“It’s not that either. Not at all,” I said, but I was having trouble getting words out.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
“I felt like you were putting it off. Like it was maybe something you decided you didn’t want. Just things have been getting...”
“Serious,” he said, finishing my sentence.
I nodded. “We spend every night in bed together. We share things I’ve never shared, I catch you watching me at the orchard and it makes me smile.”
“You make me smile too, Claire. You’ve made me realize that I wasn’t happy being alone,” he said.
“But,” I said. “It sounds like there’s one in your sentence.”
He shook his head. “No buts here. I may have put off our date because I was scared of what sex would mean for us. I’ve never had feelings like this before and it creeped me out,” he confessed.
I had a feeling, but I kept quiet.
“I want to be with you, Claire. Like I’ve never wanted anyone before,” he said, and that made the flutters return to my chest.
“So it’s a date then?” I asked.
He growled. “You’re going to be the end of me, beautiful.”
He kissed my lips like he meant it.
“I’ll come by your cabin around six?” he asked.
“Sure, but don’t you need to be around in case Elyna has her baby?” I asked.
“It’ll be fine. Right now I need you,” he said. His use of the wordneeddid something to my insides.
“What should I wear?” I asked.
“Well, I had wanted to drive into Montreal and take you somewhere special, but now I should stay closer to home. I was thinking of taking the private room at the brewery. Would that be okay?”
I blinked. “That sounds perfect. The brewery is so pretty, and I love it here in Maple Valley.”
Asher gave me such a warm smile. I felt like I was melting. “Come, I’ll walk you to your cabin.”
He took my hand and we walked down the path to my cabin. He didn’t seem to care who saw us. We bumped into Jonah, and when his gaze dropped to our hands. He asked, “So you guys are official?”
Asher looked over to me, and his cheeks tinged pink. “I’m holding her hand. That’s all you need to know.”
Jonah laughed and shook his head, and then he walked off. Asher walked me to my cabin door, kissed my cheek, and said he’d be seeing me soon. We parted ways. I went inside to get ready. I was giddy and smiling. I was so damn happy. I went to shower, shave, and wash my hair.
When I got out of the shower, my phone rang. “Hi, Mom,” I answered. It felt like she had a sixth sense.
“Hi, baby, how are you?” she asked.
“Good. Just getting ready to go on a date with Asher,” I said.
“Oh, that sounds nice,” she cooed.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“You sound happy, Claire,” she said.
“I am,” I admitted. “I haven’t felt happy in a long time.”