Page 38 of Winging It with You

“Becauseyou’rethe one with the actual new chapter ahead of you,” I whisper, recalling when I rehearsed these words to myself, afraid the honesty behind them might be too much for him. “Not the other way around.”

He nods in silent agreement or resigned acceptance, and the two of us are left swaying just slightly in the night air with the warmth of Asher’s cheek resting on my shoulder and his arms tightening around my waist.

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You’d think Jo’s early wake-upcalls would start to get easier.

You’d be wrong.

Her thunderous pounding on our door shakes me awake. I would have been pissed, but I feel the heat of Asher’s leg pressed against mine, so Jo’s aggressive knocking is quickly forgiven and forgotten.

“Morning,” he says, eyes squinting in the morning light. Asher’s bedhead is something to behold, his blond locks sticking out in every direction. It’s both hilarious and wildly endearing. “Sorry,” he mumbles and slowly scoots away from me.

If there’s one thing this trip has shown me it’s that I had forgotten just how nice it is to wake up next to someone. Even if they constantly put space between you.

We each shower—separately—and make our way down to the lobby in search of caffeine and carbs before we have to join everyone else to head to the airport. Again.

Ellie practically runs into us the moment we step out of the elevator, worry all over her face.

“You haven’t seen a teal backpack around, have you?” she asks, her voice teetering on the edge of panic. “I know I had it when I came down this morning, but I can’t find it anywhere.”

Asher and I shake our heads. “Sorry, kiddo,” I say. “But we just got down here. We can help you look, though.”

Jenn joins us from across the lobby. “Alright, sweetie,” she says, wrapping an arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “I talked to the hotel manager and asked them to keep an eye out for it.”

“Our passports are in there,” Ellie groans, covering her face with her hands in frustration. “We won’t be able to travel if I can’t find it. I’m so sorry, Mom.”

Jenn tucks Ellie even more tightly under her arm. “Oh, honey, we’ll figure it out. Don’t you worry.”

“Where was the last place you saw it?” Asher asks, his tired eyes filled with concern.

“I had just come down from our room with our luggage cart and was starving so I set my stuff down there.” Ellie points to the small seating area just beyond the hotel’s coffee bar. “And I went to grab some juice and toast. When I got back, I noticed the backpack was gone.”

If her bag was indeed stolen, it’s long gone now, but saying that would be the opposite of helpful.

Asher bites the inside of his cheek. “Well, you both stay with the bags,” he says, turning toward Jenn and me. “And Ellie and I can take another lap…just in case. You said teal, right?” he asks, and Ellie nods. “Cool. Oh, will you grab me a coffee?” he asks me, placing a welcome touch on my arm. “A little cream and…”

“Yeah, yeah. Three sugars,” I finish. “I’ve been paying attention, Bennett.”

His face splits into a wide grin. “I can see that.”

Jenn and I plop down in the armchairs at the far end of the lobby after helping ourselves to some much-needed coffee and pastries. I loaded two pieces of pan con tomate on my plate, one for Asher and one for me, and my mouth practically floods with drool over the toasted bread and the salted tomatoes.

“I don’t know about you,” Jenn says, peering over our mountain of shared bags, “but I am exhausted.”

“Extremely.”

She sips her coffee, raising her eyebrows at me. “So, is this what you expected it to be? The competition?”

I could double over in laughter.

Nothing about any aspect of my life right now is what I expected it to be. Not being grounded from work and having all this unplanned free time. Or competing on a hit reality show.

And I certainly was not expecting whatever is going on between Asher and me.

But before I can respond, a commotion across the lobby pulls our attention.

“So let me get this straight.” Asher’s sudden raised voice echoes around us. “You justhappenedto find her bag on your floor and were bringing it down to the front desk? I don’t buy it.”

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