Page 13 of Knotty, Nice, & Holiday Lights
His expression is just about as comical as I’ve ever seen it.
“I take it you two know each other?”
Izzy turns her smile on me, head nodding. “Asher and I go way back,” she says. “We met at my job.” She falters. “Myoldjob.”
Huh. Bookmark that.
I turn my eyes on Asher, whose gaze contains a deep message I feel in my bones.
She’s the one,those brown eyes tell me.
Like I needed him to confirm it.
I smirk in response, and he blinks at me, like,You knew?And I shrug one shoulder before turning back to Izzy. “Izzy, I didn’t ask you when you arrived yesterday, but do you have plans for Thanksgiving? You said you didn’t have any family here, so I wondered what you were going to do.”
She looks a bit embarrassed, and I almost regret asking. “I don’t have plans, really. I figured I would see if any restaurants were open in the area.”
“Nonsense,” Asher nearly sings in response.
“That’s right,” I add. “I’m going to be cooking up a full spread here at the B&B. We’d love it if you joined us.”
Her gray eyes bounce from me to Asher, then back to me again. Her smile is shy. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Asher and I say in unison.
Izzy’s smile grows, and she nods her head. “Okay, I’d love to. Just tell me what I can do to help.”
I grin. “I’ll let you know.”
She claps her hands together and bounces on the balls of her feet. “Well, I have a few calls to make, so I’m going to go upstairs. I’ll see you—both of you—later.”
I’m all smiles and waves as she ascends to her room until I look at Asher, who’s frozen in place, looking up at the empty stairs. When he finally realizes I’m staring at him, smirking, he frowns and approaches me, keeping his voice very quiet.
“Why couldn’t I scent her when I left this morning?”
My brow rises. “You know we have neutralizers. It’s the law.”
His body deflates a bit. “I did know that. I suppose I just… I don’t know. When I scented her at the cafe, I was certain there was no way those devices could contain something so…”
“Potent?”
“Delicious,” he breathes.
And I can’t argue with that.
The neutralizers we use come directly from the federal government and are the same models used in the country's biggest hotels. We had to ensure there were special outlets installed in every room and general space to accommodate the devices and make sure they were visible to everyone, that the operation lights were also visible.
“How do you two know each other?”
Asher begins to remove his black peacoat, draping it on his forearm and gesturing for me to follow him into the kitchen. “Izzy worked for one of the biggest game developers in California, and I’d done some voice work for a couple of their titles. We met at her office. They had a private recording studio there.” He leans on one of barstools at the island, like he can’t stand on his own anymore. “I always knew she smelled amazing, but it was never this… strong. Besides, I wasn’t in a position to ask her out at that time.”
I nod in understanding, knowing very well what his circumstances had been before he came here.
Asher stands up straight, then gives me a level look. “You’ve scented her?”
I give an affirmative nod.Boy, have I.
“Then you know what she is to us.”
