Page 25 of Finally Yours
“She…she can’t. There’s no way she could do that. She belongs here.”Here with me, I add silently. She belongs in my arms, in my bed, with me, forever.
Nurse Vicky shrugs. “I guess she can. It seems there is nothing keeping her here.” Her shrewd brown eyes look at me with a glimmer of kindness in them. “Maybe someone could give her a reason to stay.”
“Fuck yes, I’ll give her a reason to stay.” I slap the folder I’ve been leaving through closed and step away. “Where is she, Nurse Vicky? Where can I find her right now?”
“Finally,” Nurse Vicky mutters under her breath. “I just told her to go home. By now, she should be down in the parking garage. If you run, you can find her there.”
I turn to go, but Nurse Vicky’s hand on my arm stops me. “I’m telling you this so you can make your move, but if you hurt her, I’ll come after you. I was foolish enough once to believe in someone I shouldn’t, so I hope I’m placing my trust in the right person now.”
I squeeze her wrinkled hand. “You are, I promise you are.”
She nods and gives me a small smile. I swear I see the shimmer of tears in her brown eyes.
“Go then. Go get our girl.”
With those words, I’m off and running.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hearing the right words at the wrong time can ruin everything. -Lyla
Lyla
I hum as I rifle through my purse looking for my keys.
“Where, oh where, are my keys?” I make up a silly song while I hunt for the darn things. I swear the older I get, the bigger my purse gets, and the smaller my ability to keep track of my keys gets. It’s like there’s a hole in the bottom of my bag that they disappear into.
“Aha!” I say triumphantly and hold the keys up into the air. I glance around, realizing I am of course talking to myself in an empty parking garage.
“Lyla! Lyla! Stay right there! Don’t move!” Asher’s panicked voice rings throughout the garage, bouncing off the concrete walls.
I grimace and swing around. The man has been nothing if not relentless. There is a part of me that wants to hear what he has to say, but I also know that I’ll cave. I’ll cave and we’ll end up in this dance together, making love and then feeling him pull away, over and over again. He’ll try for me, but in the end, he won’t be able to give me what I want. He won’t be able to return my feelings.
I ball my fists by my side and face him head on. It’s time to have this out, whether I’m ready for it or not.
Asher is out of breath by the time he finally stands in front of me.
I arch an eyebrow as he leans over and gasps hard. “Give…give me just a minute.”
“What’s so important, Asher? I have things to do.” Not really, but I want to appear like he isn’t the only concern in my life. He doesn’t know my only plans are to go home and watch trashy shows and eat ice cream.
He straightens and frowns, giving me a hard look. “Really, do you? Another date?”
I swallow, hard. “It’s not your business if I do or not. Do you have one with Madeline?”
He rolls his eyes. “You know Madeline has gone back to Atlanta. And I told you before there’s nothing between us. She tried to kiss me, and I pushed her away.” He reaches out to take my hand, but I pull away. “I want you, Lyla, only you.”
I bite my lip and try to keep the tears at bay. “You want me for how long? For a few months? For a year? How long until you get tired of me and trade me in for another model?”
He reaches for me again and this time I make the mistake of staying still. Sparks shoot up my arm as he grasps it. “Lyla, it’s not like that.” His green eyes beckon to me, imploring me to listen. I want to close my hands over my ears and not fall for him yet again, but I can’t seem to stop myself.Why do I have to be in love with this man?
“What’s it like then?” I ask softly. “Are you going to stay for a while and then decide you’ve had enough? Maybe give me a few good years of “caring” about me?”
“I didn’t have the best example growing up, Lyla.” He glances down at his feet. “I saw too much hate. It’s hard to believe in love.” His head snaps up and his gaze meets mine. “But I believe in you, Lyla. I…well,” he sucks in a deep breath, “I love you and I can’t seem to stop myself.”
I take a step back. “You…you love me?” I repeat, unable to process the words coming from Asher.
He nods and sends me a quick, nervous smile. “I do. I love you, Lyla.” His words sound surer now and I revel in the sound of them.
