14
“The view is incredible.”Ava stared out the floor-to-ceiling window that they were seated beside.
“Yes, it is,” Asher agreed as he stared directly at her.
Ava was unaware that he wasn’t talking about the view of Hope Falls nestled in the valley below, lit up like it was a backlot in one of the Hallmark Christmas movies Blake liked to watch. He was talking about her.
From the turned-up slope of her nose, to her high cheekbones, full lips, large green-blue eyes, creamy complexion, and long, silky hair her effortless beauty was ethereal. It felt like he was looking at a real-life angel. And it was clear to him that she was totally oblivious to her appeal. She had no idea just how heartbreakingly stunning she was, which only made her more attractive.
He still couldn’t believe that when he’d picked her up, he’d said that she was damn. He’d just been so caught off guard by her beauty and that was the only semi-appropriate description that he could muster.
Since running into Ava, literally, in front of Brewed Awakenings, not a day, or hour for that matter had passed without Asher thinking of her. She’d occupied his every waking and sleeping thought. He’d had more than one dream about her, which was strange because he never dreamed. He’d chalked it up to the uniqueness of their shared history. But now that she was in front of him again, he realized that the connection he felt to her was much stronger, and much more personal than he’d thought it was and it had nothing to do with her being the girl from the bodega.
He couldn’t stop staring at her and he could literally listen to her speak for the rest of his life and never get tired of hearing her sweet voice. Her appeal was so much deeper than just her appearance. Even her mannerisms were sexy and drew him to her.
He loved the way her eyes crinkled at the sides when she was explaining something. He loved the way she used her hands a lot when she was talking. He loved how expressive her face was and how her eyes sparkled with emotion. He loved the way she walked, with a sway in her generous hips. He loved the way she interacted with people, from the valet to the hostess, to the busboy, to the server, it was clear that everyone Ava spoke to felt like the most important person in the room.
It wasn’t just her appearance and her mannerisms. When they’d gone over the toxicology report that revealed that she had, in fact, been drugged, her first response was relief that it had been her and not Viv, who was the intended target. Over the course of the evening, she’d revealed depths of herself that he was sure hadn’t been intentional. She’d shown him that she was selfless, nurturing, kind, and empathetic.
Asher truly felt like he was in the presence of a unicorn. An angel. A woman he wouldn’t have believed actually existed if he wasn’t witnessing the miracle with his own eyes.
Ava tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned her attention from the view back to him and it was clear that she was totally oblivious to the thoughts that were running through his head.
“So, how are you liking Hope Falls?” she asked as she grabbed her wine glass and lifted it to her mouth.
He tried to focus on what she was asking, but it was difficult since he was busy being jealous of the glass that pressed against her lips as she took a sip. He cleared his throat. “It’s nice.”
A knowing smile spread across her beautiful face as she set the wine down and seeing it infused him with a warmth and comfort that was hard to describe. “It’s a lot different than the city. Did you grow up in a small town?”
“No. I grew up in Long Island and moved to Brooklyn after I’d been on the job a few years and was there until I came here.”
“So, you lived in New York your whole life?”
He nodded.
She tilted her head to the side in the most adorable way. “Really?”
“You seem surprised.”
“It’s just…” She shook her head. “You don’t have an accent.”
“Yeah, that was my mom. She was a speech therapist and felt like I would have a better shot at going far in life if my accent was non-regional.”
She’d also made him take ballroom dance to counteract the “toxic masculinity” of football and baseball that he played. Thankfully, she’d let him go to dance in Manhattan so none of his friends in Long Island ever knew. It was sort of like he’d lived a double life, which he just realized might be why being undercover had felt like second nature.
“I bet she’s proud of you.” The look of hero worship in Ava’s eyes made him feel both invincible and uncomfortable simultaneously. He knew he didn’t deserve it, but he had to admit the admiration made him feel ten feet tall.
Trying to push the internal battle he was experiencing to the back of his mind; he did his best to be present in the conversation. “She passed away a few years ago. But, yeah, I think she was.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sympathy and empathy radiated from Ava. “My mom passed away when I was fifteen, just about to be sixteen.”
Asher was silent for a moment, before he said, “I lost my dad when I was thirteen. It’s not easy to lose a parent in your teens.”
“No.” Ava shook her head back and forth. “It’s not.”
The server delivered their meals and Asher realized that he was feeling antsy. He had no idea why. He loved spending time with Ava, but he felt…exposed. He wasn’t used to disclosing so much about himself. He never offered up personal information to people. Hell, Jenna didn’t even know that he’d taken speech therapy to lose his accent. He’d revealed more about himself to Ava in the hour they’d spent together than he had to Jenna in the years they’d known each other.
Ava must have noticed his behavior, or she was a mind reader because she asked, “You don’t talk about yourself much, huh?”
