Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
She broke the kiss and stared up at me. “Is your mother going to expect me to be like her? Caroline? All polished and put together?”
“No.” I shook my head and my phone buzzed again. “And I’m not going to lie, Thanksgiving has the potential to be awkward as hell, but we’ll make it work.”
“That’s what happens when opposites attract,” she teased. “Things get awkward. Someone wants you, Ash,” she said, poking my vibrating pocket.
“Someone always wants me, but I’m with you, and that’s the only place I want to be right now.” I tangled one hand in her hair and then kissed the hell out of her so she’d know I meant it.
She melted against me, and I deepened the kiss, not caring that we were in the middle of a parking lot in full view of anyone walking by. Right here was where I could breathe, where nothing else mattered but Daisy and how much I loved her.
“You’re going to be late getting back to work,” Daisy said against my mouth.
“You could always come back to the office with me and we could reenact that scene,” I suggested, nipping her ear.
“I have work to do,” she laughed. “You have work to do. I’ll see you tonight, though?” she asked. “Unless you want to take me up on that offer to whisk you away to Key West for a weekend?” she teased.
“Tonight.” I kissed her again. “I guess that will have to tide me over. I love you.” It was always like this lately, sneaking tidbits of time with each other, waiting until we could spend our nights together. Even then, she was at her keyboard half the time, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to be wherever she was.
“I love you, too,” she promised.
“That’s all that matters.” Who cared if we were polar opposites. As long as we made each other happy, then we could only be stronger for our differences…as long as she didn’t run screaming once she met the rest of my family.
14
DAISY
“You look nervous,” Asher said as we watched his parents’ car drive through the gates to his home.
My mother was already in the kitchen, probably getting in James's way, but I could hear them both laughing, so at least she wasn’t annoying him. She was used to cooking, but had been super chill when I’d told her Thanksgiving was one of James’s favorite days to work.
“Daisy?” Asher urged me.
I couldn’t even muster up a white lie. “Who wouldn’t be nervous?”
“I wasn’t nervous to meet your mother,” he said, motioning behind him to the hallway that led to the kitchen. We stood on Asher’s front porch, the door wide open behind us. “I adore her.”
I huffed a laugh. “Everyone loves my mom.”
She was a hippie through and through, artistic, laid-back, and always chasing joy. She was easy to love and accepted everyone for who they were, which meant she’d treated Asher just liked she’d treat everyone else—not like a billionaire who was dating her daughter. Of course, he’d loved her.
“And you met her in her RV,” I said. We’d had a small lunch together yesterday since my mom had timed her constant travels to sync up with Thanksgiving in Charleston. “Not a mansion.” Asher had looked so damn big sitting at her little table in the RV as we munched on turkey sandwiches, but there had been laughter and stories and fun, so it gave me hope for today. Maybe his parents would be the same—easy.
Asher slid his arm around my hip, tucking me close to him as he looked down at me. “Since when are you ever intimidated?” He arched a brow at me. “You didn’t even blink when you were surrounded by sharks.”
I blew out a breath. “That was different. This is your parents and your family. I didn’t need the sharks’ approval to date their son.”
“You don’t need anyone’s approval. And you love Harper. My parents…” His voice trailed off, but he shrugged. “If you’re that uncomfortable, we can go anywhere you want, let them have Thanksgiving by themselves,” he teased.
I laughed. “No, I don’t want to be anywhere else,” I said, waving him off. “I’m just…I haven’t met anyone’s parents in a really long time.”
Asher grabbed my hand and pulled it up to his mouth, planting a kiss on the back of it. “They’ll love you,” he said. “You’re amazing.”
Well, if that wasn’t the best pep talk ever.
“Okay,” I said, but couldn’t fully shake off the self-consciousness as his parents got out of their car and headed up the stairs to us.
“Mom, Dad,” Asher said, not moving to hug them. He’d warned me they weren’t big huggers, unlike my mom, who hugged everyone. “How was your flight?”
“Just fine, thank you,” his mother said, shifting the small overnight bag on her shoulder. “Told you we didn’t need to waste the company jet of yours.”