Asher by Cole Carian

Author:Cole, Carian [Cole, Carian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Music, Adult
Amazon: B089HQCKWP
Goodreads: 53746246
Published: 2020-05-31T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-One

Breathe.

I’m Ember.

This is my home.

Asher is my husband.

These are my family and friends.

My name is Ember Valentine.

I’m happy to see you.

I squeeze the damp water bottle and press it against my cheek. The distraction of the chill takes the edge off my rising anxiety. Temporarily, at least.

The window is a barrier between myself and the twenty-or-so people talking and laughing in our backyard.

Asher told me we’ve been hosting Friday night barbecues for years, but this is the first one since I came home from the hospital. He presented it to me as a way for our closest family and friends to meet baby Tia and, for lack of a better word, for me to re-meet them in a casual atmosphere.

But to me, it doesn’t feel casual. It feels terrifying having a crowd of people at our home that I don’t know or recognize. Other than maybe five of them.

A few of the guys I recognize from photos Asher and Kenzi have shown me, but since they all have long hair and tattoos, it’s hard to tell them apart. If their significant others stay next to them, I can use the girls as a tool to help me differentiate between them.

The one with the tiny blonde.

The one with the big-eyed brunette.

The one with the girl with burgundy hair and the sweet smile.

This is what my life has come down to. Thank God people can’t read my thoughts.

Muscular arms encircle me from behind, and I lean back against his rock-hard chest. “How’s the prettiest girl in the world doing?”

My cheeks flush. “Is that me?”

“Always and only.”

Butterflies. He still does it to me.

He turns me in his arms to face him, then studies my face like he’s trying to find a pathway into my head. “You okay?”

“It’s a lot of people. I’m afraid to go out there. If someone talks to me, I won’t know who they are, and it’s going to be so uncomfortable.”

I thought by now Asher would’ve grown impatient with me and the countless frustrations of our situation. Honestly, what man wouldn’t? But his eyes are still filled with nothing but love and understanding. His touch is always soft and reassuring.

He’s a rock.

“I know it’s hard for you,” he says. “But everyone out there knows you, cares about you, and loves you. They know you don’t remember them. That’s why they’re here, so you can get to know them again. So we can suck you into our crazy family again and make you love us.”

I’m already falling in love with Asher. I find myself thinking about him all the time, and on my hardest and darkest days, he has a way of making everything better. We still have more hurdles than an obstacle course, the biggest one being pre-accident Ember and how she’s haunting both of us.

I wish she’d either come out of the clouds completely or just disappear for good. I’m tired of being held hostage by her. I’m sure Asher is too, even though he’ll never admit it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.