Chapter 15

All I had to do to find out what Joseph wanted was to press my thumb down and open the text. Yet at the last moment, I stopped myself.

Why should I care what he wanted? He’d made his feelings for me and our baby perfectly clear the last time we were together.

Asher would be here to pick me up soon. I didn’t have time to waste on Joseph. I locked the screen of my phone.

Joseph could wait.

Quickly, I changed into a loose fitting dress as Asher had requested. I pulled my hair back into a simple ponytail and stepped into my flats. After checking my make-up in my mirror, I started down the stairs.

In front of my dormitory, I searched up the street to the left and to the right, but I didn’t see any sign of Asher. I knew he drove a supped-up expensive motorcycle that was more wild than elitist, but it wasn’t anywhere along the street.

I stood there a moment, wondering if I should try calling him again.

Then, the window of the car parked right in front of me rolled down. It was a fancy black car with a proud shining hood ornament. I didn’t know a lot about cars, but even I could recognize an Aston Martin.

Asher looked at me from the driver’s side. “You coming?” he asked, waving me toward the car.

I opened the passenger door and slid inside. The leather interior smelled like him, and some of the tension I didn’t know I was holding eased away.

“Where’s the motorcycle?” I asked, teasing. Dylan had talked about how much Asher loved his bike. It must have pained him to be inside a vehicle for a change.

“You know why I couldn’t bring it,” he said, voice flat.

My heart warmed in my chest. Riding on the back of a motorcycle would have been dangerous. He was protecting me. Again.

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to,” he said.

“Okay.” I buckled my seatbelt.

He watched me a moment, then leaned over me to grab a second seatbelt hanging at my side.

I froze. He was so close. His shoulder brushed against mine. His face lingered near the corner of my neck. If he turned his head a little, I would have no trouble leaning in and kissing him.

The thought jolted me, and I pressed as far back into the seat as I could. I couldn’t – wouldn’t – touch him. If I touched him, my body might react, and this close, he would be able to tell.

I couldn’t let him know how much I wanted him.

Yet, at this slim distance, even without touching him, I could smell him. The scent of leather had been all around me since I sat in the car. But the soft touch of pine, and the combination that was distinctly Asher, came only from being this close to him.

He exhaled, his breath warm on the bare skin of my shoulder.

I held my own breath.

Then, finally, he pulled away and secured a second belt buckle at my side.

“Double insurance,” he said, satisfied, and started the car.

To my knowledge, double seat belts did not come standard in any car. Did he have this specially installed just for me?

The car purred beneath us. Asher kept his hands on the wheel at ten and two, but made no motion yet to pull out into traffic.

His brow furrowed like he was debating something inside himself.

“Asher?” I asked.

He looked at me, and the steady focus of his blue eyes held me captive. Asher in the flesh put all of those photos on social media to shame.

“Are you afraid of me, Cynthia?”

“What?” I whispered in disbelief. Had he mistaken my arousal for fear? “No, I…”

“Good,” he said, even though he frowned. “Anxiety can be detrimental to the development of the baby. I wouldn’t want to…”

Clearing his throat, he looked back to the road. “You need to be careful.”

“I will,” I promised him.

The hospital where Asher took me was not the one I was used to, but a much more impressive, high-end building on the other side of town. It mainly catered to the wealthy elite, with chandeliers in the entry way, and plush sofas in the waiting rooms.

With Asher at my side, we were led into a private room where a friendly nurse began an ultrasound. I worried my bottom lip, nervous, but Asher placed a steadying hand on my shoulder.

I gained strength from his touch, enough to watch the screen when the nurse discovered the embryo. It was tiny yet, a small glob with a heartbeat. But to see it with my own eyes, and know it was inside of me…

My whole world tilted. That was my baby.

My heart swelled in joy and tenderness. My baby inside of me was so small, but I would protect it. I would help it grow bigger and bring it into the world.

Tears welled in my eyes. Asher squeezed my shoulder.

I couldn’t read the look in his eyes, but under his gaze I felt safe and calm. For a brief moment, everything seemed so perfect.

When we caught the nurse looking, Asher’s hand fell away.

The nurse leaned closer to me, as if to tell a secret. Though she spoke loud enough for Asher to hear.

“Your baby’s father is very considerate. Looking out for you. Protecting you. Those are excellent qualities in a mate. You’ve chosen well.”

My mouth went dry. “No, um. We’re not…”

“No?” The nurse leaned back, surprise and embarrassment coloring her features. “Please, forgive me, I didn’t mean to –”

“Tell us about labor and delivery,” Asher interrupted. “We want to be prepared.”

We.

“Yes, of course,” the nurse said, recovering her composure at once. As she spoke, I dared a sideways glance at Asher.

Concentration hardened his features as he listened carefully to the nurse. He nodded at certain times, and asked questions.

He was looking out for me, even here.

For the first time, I envied the woman who would someday become the mother of his real children. If he was this dedicated to me, just because Dylan asked him to be, I could only imagine how fiercely he would protect someone he actually wanted.

My heart sank low inside of me. Though he was sitting right next to me, I felt suddenly alone.

He didn’t want to be here. Not really. I was just an obligation.

I was only his friend’s kid sister, who had landed herself in trouble. He must have resented me for taking up so much of his time and energy.

The nurse was right. Asher would be a wonderful mate.

But he wasn’t mine.

I pushed the thoughts away. There was nothing to be done. He would never want me like I wanted him. Better to just forget it.

After the appointment, we drove back to campus in silence. Asher dropped me off in front of my door, then drove away before I even mustered a thank you.

In my room, I once again sat with my phone cradled in my hands. Alone with my thoughts, I could no longer avoid Joseph’s message.

As lonely as I felt, I didn’t want to avoid it anymore either.

Asher would only ever view me as a kid sister. But Joseph…

I once thought we had something more. And though he had betrayed my trust in him, we were still having a child together. Wouldn’t that forever bind us?

The thought did not offer me the comfort I thought it would.

Maybe he just wants to tell me off again, I reasoned, hardening myself in preparation for an onslaught of insults.

I clicked open the message.

It read, I’m sorry. I never should have acted that way. I was out of line.

I swallowed hard. Kindness was worse than insults. I ached all over with want. This is what it should have been from the start.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I read the last sentence of the text.

Can we talk again about our baby?