Page 34 of Betsy
“Both of those constellations are in the Bible, too. Did you know that?”
It took me a second to switch gears. The pinch really hadn’t done all that much to infuse alertness back into me. I blamed the jacket. Usually, I was much sharper than this. Then again, had Asher really just gone from flirting to Bible quotations?
“‘He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name.’ Amos 5:8.” He flicked his gaze at me out of the corner of his eye. “Goes back to the heavens declaring their maker, doesn’t it?”
I crossed my arms and pivoted, studying him openly. I considered myself a decent judge of people, Wyatt being a huge exception. Usually, people fit pretty squarely in some sort of box. But Asher North kept trying to climb out of the box I’d put him in. Like a happy little puppy determined to knock over the cardboard confining him so he could crawl into a lap—my lap—and get attention.
“What’s your deal?” I asked.
His head reared back in surprise. “My deal?”
I nodded, leaving the question broad. At that point, I’d have been happy to have any bit of him pinned down and figured out.
“I don’t have a deal.”
“Everyone has a deal.”
He digested that for a second. “What’s yours?” he asked softly.
The spotlight on me had never felt comfortable, so I clamped my teeth together.
“Tell me about your sister.”
It was my turn to be surprised. “What about her?”
He shrugged. “You could always start with her name.”
I didn’t know why he wanted to know, but couldn’t find any harm in sharing. “Her name is Bella.”
Asher’s growing smile did not match the info I’d just given him. Instead of a simple name, he acted like I’d let him in on some huge secret.
“Why are you impersonating the Cheshire Cat fromAlice in Wonderland?”
“My brother’s name is Aaron. Aaron, Asher—double A. Betsy, Bella—double B.” Something flashed across his face, but he shuttered his thoughts faster than a door slamming in my face.
My lips turned down as my suspicions rose. A lump lodged in the pit of my stomach. I’d known it would happen. That he’d prove me right. He was just like every other guy who charmed with a guitar slung in front of him, a tune on his lips, and limelight blinding him. It had only been a matter of time. I hadn’t expected this feeling of disappointment that was clammier and more weighted than humidity in Florida in August though. “You’re thinking something,” I accused.
He tried to appear unaffected, but he didn’t have near as much practice as I had with the expression and instead came off as constipated. I made myself scowl instead of letting my lips tip in any semblance of a grin.
“Of course I’m thinking something. I’m not dead.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “Besides, I have a right to private thoughts, don’t I?”
“As this particular thought has to do with me, my sister, or both, then no, you don’t.” I propped a hand on my hip. “Tell me.”
He pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line.
“Then I have no choice but to draw my own conclusions. Based off past experiences with other guys, I have to warn you, my assumptions won’t be pretty.”
He groaned. “Can’t you judge me off my own merits?”
I pushed my lips to the side to at least give him the impression I was considering such a thing. “Not enough data collected.”
“Fine.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, the ends sticking up. “The thought happened to cross my mind that AA”—he pointed to himself—“and BB”—he pointed at me—“well, that…” Two bright splotches of pink appeared in the shadows his cheekbones produced. “That if we had two kids, they could both have names that started with the letter C.” He finished his sentence in a rush of words, looking anywhere but at me.
That…was not anything that I’d expected him to say. Nothing about brothers hooking up with sisters or anything else I’d been propositioned with before. But besides the content, the execution left my head spinning too. Asher exuded confidence about ninety percent of the time, but I’d never really seen him cross the line into arrogance or condescension. However, I’d been waiting for it. People always showed their true colors eventually, right? I mean, Wyatt was a perfect example. But I’d never expected Asher to get flustered or embarrassed about a confession such as that.Afather,Bmother,Cchild. It was sweet. Cute. I could even almost picture—
Woah! No, no, no, no.
I needed to derail that train before it had time to leave the station. There was no A+B=C. No plus sign at all. There was Asher and there was me. Separate. Opposite poles. No connection.
