Page 29 of Just A Kiss
It’s been two days sinceI barged into Asher’s office and pretty much told him to go to hell. Two days of bliss. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Like I can breathe again. I took him to the nursing home Sunday to meet my mother, and although she didn’t remember me, she was very impressed by Asher. But who wouldn’t be? He told her some stories about himself and Aiden and how, as kids, they used to play tricks on one another. And she laughed. She smiles like she’s known him all her life. It broke a little bit of my heart that she felt a connection to him but not me, her own daughter. But in a way, it warmed it as well. He was making her happy. And that was all that I ever wanted.
Monday rolled around, and I worked during the day at the retail store and at The Horseshoe that night. He came in to see me, and I hate that I smiled like an idiot when he walked in the door. But it quickly fell when I saw the picture later that evening of him and Candy hand in hand at the gallery on the front page of the newspaper. It stung. He ripped the paper out of my hand and threw it in the trash where he said it belonged. I couldn’t have agreed more.
Tuesday was the same thing. And so was Wednesday. Thursday rolled around, and it was New Year’s Eve. We hadn’t had sex yet. He hadn’t made a move, and I was starting to get nervous. Why the sudden change in wanting me? Did giving me money make him feel different about me? Make him want me less? Maybe he felt if he slept with me that it would make me a prostitute after all. I mean, that would be the case, right?
“Andrea?” I hear Hadley call out from downstairs.
“Up here,” I answer, standing in my bedroom.
She enters my room with a garment bag draped over her arm. “I got it.”
“You didn’t have to do this,” I say with a sigh. “I have plenty of dresses to wear.”
She waves me off. “I wanted you to have it for tonight.”
“You sure you don’t want to go with us?” Asher has invited me to an event. I have no clue where it is or what it is for because he said he wanted to surprise me. And I know it won’t disappoint.
“I’m sure.” She sits down on the end of my bed. “Tonight is the night that I tell Aiden about the baby.” I smile at her. “I have it all set up.” Her eyes drop to her nails, and she bites her bottom lip nervously
“What’s wrong?” I ask, going to sit down beside her. “He’s gonna be so happy, Had.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not it.” And her eyes meet mine. “I’m just nervous about being a mom. My mom and I never had a good relationship, and I don’t want that with my child.”
I take her hands in mine and give her a reassuring smile. “You are going to be a great mom. Don’t compare your relationship with your mom to what you think you will have with your child. Because you are nothing like her.”
She lets go of my hands and pulls me in for a tight hug. I hear her sniff, and I rub her back softly. “I love you,” I tell her.
She sniffs louder, and her body gives a little shake. “I love you too.”
When she pulls away, she rubs the tears from her face. “I cry all the time. I can’t imagine what I’ll be like in eight months.” We both laugh at that. “Well, I better get going and let you get ready.”
I stand and give her a big smile. “Thank you again.”
She smiles back, and says, “You better call me later.”
I tilt my head in confusion. “Me call you? You better call me. I wanna know all about how Aiden reacts to the good news.”
ASHER
I stand outside her house in an all-black three-piece suit and my hands in my pockets. She doesn’t keep me waiting long. When she opens the door, my heart stops at her beauty. The champagne-colored dress hugs her body like a glove. It has two thin straps over her shoulders and deep V to showcase her chest. It’s not too low to show too much but low enough to make my mouth water with anticipation.
She gives me a big smile. “Hey, handsome.”
“Hey, gorgeous.” It’s been three weeks since we shared our night in Tahiti, and tonight, I’m going to show her just how much she means to me. It’s New Year’s Eve, after all. At midnight tonight, we will start a new year, and we will start it together. Ready for whatever life throws our way.
I offer her my arm, and she takes it, allowing me to lead her to our limo that awaits curbside. I open the back door for her, and she thanks me as she slides in. We talk and laugh during the time it takes us to get downtown to Legacy Tower. Which is longer than usual, considering the traffic.
“What are we doing here?” she asks as we pull up. “Do you have some work to do?”
“No,” I say as I lead her into the building.
We enter the elevator, and I press the top floor. Confusion takes over her face, but she doesn’t question my actions anymore.
Once it comes to a stop and the doors open, I take her hand, and she follows me down the long hallway, and then I enter the code for the black door to open. We step inside, and I turn on the lights to the apartment.
“Is this your place?” she asks confused.
“It is now.” I go over to the open kitchen and open the see-through fridge door and pull out the bottle of champagne. Popping the cork, I grab two champagne flutes and pour us each a glass. I hand one to her, and she sets the glass down on the black bar top. Her not so subtle way of telling me she’s not going to take a drink until I explain things to her.