I lifted the back of her hand and pressed my lips to it. “I’ll find someone else.”
She dropped my hand so she could cradle my face on either side. Her lips found mine, and she held them there. When she pulled back, a huge smile spread across her face. “Thank you, Asher.” She leaned in and kissed me again.
“Of course,” I said when she finally dropped her hands and settled back into her seat.
The light shifted to green, so I pressed on the gas. We drove in silence for a minute before Coralie leaned forward and flipped on the radio. Music filled the cab, granting me the peace to sit and think about what Coralie had asked me to do.
I didn’t want to tell Ella that she couldn’t be my best man. I didn’t want to break her heart. I knew she’d put on a brave face and accept my decision, but it would crush her. And I didn’t want to hurt Ella more than I already had.
I had been the one to change our relationship. I had been the one to confess my feelings, even though I knew she didn’t feel the same. I was the asshole who kept making promises and then taking them back. Ella deserved a better guy friend. I was a failure.
I decided to just stop thinking before I drifted slowly into insanity. I was going to drive to the florist with my eyes forward, listening to Coralie sing the wrong words to the song currently blaring on the radio. I wasn’t going to think of Ella or how exactly I was going to address the best man situation.
Once I’d preplanned what I was going to say, then I’d meet up with her to tell her. I’d gone off script so much in our relationship, and I was determined not to make that mistake again. I was already living through the aftermath of my first off-the-cuff decision when it came to Ella. I wasn’t in a hurry to experience another one.
Shelby and Ella were already at Blooming Beauty when we pulled up. They were getting out of the car as we parked in the spot next to them. I turned off the engine while Coralie opened her door. She’d made her way to my side by the time I got out of my truck and shut the driver’s door.
Her hand found mine, and she squeezed tightly. Her other hand found my elbow as we walked across the parking lot to the front door, where Shelby and Ella were standing.
I could feel Ella’s gaze on me, but I decided to ignore it. I just stared straight ahead while we waited for the florist to finish with a customer.
Ella tried to make small talk with Coralie, but she just brushed her off by stepping up to Shelby and commenting on the color of the daises in the glass cooler near the door. While they talked, Ella turned her attention to me. I hated that she was trying to find a friend in me when I couldn’t be that guy for her anymore.
I was engaged, and my fiancée didn’t want me around Ella. I couldn’t be the guy who stood around pining for Ella anymore. I needed to draw a line in the sand, and I was going to have to do it now. Before Ella caused my resolve to fly out the window.
“Ready to pick out flowers?” Ella asked as she offered me a soft smile.
“Yeah,” I said, focusing my attention forward.
“Asher, will you join us?” Coralie called from across the room.
“Yep,” I said as I flicked my gaze over to Ella. “Sorry, duty calls.”
And then I did the hardest thing I’d ever done in my relationship with Ella. I gave her a curt nod and left her standing there, staring at my retreating frame.
12
WILLOW
“Mommy,”Jasper whined as he buried his face into one of my pillows.
I reached out and felt his forehead for the twentieth time since he’d come into my bed at five a.m. complaining of a headache. He was hot and uncomfortable, which meant he was sick and I was late. Likelate, late. I was normally opening the diner for breakfast, but not now. Not with Jasper running a fever over 101 degrees.
So I called Breia and let her know that I wasn’t going to be able to come in until Zoey, my babysitter, could get here at nine. She told me not to worry, that she had everything under control. I begged her not to tell anyone why I wasn’t in yet. The last thing I needed was Cole’s judgment to return like it had when he’d asked me about Jasper. She promised to keep it to herself and told me not to worry. Which was a joke. I was a mom. All I did was worry.
I didn’t want to know what kind of assumptions Cole was going to make about me not being there on time. Especially on a Sunday, one of our busiest days. I had a sinking suspicion that it wasn’t going to be good. Which was ridiculous because, besides Jasper, the diner was the only thing I cared about in my entire life.
My phone chimed, so I reached out and grabbed it from my nightstand. It was a text from Zoey.
Zoey:At your front door. Can I just come in?
Me:Yes ma’am!
I rolled off my bed and stood, stuffing my phone into my back pocket. “Mommy’s got to go to work, bubba,” I said as I pushed his sweaty curls from his forehead and felt it one last time. “Zoey is here to watch you.”
“Hey, buddy,” Zoey’s soft voice sounded as she quietly stepped into the room.
“Mommy,” Jasper whimpered as he glanced up at me and then over to Zoey.
