Page 32 of The Love Penalty
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Seven.”
His mouth drops open, and I can’t help a soft giggle. “How about you?”
“Two. Twins. Older brothers. Not very close.”
I tip my head to study him for a moment, then murmur, “That’s sad.”
“I’ve got my cousins. They’re more like siblings to me. We’re closer in age, and I used to spend holidays with them.”
I smile.
“I’m guessing your tribe is all tightknit, then?” He leans back in his chair to study me, and I can’t help getting caught in the color of his eyes again. Of course they had to be blue. Like the sky on a cloudless day.
I swallow and look down. “Yes and no. I mean, we love each other a lot, but we’re so spread out. My youngest sister is two. She’s gonna grow up without me around. And the siblings who are closest to me in age are all boys, and they drove me crazy growing up. There’s seven years between me and my next sister, who is extremely close to her younger sister, because there’s only two years between them. So…” I snicker and shake my head. “That was a really long explanation for a short answer.”
“No, it’s interesting. I’m guessing Caroline feels more like a sister to you, then?”
“Yeah, we’re really close.” The words die in my mouth as I think about the fact that we used to tell each other everything.
But not anymore.
Because I’m tearing us apart with my big, ugly secret.
My skin prickles, and I shift in my seat. Asher’s keen gaze narrows, and I feel the weight of it until he sits forward and licks his finger, picking up cookie crumbs off his plate and casually asking, “What do you like to read? Other than Harry and Narnia?”
“Um… biographies about famous people in history, fiction about famous times in history, other fantasy stuff. I just finished Fourth Wing a couple weeks ago and really need to get my hands on Iron Flame.”
He nods but obviously hasn’t heard of those books before.
“How about you?” I ask.
“I’m a huge Ken Follett guy.”
“Oh, he’s amazing!” I sit forward, excitement sizzling through me. “Please tell me you’ve read Pillars of the Earth and all related books.”
“I have.” He laughs, licking the crumbs off his finger. “And I recently watched the miniseries as well, but it’s not as good as the books.”
“Movies often aren’t, although… if it gets people enjoying stories that I love, I don’t mind so much. I gotta say, the Lord of the Rings movies… superior to the books. The books are great, they’re just—” I wince. “—long.”
“And boring.” He bulges his eyes. “What is it, like fifty pages just for the Council of Elrond?” He slumps back in his seat and starts to snore.
The move cracks me up, and a loud guffaw bursts out of me before I can stop it.
Slapping my hand over my mouth, I try to curb my laughter, but now he’s pulling faces and shit! He’s not allowed to be this charming and hilarious! And he’s not allowed to be so easy to talk to… or like all the same things I do.
This isn’t fair!
I don’t want to be attracted to this man, but he’s making it impossible.
My belly is still rumbling with pent-up giggles when Asher’s expression changes. Gone are the silly faces, and instead an aloof kind of cool washes over him.
He raises his chin, acknowledging someone behind me, and I turn to spot a bunch of tall, athletic-looking guys.
Glancing back at Asher, I notice the smirk on his face has changed again. It’s back to the arrogant one I’ve seen so many times before, and it stays that way as he stretches his arm across the sides of the chair and looks at me like he couldn’t care less if I was here or gone.
I lean back, cross my arms, and narrow my eyes at him. “Who are those guys?”