Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Asher couldn’t help but laugh. “No, you didn’t.” But his own smile quickly faded. “Add in Nikki is Derek’s younger sister, and he already told me that he trusted me to take care of her? Nothing about Nikki and me is okay.”
His dad steepled his forefingers and put them to his mouth, obviously giving Asher’s words some thought. He lowered them to speak. “Maybe you should look at the situation with Derek another way.”
Asher raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? How’s that?”
“If Derek trusts you, it’s because he thinks you’re a good man. Even if your relationship with Nikki comes as a shock to him, given time, he’ll come to see if he can trust anyone with his sister, it’s you.”
“It’s something to think about,” Asher said, ready to change the subject.
His father nodded. Always astute, he rose to his feet. “Let’s go join the family, okay?”
Asher stood and his dad slapped him on the back.
“You can talk to me about anything. If you have feelings for Nikki, then give our talk some thought,” Michael said and turned to walk out of the room.
Asher waited, taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts. Did he have feelings for Nikki? Without a doubt. Was he in love with her? The thought was enough to send him back to his family to avoid thinking about it. He was smart enough to know what the twisting in his stomach meant. He just wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.
When he walked back to the family room, his father told him everyone had gone to their rooms to rest and get ready for the anniversary celebration later. His dad went upstairs to join Serenity, and Asher decided to head to his bedroom, too.
The tapping of dog paws caught his attention and he turned. Lucky walked over and nudged Asher’s leg. “Why aren’t you upstairs with your mother?”
“He was in the kitchen, begging for scraps as I cooked,” Maggie said, striding past him. “I need to talk to Corey, but I’ll be back in five minutes. Want me to take the dog with me?” she offered.
Asher shrugged. “Maybe he needs to go out. Thanks, Maggie.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Maggie said, patting her leg to call the dog.
Asher stepped in the direction that led to his room, and Lucky trailed along beside him.
Maggie laughed. “Looks like you have a pal. If he wants to leave the bedroom, just open the door. He’ll come find me in the kitchen.”
She turned and strode toward the front door, leaving Asher to take Lucky with him. Once in his room, Asher pointed to the dog bed. “Go on. Settle in.”
Jesus. He was talking to the dog like they were old friends.
The pup gave another whine and leaped onto the bed instead, curling up on the side where Nikki had slept. “Guess we know who’s boss,” Asher muttered. And for the first time ever, it wasn’t him.
He was being led around by a woman he’d never expected and a dog he hadn’t known he wanted.
His father’s words came back to him again. What were his feelings for Nikki? Asher sat on the edge of the mattress and ran a hand over his face. The way the question kept popping into his head, he knew he had to face the answer.
He’d agreed to bring a beautiful young woman he believed to be a spoiled princess to his island home to escape trouble in the press she’d probably caused. Within an hour on the plane, he’d discovered she was intelligent and too damned chatty. He’d told himself she was driving him crazy, when in reality, he’d been both intrigued and amused by her personality.
He’d tried to paint her with the same brush as his shallow, cheating ex-model girlfriend and had been schooled by an honest apology and her zest for life. Though he had qualms about the age difference, they had more in common than not.
She couldn’t trust people, making her a loner by nature. Though he had his tight-knit group of friends and family, Asher had the same issues trusting outsiders. They had both been dealt a raw deal with their parents, yet Nikki was an optimist. He, on the other hand, was more of a pessimist.
But she’d proven she liked him for himself, both his moody side and the lighter one he rarely showed, the one she easily coaxed out of him. In their few days on the island, she’d made him laugh and smile more than he’d done in the last year. She’d opened him up to see the world in a more upbeat way. When was the last time he’d played in the water? Meandered through town? Put up with a shedding dog in his bed?
He’d tried to resist her, but she’d charmed him and left him wanting more and he didn’t just mean in bed. He was attracted to so much more than her body, but he’d never connected with a woman during sex the way he had with Nikki. Their compatibility was off the charts. He’d looked into her eyes while buried deep in her body, and if he believed in soul mates, he’d swear he’d found his.