Page 29 of Because You Loved Me

Asher groaned. He knew when he’d been beaten.

“Tell me the story about the house. You obviously have never been here before. Why? Why today?”

“That’s more than one question.”

She shot him a look, and he ran a hand over his face.

“Fine. But let me put some more wood on the fire first. You’re still shivering.”

ChapterSeven

With the fire roaring,the wool blanket, and Asher’s hands holding her feet long after they’d thawed out, Noa started to warm up halfway through his story about the cabin.

When she’d met him the day before, Noa had assumed he was a manager of some sort. Especially considering he’d walked through the kitchen like he owned it.

Which, apparently, he did.

“So, you actually run the whole thing? The ski hill and the hotel and?—”

“Technically, I don’t run it. I’m acting CEO.” He turned away and stared into the fire. “Correction. Iusedto run it.”

“It sounds like a little break might be kind of nice, and you have this cabin to hang out in.”

“I never said I wanted a break, Noa. I love what I do. Work is my life. He knew that.”

She could hear the hurt he was trying to hide laced through his words. She sat up so she could reach for him, but he turned to face her before she could, the mischievous grin back on his face.

“Your turn.”

“My turn?” She sat back and wiggled her toes, which were still in his lap. He’d gone from warming her feet to slowly, absentmindedly tracing a finger along her arches. It was a good thing she wasn’t ticklish.

“Your turn for a question.” His fingers slid higher up her stockinged foot. “That’s how this game goes.”

“I didn’t realize we were playing a game.”

His gaze locked on hers. “Didn’t you?”

Noa swallowed hard. It was easy to be comfortable with him. And flirty. Despite the circumstances. Because something about this man made her feel things—made her feel like she was balancing on a precarious edge and could tumble at any moment.

Without waiting for her response, Asher asked his next question. “Why did you kiss me last night?”

He held her gaze with an intensity that reminded her exactly why she kissed him the night before.

She shifted on the couch and decided to go with complete honesty. It wasn’t as though she had anything to lose. “Because I think you’re sexy as hell.”

“You do, do you?” The corner of his mouth curled up.

“You know I do.”

He chuckled and his fingers traveled a little higher up her foot to her ankle. “But that still doesn’t answer my question. Why the night before your wedding? It doesn’t seem like something a bride should do.”

She groaned and attempted to pull her legs away, but Asher tightened his grip.

“I’ve already tried to explain this to you. I didn’twantto marry Ryan. In fact, I’m getting really sick of that word.” She held her fingers up in air quotes. “Ishoulddo a lot of things. I should go to law school. I should work at the family firm. I should get married.”

“Oh, so your marriage was arranged?”

“Not at all.” She tried to pull her hair back in a ponytail and caught her fingers on the veil that was still fastened to the back of her head. With a groan of frustration, she dropped her hands back into her lap. “It’s complicated. Our families have been friends for years. Like, really close friends. I grew up with Ryan and—” Noa stopped herself. She didn’t want to talk about her brother and Olivia. Not today. “Like I said, it’s complicated, and getting married just felt like the thing weshoulddo.”

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