before he speaks again. “I’m hoping the city swept you away like it did me.”

I laugh, remembering my father’s story about the time he lived here before he met my mother. The city meant a lot to him back then. So much that he never had the heart to sell the apartment he purchased, even after he moved out to California. It also happens to be the one I moved into at the beginning of the year.

“I don’t know, Dad.” I sigh, wedging the phone between my cheek and shoulder as I button my shirt. “I feel like I need to be there with you.”

“No,” he says, sputtering out another cough. I step into my pants and tuck in my shirt while he rides out the rest of his coughing fit. His crackling breaths meet my ear before he continues. “I told you I wanted you to branch out. I don’t need you holding yourself back for me. You already have all the best doctors and nurses money can buy to take care of me. All I want is for my son to follow his dreams.”

“What have the doctors been telling you?”

Silence follows my question, swallowing it whole. My father’s heavy breaths drown out the sound of the shower. “They said I should be able to go home in a few days.”

I straighten my back, the news of his release hitting me. “That’s great. So, that means the treatment is working, then?”

He sighs. “No, son. Not exactly.”

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