Page 90 of Asher
“You’re married?” Stella screeched, her voice an octave higher. If she were a cartoon character, steam would be spuing from her ears by how red her face has turned.
My dad cursed under his breath and for a second I felt bad that we’d been hiding this from them. Luckily mom was with Nix, or she might’ve passed out.
After she smacked me on the back of the head of course.
“Not that it’s any of your business but we got married in Vegas. We were trying to navigate this new relationship before telling everyone. Sorry, dad.” I apologized to my father who looked curious but smiled all the same. “We had just figured everything out this morning. We knew how we were going to move forward.”
“So, you’re getting a divorce?” Stella stood straighter, hope flitting across her expression.
My head spun at her audacity in that moment. Dropping my chin to my chest, I shook my head and took a deep breath trying to keep my composure. My hands dug harder into my hips. I didn’t want or need to spill my personal decisions. That was between me and Hales, but Stella needed to fully understand that she didn’t stand a chance. Apparently just being in a committed relationship wasn’t enough to fully deter her. “No. No, we aren’t. We’re staying married. We’re going to start a family.”
Rylie squealed from her seat and my mouth twitch at how happy she was for us.
More for Haley, I was sure.
But I was glad we had people in our corner right now. Actually, surveying the room, I noticed everyone was happy about this revelation except Stella. Sheila and Jim held hands, smiling at me.
“You can’t do that.” Stella took a shaky step away from me. Her entire body shook, and tears filled her eyes.
“What is this really about, Stella?” Sheila stood, cautiously moving toward her niece. “You don’t even really know Asher. He’s doing nothing wrong with moving on with his life.”
“You don’t understand.” Her voice trembled. “You’ll never understand.” She looked at me one more time before turning on her heel and bolting out the door leaving everyone even more confused.
“I’m so happy for you.” Sheila gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as she embraced me like she always had. Like I was the son she’d always wanted. “We’ll catch up, soon. I promise, but we better go find out what has gotten into her.” Worry etched her brow as she eyed the door Stella disappeared through.
I nodded and shook Jim’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for all of that to come out today.” I ran a hand through my hair, sighing heavily.
“It’s okay. Something’s going on with her. I’ve never seen her act like this,” he said dumbfounded and followed his wife out of the room.
I slumped down in my chair, snatching my phone off the table to call Haley.
I should’ve followed her. I should’ve grabbed Nix and left with her, but I was too pissed at Stella to think straight.
Dialing her number, I put the phone to my ear, squeezing the phone so hard I thought it would shatter. I rubbed my temple as her voicemail picked up. “Haley. Call me. Please, baby.” I ended the call and followed it with a text.
Asher
Baby. Please call me. We need to work this out. I don’t want space.
My dad cleared his throat. “So, you’re married, huh?”
I gave him a sad smile. “For now. I’m hoping she won’t divorce my ass the first chance she gets.”
“You need to tell your mom.” My dad crossed his arms over his chest, leaving no room for debate.
I hung my head thinking about the ass chewing that would ensue. “Yeah. I will.”
“You should also explain why that girl thought it was okay to kiss you in the first place,” Rylie said in a cute voice as she picked up a squirming Knox from his car seat. Her eyes were anything but cute though. This was a test. I knew if she didn’t like what I had to say, I wouldn’t get anywhere near Haley to explain the truth no matter how much she knew Hales loved me.
I gripped the back of my neck, trying to relieve pressure. “If anyone knows about crazy women it should be you two.” I gave her a look that dared her to deny it. She couldn’t of course, because while Stella went a little wacko, she’d been acting out of character.
When Faith broke into Mason’s house buck ass naked, she was actingincharacter.
“You’ve got me there.” Rylie’s voice was unamused. Mason whispered in her ear, and she nodded to whatever he had to say.
“I went over to drop Nix off yesterday. I thought it might be a good time to figure out why she seemed to have a problem with Haley.” I cringed thinking what came next. “She kissed me out of nowhere. I pushed her away and told her to stay away when I picked up Nix today.”
“I don’t think she listened,” Mason deadpanned.