His Curvy Gift by Erin Havoc

Author:Erin Havoc [Havoc, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

07

* * *

HAILEE

Curling my fingers around the glass of wine, I bring it to my lips to conceal my amusement.

“That was a smart move of your part, Asher.”

“Ah, I definitely agree, for every move of mine is smart. But what do you mean?”

“Doing the cooking part while I’m here. If I had arrived to find the food already served, I’d be sure you just ordered a takeaway.”

He laughs, throwing his head back and shaking his shoulders as he finishes up some kind of sauce on a pan.

The dinner with his parents is tomorrow and he’s decided it would be odd if they asked about some detail on his place and I told them I’ve never been here. So he invited me in and promised he would cook me some pasta to go along with wine.

I know Asher. I know he’s detail-oriented and he wants to be sure everything goes smoothly. If we nail the acting, his mother won’t bother for some time, or so he believes. Anyway, he’s invested in making her get off his case.

So I shouldn’t be enchanted with him taking me stargazing, or inviting me in to his place. I shouldn’t be overthinking watching this man cooking us dinner while I sip expensive wine.

I definitely shouldn’t be drooling over the pink and red roses tied with a scarlet ribbon he’s given me.

But here’s my heart, beating out of rhythm. It’s so natural to talk to him as he cooks that I have to remind myself of the nature of this fake-date over and over.

It’s a job. He’s not in this for real.

He doesn’t do feelings.

And I shouldn’t be staring at his wide shoulders and strong back as if I could have anything with him.

“Tell me more about your family,” I ask him, steering the subject away from us.

He goes on about how he was raised by a strict mother and strict tutors, and I laugh on how that’s the reason he’s so hard on his employees. He agrees as he serves us and we clink our glasses and eat the delicious pasta.

Asher tells me about his brother, Benjamin, and how they used to be close when they were younger, all the way to the first years of adulthood. How similar their voices sounded, so much so that they’d develop complex tricks on one another. How he’d call the girl Benjamin liked and confess in his place, and how that actually made the two start to date. How Benjamin would call in sick in place of Asher, and Asher would show up and confuse everyone. There’s a nostalgic glint to his face as he tells me such stories.

Mid-dinner, he sighs and tells me about his brother’s heartbreak and how he moved into an isolated area and developed an almost hatred toward humans of any kind. Asher warns me of his ruggedness, and his mother’s rudeness and his father’s prejudices.

I hear him out, and he tells me everything. I know he’s telling me way more than it’s necessary, way more than it’s needed for a fake-date.

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