few of her own relationships that had gone south. They’d left her huddled in bed in a fetal position with the covers over her head, wrapped up in self-pity. If there was one thing she hated, it was crying, and she cried ugly. Her first lost love had been in college, and Lance had broken if off with her after he’d graduated, dumping her while she still had another year of school left as he went about his merry way. Then there was Dave. They’d been together almost a year, and Everly was beginning to think he might be the one. He broke it off, claiming she was married to her job. In retrospect, he wasn’t all that wrong.
“It would be way too easy to give you my heart, Daisy.”
That didn’t sound so bad to her. She’d been attracted to Asher from the first day of the cruise as well. He had been the best of caregivers while she’d been sick. They’d spent countless hours together, getting to know each other, laughing once she was better. It had been intimate and special in ways unlike any other relationship she’d had.
Lowering her gaze, she soaked in his words. “I’m not sure what you’re saying in light of today.”
“Don’t you understand?”
“Apparently not. Explain it to me.”
“If we continued the way we were headed, knowing myself, when the time came, I was going to have a difficult time letting you go. I’d be miserable, missing you, wondering if there was a way for us to make something of this. And I have to accept that there isn’t.”
“In other words, quit before you start? Sounds rather pessimistic to me.”
“Be reasonable, Daisy. More than once you’ve told me how much energy you get from living in Chicago. You’ve talked endlessly about all the things you love about being part of the city. Your company means the world to you. You’ve dedicated everything to making it a success. That’s the way I feel about what I do. Sharing my passion for nature is what excites me most.”
He had a valid point.
“So explaining all this is why you wanted to see me tonight?” She had to admit he looked utterly miserable.
“I thought if I ignored you it’d be easier for us to part. It didn’t work. It didn’t come close to working. I’ve felt wretched all day and I knew I couldn’t continue this charade. It was much harder than I imagined, and I realized I’d gone about this all wrong. You deserved to know my reasoning.”
He held her gaze, waiting for she knew not what. Everly took a step in his direction. “Thank you for explaining.”
He nodded. “It’s not working, Daisy. Try as I might, I can’t make myself ignore you.”
“Do you feel better for clearing the air?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m having an extremely difficult time not kissing you again.”
She edged a bit closer. “If you were to kiss me, you should know I wouldn’t object.”
Asher’s face broke into a huge grim. He slipped his arms around her, embracing her as if she was the rip cord that would open his parachute. A deep, lengthy sigh moved through him as if this was the first deep breath he’d taken that day.
When they broke apart, Everly looked into his beautiful eyes. “Where do we go from here?” she asked in a husky whisper.
Asher pressed his forehead against hers. “Heaven help me, I don’t have a clue.”
Everly didn’t, either. They sat together, Asher’s arm around her as she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder.
“Three questions?” he asked, kissing the side of her face.
“How about you tell me three things I don’t know about you?” she suggested.
“Okay.” She sensed his smile. “One. My brother is ten years older than I and we’ve always been close.”
“Ten years?” For whatever reason, she’d assumed they were closer in age.
“I believe I was something of a surprise to my parents,” he said.
“A very good one, no doubt.”
He chuckled. “That I don’t know. Here’s something else you don’t know about me. I read a lot of science fiction. Alien worlds excite me. I’ve been known to stay up all night reading, unable to put the book down.”
“How genre-oriented of you! And you had the nerve to tease me about my romance novels.”
“And three. I got a blue ribbon at the county fair for the pet rabbit I raised. I named her Honey Bunny.”
Everly laughed. “You’re not much for originality, are you?”
“I have no defense. Honey