Page 2 of Wish You Were Mine

“Thanks.” Before Asher could protest or Liam could change his mind, I took his hand and pulled him toward the corner. Actually, this would probably be best done outside. There would be less risk of being interrupted or overheard.

“Do you mind going outside with me?” I asked.

“That’s fine.”

He disentangled his fingers from mine but followed close behind. A shiver of awareness rippled up my spine. He was so much bigger than me. Wider through the shoulders, with strong arms I’d dreamed of having wrap around me. He always smelled of the woods, and I longed to bury my face in his chest and breathe him in.

We left through the main entrance, and I slipped around the side of the pub, into an alley between Drunken Destiny and the neighboring building. I shivered again, this time with anticipation.

Asher shrugged off his jacket and offered it to me. “You’re cold.”

I bit my lip. Of all the times I’d imagined myself wearing his clothes, it had never been out of practicality. More of a silly fantasy where he instructed me to walk around naked except for his T-shirt.

Still, this was romantic because it was real. Even if I wasn’t actually cold. I took the jacket and slipped my arms into the sleeves, inhaling his scent.

“What’s up?” he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I…’ I gathered all my courage and took a breath. “I like you.”

His mouth quirked. “I’m glad to hear it.”

I rolled my eyes. Men are so dense. “No, I mean I like you. I think you’re really handsome, and maybe we could date.”

The last words ran together in a nearly incomprehensible stream.

His eyebrows knitted together. “Summer—”

“I’m eighteen now,” I blurted out, cutting him off. I couldn’t read his expression, and since he hadn’t swept me into his arms, I was scared of what he might say. “I’m not at school anymore. I’m an adult.”

He winced and tugged his hand through his hair. “You know I care about you.”

My stomach sank. Somehow, that didn’t sound good. “I do.”

“I know you used to have a crush on me,” he said.

I fought the urge to bury my face in my hands as humiliation swamped me. He knew?

“I thought you’d gotten over it,” he continued. “I’m sorry, Summer, but I don’t see you that way.”

I looked down. There was absolutely no way I could gaze into his eyes as he crushed my heart. To my mortification, tears welled in my eyes. I blinked rapidly, and tried to swallow but there was an enormous lump in my throat.

“Have you tried?” I asked quietly. “Maybe you’ve just never tried to look at me that way, but if you do, you’ll see how good we can be together.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, and I immediately shook it off. “I’m really sorry, but it’s not going to happen. To me, you’re Liam’s little sister. That’s just the way it is.”

Then, I couldn’t stop the tears. They streaked down my face, and I felt every inch a girl and not at all a woman.

He reached for me. “Don’t cry, Summer.”

“Don’t touch me,” I sniffed, pulling away from him.

For five years, I’d had a crush on him.

I always pictured us sharing a happily ever after in Destiny Falls once I was old enough.

What a joke.

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