Page 27 of Finally Yours
I’m nervous as hell, but I want her. I know now I’ll never stop loving her.-Asher
Asher
Lyla looks beautiful tonight. I try to listen to the conversation swirling around me, but I can’t. Not when she looks like that and not when I have so much on my mind.
She looks like she did the night I first realized how I felt about her. I watch as she throws her head back and laughs at something another nursing student is saying. Her laughter rings out to me, even across the crowded ballroom.
She looks happy. She glows.What if I’m wrong? What if she no longer wants me or loves me? What if I’m making a huge mistake and keeping her from trying to fulfill a dream of hers?
Dr. Blanchard claps me on the back, too hard as always. For once, I’m prepared and turn to him with a nervous grin. “Hey, Bruce. How’s it going tonight?”
“Good, good. See my wife over there?” he points over to his right, “She looks just as beautiful as the day I met her.” He winks at his wife, and she smiles and waves back at us.
“She looks great tonight. You both look sharp. This is a nice shindig.” And it is. Once a year, the hospital throws this gala to raise money for the hospital. We’re government funded, but we can use all the private donors we can get. The bigwigs around town show up and hopefully show us some money throughdonations or bidding on auction gifts donated to us. I dread this event for weeks leading up to it. I tug at my bowtie. I hate getting dressed up in this suit.
I glance over at Lyla again. She’s twirling on the dance floor now with one of her friends.I’ll dress like this every day if it means she’ll be mine.
“Figure out what you’re going to do regarding our young Lyla?” Bruce asks, echoing what I’m already thinking.
“I think so,” I murmur. “I’m not sure at all if it’ll work, but I have to try.” I dig my hands into my pockets and rock back on my heels.
“It’s always worth a try, my man.” Bruce winks at me. “Especially if you love her. Everything becomes worth it then.”
I nod. “I do, Bruce. I love her with all I have. I can’t believe it took me so long to realize it. And I was such an idiot about it.”
Bruce laughs heartily. “The best thing is, Asher, they will usually forgive us for being idiots. The right woman is great that way.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
He’s hard to resist, but I’m tired of risking my heart. -Lyla
Lyla
I can feel his eyes on me, even as I dance my heart out with a couple of the other nurses. When a fast song fades into a slow tune, we all laugh and walk to the side of the dance floor. My heart isn’t here, but over by the bar with Asher. I was wrong to think I could act like I’m fine. I’m still crazy about him. Maybe I always will be.
“Can I have this dance, Lyla?” Asher’s voice startles me when he whispers in my ear.
I swing around and look up into Asher’s emerald eyes. I see compassion, adoration, and something akin to love in his eyes. My heart pounds in my chest. I want to see love in those eyes. Maybe that’s the only reason I see so much emotion there.
I open my mouth to say no, but instead I find myself saying, “Sure, I would love to,” and giving him my hand.
Tingles shoot up my arm at the touch of his warm skin. He pulls me in close and I breathe him in. I breathe in the spicy scent of his masculine cologne and close my eyes.If only I could stay here forever…
He kisses my forehead lightly and my eyes blink open. I look up. “Wha…what? What are you doing?”
“Laying my claim,” he murmurs. “I want everyone to know how much I want you to be mine.”
I stop shuffling my feet to the rhythm of the song. “Since when? When did you decide you want everyone to know?”
He sends me a sad smile and reaches for one of my curls. He twines it around his index finger and then lets the curl spring back. “I’ve never wanted to hide you, Lyla. I would be proud to be yours and for you to be mine. I told you, I love you, and I mean it. Maybe I was confused about things before, but I know now that I was an idiot.”
I stare up at him, willing myself to believe his words. I ache to believe him, to blindly let those words lead me wherever they may go. To his bed, to his heart, to his home…but something stops me.
“You love me now, but what about before you heard I was leaving? What about your fears? What about your beliefs about marriage? How does all that change so quickly?” I snap my fingers and back away from him. “I wish I could believe you, but I can’t.”
He sighs and his hands unwind from their place on my waist. “I know that. I know I have to show you, Lyla. I plan on it. I plan on you having no doubts about my feelings after tonight.”
He walks away from me then, leaving me staring after him in confusion.What did he mean by that? What does he have up his sleeve?
