Page 5 of Wish You Were Mine

Asher: Are you okay?

“Far from it,” I muttered, and plugged the phone into the charger without replying.

Of course he would be thoughtful via text. Any time I saw him in real life these days, all we did was snap at each other or say the wrong thing. But perhaps that was for the best. After all, the last time he’d been nice to me, he’d been drunk off his ass.

He’d hit on me at a party, and I’d been ecstatic for a few seconds, until I realized that he’d never go anywhere near me sober, and that if anything were to happen between us while he was drunk, he’d regret it. I’d let him down gently, hoping he’d come back in the morning and tell me he’d meant every word.

Of course, he never did. Because Asher Heaton didn’t really want me. He’d made that painfully clear.

2

ASHER

I surreptitiously took my phone from my pocket beneath the table and glanced at the screen. Still no reply from Summer.

Worry knitted in my gut. Was she okay? She’d seemed upset when they left, and as much as I enjoy winding her up on occasion, this was different. I’d never want to see her truly hurt.

“What’s wrong?” Kylie asked.

“Nothing.” I returned my phone to my pocket. I obviously needed to work on my stealth skills.

Kylie sipped from her glass of wine, set it down, and cocked her head. “So, who was the girl?”

I frowned. “Huh?”

She arched her eyebrow, looking at me as if I was an idiot. “The one who was sitting beside us earlier. You could hardly take your eyes off her.”

Ugh. Awkward.

“It’s not what you think,” I said weakly.

She popped the last piece of fish into her mouth and held my gaze while she chewed and swallowed. “And what do I think?”

Yeah, no way in hell was I stupid enough to try to answer that. No man could ever know exactly what a woman was thinking.

“She’s my best friend’s little sister,” I explained. “She used to have a bit of a crush on me, and I was worried she might be upset by seeing me on a date.”

“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes. “I believe you.”

I had no idea why that was such a relief. I’d told her the truth, after all.

“I don’t think she’s the only one who was bothered by someone else’s date though,” she added.

I stiffened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

That was a big fat lie.

Kylie pushed her plate away and positioned her wine glass in front of herself. “Are you sure you don’t feel something for her too?”

Damn. She had to go and say it.

“It’s not like that.” Another lie. Or, at least, a partial one.

When Summer had returned from university, properly grown up, she’d blindsided me. I honestly hadn’t expected to ever see her as anything other than Liam’s baby sister, but I’d barely run into her at all for years because her avoidance game was top notch, so by the time I did, she’d transitioned from a pretty girl into a knockout woman.

Not that I’d ever been able to tell her as much. I’d tried once, and she’d sassed and snarked until I gave up and snarked right back. Now, that was pretty much all we did with each other.

“Whatever you say,” Kylie replied, then muttered something about men that I couldn’t quite hear.