Page 28 of Because You Loved Me

“I have time.”

“Oh?” He pretended to look shocked. “You have questions forme?”

“Okay, okay.”

She tried to tug her feet away, but he held them firm. Maybe they weren’t frozen solid anymore, but they still needed warming. Besides, he liked touching her. And for the life of him, he couldn’t think of any other reasonably appropriate way to do it. After all, she was betrothed to another man.

“That’s fair.” Noa glanced down at his hands on her feet but didn’t try to move them again. “How about this? For every question you ask me, I ask you one.”

Asher didn’t know about fair. After all, he wasn’t the one who had just taken off moments before exchanging vows with someone else. Never mind the way she’d been kissing him the night before. He could still taste her on his lips.

Dammit. No.

He forced himself to think about anything else besides the soft give of her mouth on his and the small little noises she made when he?—

“I’ll go first.” He cleared his throat. “Why the hell did you run out on your wedding?”

She shot him a look. “That’s a pretty big question.”

“That’s why I asked it.”

“I told you.” She looked to the fire as a piece of wood crackled. “I couldn’t marry him.”

“Right.” He drew out the word. “But he wasn’t abusive and really, he’s a great guy.” He paraphrased what she’d told him in the truck. Not that it clarified anything.

“He’s my best friend.”

Asher had no right to the feeling, but her words stung.

“Isn’t that usually a good thing? I thought that was a whole thing?” He tried to shrug off the cloud of jealousy for this man he’d never met who knew this woman well enough to be considered her best friend. “I thought women wanted to marry their best friend?”

“Not this woman.”

She fixed her beautiful brown eyes on him and for the first time, he realized she wasn’t sad.

“Shouldn’t you be crying?”

Her head tipped back, exposing a length of creamy white, and very kissable, neck. “Why should I be crying?”

“Because…” He waved one hand in the air futilely. “You just ended your relationship? Well, I assume you ended it.”

“I did.”

The two simple words sent a flash of satisfaction through him. He forced himself to ignore it.

“So, if you just ended your relationship,” he continued. “A relationship I’d say was pretty serious.” He gestured toward her huge dress that was bunched up around her waist and only half covered by the woolen blanket. “Shouldn’t you be sad about that? I mean, I’m not an expert in serious relationships, and I really know nothing about how marriage is supposed to work. You know, except for the whole, walking down the aisle, declaring love for each other, and then living happily ever after.”

She looked away, clearly trying not to smile. “I agree, that’s how marriage works. But as I told you, I didn’t want to marry Ryan. So, no. I’m not sad about it, and I’m definitely not going to cry about it. I don’t cry.”

He wasn’t sure he believed that, but there didn’t seem any point to argue it with her. “So are you going to tell mewhyyou didn’t want to marry him?”

Noa shifted on the couch so she sat up straight. “It’s my turn to ask a question. You’ve asked way more than one.”

“You didn’t answer it.”

“I did, too. Maybe you should ask better questions.”

She winked at him, and the grin she’d been trying to hide flashed in his direction, sending a hot shot of desire directly to his groin.

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