Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 142783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Whew. We did it.” Juni gave him a high five, like they’d been stressed.
Juni looked up at me. “And don’t worry, Uncle, Aster is going to try reallys hard to come as long as she don’t got nothin’ else to do.”
I looked at the woman who swarmed me like a remedy.
Filling holes and cracks and vacancies.
I glanced at Juni.
“Don’t worry, Juni. She’ll be there.”
What if time and distance held no meaning? What if it held no standing or claim? What if we had made a million mistakes and those mistakes led us astray and we got lost and wandered for years?
And what if, after all of it, we ended up at the very same place?
I squeezed Aster’s hand where she hesitated beside me. Her breaths were shallow and her apprehension thick. Vapor puffed from our mouths as we stood in the frozen darkness outside Eden’s modest house that was lit in Christmas lights in one of the older family neighborhoods in Redemption Hills.
“It’s so small.” Most would take it as an insult, but Aster whispered it like wonder.
Like the sight of it stole her breath and filled her heart to overflowing.
I got the sense the girl gazed upon her dream home. One on a poster tacked to a wall or on an inspiration board that would never come true.
Out of touch. Never tangible. A flatlay that could never come to life.
I turned around to face her, still holding onto her hand as I cocked her a grin. “You probably shouldn’t announce that when we get inside. Someone might think it’s rude.”
She choked out a disconcerted laugh. “That’s not what I meant.”
I stepped forward, brushed back a lock of her hair, and tucked it behind her ear before I rested my hand on the side of her face. “I know, Aster.”
She gulped. She was so damned pretty I couldn’t look away. I let the pad of my thumb brush along her cheek. “Eden lived here before she met Trent and Gage,” I explained. “They’re building a larger home just on the outside of town. Jud and Salem are building one on the property next to them.”
From over my shoulder, she looked back at the house. Her voice was a thin mist. “They’re so sweet.”
She blinked while still staring that way. “This afternoon was…”
“Crazy? Chaotic? Wild? I already saw the proof of it explode in my house. Poor Gretchen is going to be battling glitter for the next six months.” I let it go as a tease.
She whispered, “No, Logan. It was wonderful.”
My chest tightened, and I stepped back and gave her a gentle tug. “Just wait until we get inside.”
Aster remained rooted, and her eyes dropped closed. “I’m not sure I should go in there.”
I touched her chin, urging her to look at me. “Why not?”
This time, the laughter that left her was dejected. “I think I’ve intruded on your family enough.”
I gave her a slow smile. “I don’t think you’ve intruded on my family nearly enough.”
I tugged her again.
Her heels dug in. “Logan.”
I edged forward, inhaled her scent, her beauty, her bravery, and I slipped my arm around her waist and tucked her firmly against me. I crossed that invisible barrier we’d been treading for the better part of a week.
She shivered and shook.
My cheek brushed hers, and my mouth went to her ear. “My rules, Aster.”
I didn’t give a fuck if I was playing dirty. Using our agreement to my advantage. Some things just needed to be done.
I soothed the sting by stepping back, taking her hand, and dragging her toward the walkway with a playful smirk lighting my mouth. “Besides, it’s my birthday. You wouldn’t want to go and hurt my feelings by missing my big surprise party, would you? Especially after all the work you put into creating that epic invitation with my niece and nephew?”
“Never.” She almost smiled, almost got swept up in the feeling.
The tease and the play.
The hope and the joy.
Because I could already feel it radiating from the walls of the simple house as Aster hustled along a step behind me as I hauled her toward the door, then I felt it explode when I opened it to the crush of people gathered in the cramped space.
I felt it to my soul when a chorus of voices went up with a loud, “Happy birthday!”
I grinned, pulled my girl up to my side, and slung my arm over her shoulder. “That’s right, the one you’ve all been waiting for is here. Let’s get this party started, baby.”
By the streak of excitement that impaled me right then?
I was sure I was stepping into the best night of my life.
I grinned back at Aster, then I pulled her in with me.
TWENTY-ONE
ASTER
If it had been chaotic back at Logan’s apartment earlier, it was madness inside Eden and Trent’s home.