What was he doing here? He was supposed to be getting married. Was Coralie with him? Was that what he was looking at? I didn’t want to see either of them. I was torn as to what to do.
His gaze made its way back to my door, and he raised his hand and knocked again. I stood there, frozen. I wanted to open the door, but there was a part of me that feared what would happen if I did.
“What do you want, Asher?” I asked as I reached out and touched the door.
Silence. “Ella?”
I nodded, tears brimming my eyes. “Yes,” I said, my voice hoarse.
“I need to talk to you.”
I closed my eyes, a tear slipping down my cheek. “Why are you here? You’re getting married.”
“Please, open the door.”
My heart was at war with my head. I wanted to open the door. I wanted to run to him. But I feared that my heart would not survive the rejection when he walked away to marry another woman.
“Ella, please.”
I opened my eyes and stared at the door. Then I took a step forward and peeked through the peephole once more. Asher was standing closer to the door now, his head dipped down like he didn’t want to miss anything I might say.
I wanted to turn and walk away, but I didn’t have the strength to move. I wiped my tears and sniffled as I prepared myself for whatever he was going to say. Then I reached over to release the deadbolt and unlock the handle so I could turn it.
I slowly opened the door to reveal Asher standing there. He was facing the door now, his shoulders sagged and his eyebrows drawn together as his gaze met mine. He studied me for a moment before he slowly lifted up a Mr. Cheng’s bag. “Hungry?”
I scoffed and fought back the tears as I folded my arms across my chest.
“I got honey shrimp, chicken lo mein, egg rolls, and fried rice.” Then he lifted his right hand to reveal another bag. “And banana taffy and Dr. Pepper.”
I studied him. Why was he doing this? Of course he knew my favorites, he’d been my best friend for so long. But that didn’t matter now. He was getting married. He should be buying those things for Coralie, not me.
“Where’s Coralie?” I whispered. I half expected her to pop out from the shadows to glare at me once more.
He dropped the bags to his sides. “Probably on her way back to New York,” he said before he slowly raised his gaze to meet mine. “I’m not marrying her.”
“What?” I asked, my body literally rejecting the words I thought I heard him say. I’d misheard him…right?
“Can I come in?” he asked as he took a small step toward me.
I blinked a few times, trying to keep my tears at bay. My brain was struggling to keep up with what he was saying, but I also didn’t want to have a mental breakdown where all of my neighbors could see, so I nodded and stepped to the side so he could come in. He paused as if to ask me if it was okay for him to continue. I nodded and offered him a soft smile.
He made his way to the kitchen and set the bags down on the counter. I shut the door and then followed after him. I wasn’t sure what to do once he turned around and leaned against the counter with his feet extended in front of him and his arms folded across his chest.
He held my gaze for a moment before he turned his attention to his feet. He took a deep breath and then scrubbed his face with his hand.
I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to speak first, and in all honesty I didn’t know what to say. I was so confused as to why he was here with me instead of getting ready for his wedding.
“Coralie and I aren’t getting married,” he whispered as he slowly brought his gaze to meet mine.
“Oh?” I asked. Did I dare hope that this meant what I so desperately wanted it to mean? “Why?”
He studied me. “Because I’m not in love with her, and I’m pretty sure she’s not in love with me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s not your fault. Her dad was sick. I wanted to…” His voice drifted off as he dropped his gaze to the floor once more and took another deep breath. “It seemed like I was messing everything up, and I wanted to do something right for once.” He met my gaze. “I wanted the people I love to be happy.”
I reveled in the sound of the wordloveon his lips. It caused Shelby’s words to echo in my mind. He’d never actually said that word out loud. Was he including me in that statement? Was it the kind of love that I felt for him?
