Page 38 of Forgotten Desires

Phoebe, his fiancée, grabs his arm. “Sit down, Asher. You’re being a prick.” He stares at her, and then does as she asks. “Brynn, we’re really happy for you if this is what you want.”

She smiles at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “It is, and we don’t want to take anything away from your wedding, which is why we want to do it quickly and without fuss. We don’t care about a wedding. I just want him to be my husband.” Brynn then turns her glare to her brother. “I thought maybe you could understand that, being as in love with Phoebe as you are.”

“Of course I get it, but we don’t know him!”

“I didn’t realize my brother needed to knowmyhusband. You know, sinceI’mthe one marrying him.”

There’s going to be about five more minutes of this where I can stay quiet. There’s no way I’m going to allow anyone to yell at Brynlee. I don’t care if he’s her brother or not.

“This isn’t you. You aren’t an idiot like Rowan!”

That’s it. I stand, pushing the chair out behind me. “As a father, I can imagine the love you have for Brynlee comes close to that. You want to protect her, make sure no one will harm her, and that’s admirable. As the man who loves her, I want the same. She’s not an idiot. She’s the kindest, most selfless person I know. If you want to calm down, we can continue to talk about this, but if you want to yell at her, we’re leaving.”

Asher crosses his arms over his chest, looks at me, then his sister, and then his wife-to-be, who is grinning. “You have to admit it’s sudden.”

“It is. I’m sure my siblings are going to have the same reaction, but you can also understand that I’ve spent ten years without Brynlee, and I have no desire to spend another ten days without her.”

He sits down, letting out a heavy sigh. “I have no right to say anything, she’s an adult.”

“Yes, I am, but I love you, Ash, and I’d like not only your blessing, but for you to give me away.” Brynn’s soft voice is gentle as she looks at her brother.

“I can never give you away, Brynn, but I’m happy to walk you to the man who loves you enough to stand up to me.”

Phoebe claps her hand on the table. “Well, we’re all shocked, but so happy for you. Olivia is going to lose her shit. You better go see her.”

Brynn inhales sharply. “I need to do that very delicately. Ash, can you ask her mother to bring Olivia here?”

He nods and gets up, and Brynlee turns to me. “My niece and I are really close, and I need her to find out from me and meet you—officially. She’s deaf and non-verbal so I’ll sign and then translate.”

“I hope she’s happy for us.”

She laughs. “Me too.”

Asher returns, sitting back in the chair across from me. “So, where will you live?”

I answer. “I have space in New York City. With Brynlee’s new company based there, and since my daughter lives there as well, we’ll spend our time there.”

“Of course we’ll visit,” Brynn assures him quickly.

Asher’s mask slips for just a moment and I see sadness fill his eyes. “You’re going to leave the farm?”

I reach out and take Brynn’s hand, lending her any support I can. “We’ll visit—so much that you’ll be sick of me.”

“Right. Sick of you.” Asher looks away and Phoebe rubs his arm. “I’m going to check on the baby and call Grady and Rowan. They’ll want to hear this joyful news as well. I’m surprised you didn’t ask them to be here so we could all get it over with at once.”

Brynlee laughs softly. “I figured you were going to be the worst so I might as well let you have your own session. If you’re supportive, hopefully they’ll fall in line.”

Phoebe speaks quickly. “Not that it matters, since it’s your choice. Asher knows how that is, don’t you, honey? When other people’s opinions can keep you away from the person you love.” Her delicate brow raises as she tilts her head.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s a shame.”

She looks triumphant as she turns to Brynn and whispers, “I got this. You just be happy.”

We continue to talk about logistics and then about the wedding itself. About fifteen minutes later, her other brothers and their significant others are in the room. Our news is met with a lot of surprise, especially from Rowan and Charlotte.

“Oh. Wow. I . . . didn’t know . . . wow.” Charlotte repeats herself and blinks repeatedly. “So, I guess we’re all keeping the business in the family after all.”

I nod with a smile. “It seems that way. Really, I need to thank you both, if you hadn’t invited me to your wedding, I never would’ve found her again.”

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