Page 65 of Asher

I always thought it was because they wanted to talk club business.

I narrowed my eyes at Stoney, “Well played.”

He chuckled, and then he sobered. “Your feelings are your own, Chloe. I will say this: if the situation was reversed, Asher would be feeling the same way as you. I’d put every single cent in my name on that fact.”

Just then, my phone chimed with a text.

Looking at the screen, I asked myself, why was I agreeing to this?

“That him?” Stoney asked.

I shook my head, looked at Stoney, and mumbled, “No.”

Then I looked at Stoney, took in his features, and sighed. I knew he wasn’t going to let me get away with simply saying no.

And the longer we sat there, the longer he stared at me.

My mouth was opening and blurting the words out before I could even stop myself, “One of the women I work with has a son. She’s been on me about accepting a date from him. And well, I guess you can blame it all on a weak moment... but I said yes.”

He stared at me, then tossed his head back and laughed.

I shook my head at him, “It isn’t that funny.” I mumbled.

He righted his head, looked at me, tapped me on my nose, and said, “Oh, but it is. I can tell you this: I don’t think this world has ever seen Asher be a caveman or a Neanderthal, but they are about to.”

And with that, he got up and walked away, all the while chuckling as he did so.

I adored Stoney. I truly did.

There was just something about him.

He was that pseudo-grandfather you never knew you needed.

And when you needed him, he was always there.

***

Just like a certain individual, I wished I wasn’t around...

It’s been thirty-six hours, forty-eight minutes, and thirty-five seconds since the world I knew seemed to exist.

When I saw Pagan sitting on the bench outside my office, I tagged my cellphone, opened the app, and pressed Asher’s name because enough was enough.

He answered in a hopeful tone, “Doll Baby.”

I snapped, “You lost the right to call me that. You should have told me.”

“I know. But fucking hell, Do... Chloe. I couldn’t stay away from you. I just couldn’t.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. But you better tell Pagan to stop following me everywhere,” I growled at him.

If anyone else did this to Asher, I knew they would have been acquainted with the pavement in the blink of an eye.

His raspy tone came over the line, and he said, “I can’t do that. Gotta know you're safe and protected, or else I can’t sleep at night.”

I growled at his words, any other day, any other time before I found out he was married, I would have swooned over.

But today was not that day.