Page 51 of Because You Loved Me

What was that all about?

“Asher? Hello?”

“Sorry, Charli.” He forced his attention back to the phone call. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Noa winked and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Hey, Charli?”

He caught her moments before she ended the call.

“Can I bring someone tonight?”

“Someone? As in a woman?”

“Yes.”

“As in, the woman you kidnapped from her wedding day?”

“I did not?—”

“I’m kidding.” His sister laughed. “Mostly. But of course you can bring her. I’m sure I won’t be the only one with questions.”

* * *

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

They’d only been in the car for ten minutes, but already Noa was doubting her decision to join Asher at the Carlson family Christmas celebration. It had seemed like a good idea in the moment, but the farther they got from the cabin, the more anxious she felt.

“I don’t really belong at your family function.” She turned away from the snowy landscape out the window to look at him. “I mean, we’re not…we’re only…we hardly know each other.”

He gave her a look that made her blush. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“You know what I mean.” Noa swatted at him, but he’d made her laugh.

He reached over the seat and took her hand. “Besides, it’s just dinner.”

“It’sChristmasdinner.” She looked at him pointedly. “They’re going to think we’re…”

“They’re going to think that you jumped in my truck on your wedding day and we’ve been hanging out together,” he finished for her.

“Hanging out?” She lifted an eyebrow, and he laughed.

“Hey, I don’t plan on giving them any more details than they already think they know. Which is pretty limited. Besides, there isn’t any more to give, is there?”

She inhaled slowly and shook her head. “Nope. I guess that is what we’ve been doing.”

“Besides, I’m not letting you spend Christmas by yourself. They’re all super easygoing,” he continued. “Except for maybe Chase. But he’s not as bad as he used to be, and he’d probably say the same about me. At any rate, it won’t be too bad. Just a few hours and we’ll get out of there, okay?”

Noa nodded. She’d powered through her share of family events over the years. How bad could it be? Besides, Asher had a point. She didn’t want to be alone on Christmas Eve, and despite what she told Ryan, she wasn’t quite ready to face her own family.

* * *

Asher pulled up in the big circular drive of thebig house,his childhood home. Their father had built it just outside of town, on a huge piece of land that looked out over the valley below. Chase and Annie, along with Grady, Annie’s nephew, lived there full-time now, but it would always be thefamilyhome and was, more often than not, the gathering place for weekly family dinners.

“This is where you grew up? It looks so…”

“Big?”

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