“I’m surprised Chloe let you out of her sight,” I say, sitting down. My mind drifts to the snow day at his house, and how we couldn’t sit close enough. Today, there’s an entire cushion between us.

“I snuck out when she was distracted by her new puppy.”

“They got her a puppy?”

He laughs and leans back into a pillow. “Morgan got her the puppy. It wasn’t a mutually agreed upon gift.”

“That must have been a fun surprise.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of terrifying watching them argue.”

“Law & Order in the flesh?”

“Pretty sure network television would not have let their choice of words fly.”

“That’s my kind of entertainment.”

His lips lift into a soft, shy smile. I smile back, but our eyes barely meet. We’re two people who don’t know how to act around each other after having gone from one extreme to the next. Sharing a bed. Kissing. Touching. To not speaking at all. We sit in a nervous silence. Just us. The TV. A box of donuts. And Thai takeout.

I want everything to be warm and easy and exciting again.

“Olivia.” Asher’s lips are pressed together when he looks over at me with the same nervous hesitance that has been flitting around us since he arrived. This is the man who has never hesitated saying anything to me. Ever. “What happened with Bree—”

“I know she came onto you,” I say. “I think, deep down, I always knew that. I’m sorry I blew the situation out of proportion.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” he tells me. “I just want you to understand that I’m not my father. Women aren’t dispensable to me. I would never take advantage of someone, and I certainly wouldn’t abuse my power for some greater personal gain.”

“I know you’re not your father. Asher, you’re nothing like him.”

“I’ve seen the way he treats women my whole life, and I refuse to be like that. I respect your integrity and your dedication to your career too much to jeopardize that with whatever feelings I have for you.”

Have.

The feelings he has for me.

Present tense.

Meaning he still feels the same way.

“I don’t care what people think about me,” I say. “And I definitely don’t care what they think about us. The only opinion that matters to me is yours.”

“And what about your opinion of me?”

I smile at him, and it’s the first time in days that it’s not forced, fake happiness. Everything I’m feeling is very, very real.

“I think you’re wildly cranky and difficult and unreasonable, but underneath all those layers and layers of double-toasted-extra-cream-cheese-madness, there is a very passionate and vulnerable man that I’m going to admire for the rest of my life in spite of his terrible taste in bagels and his ridiculous coffee order.”