C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-SIX
B
y morning, the flu had arrived full blown, and I grew irritable on top of being miserable when I couldn’t heal myself. Laura and Ben left to go sailing and—to my thinking—to escape my evil mood. Even showering exhausted me, and I was sprawled on my bed with wet hair when Asher arrived to check on me.
“You can’t go to bed with wet hair.”
He went into the bathroom to retrieve a hair dryer and returned to help me into the chair by the window, tucking a blanket around me and draping my hair over the back of the chair.
“Go ahead and sleep,
mo chridhe
. I’ll take care of you.”
The hair dryer flicked on and his fingers tugged the long curls, separating them to let the air hit them. I half-dozed as he dried my hair, enjoying his light touch. I woke when he lifted me and sat in the chair with me curled on his lap, tucking a blanket around both of us. His heat comforted me, and I settled against him, drifting.
My voice sounded thick with sleep when I asked, “What is mow-cry-uh?”
“It’s a Gaelic endearment my father called my mother.”
That didn’t seem to be an answer, but I lost my train of thought. “Hmm.”
“I’ve been thinking.” He rested his chin on the top of my head.
“Hmm?”
His laugh rumbled under my ear. “Are you awake?”
My words slurred. “Barely. Your fault. You’re a human electric blanket. What’re you thinking?”
“We’ve done nothing the normal way. The way we met and everything that’s happened since. We’ve skipped a few steps. I want to take you on a date. Multiple dates.”
He sounded nervous, and I frowned. “We’ve been on dates. The island. Your house. The beach.”
“I mean a real date.”
“But I like our dates.” The petulance had returned to my voice.
“You mean when you broke your rib to save me on the ferry or when I’m forced to watch you spar with Gabe?”
“Well, when you put it like that . . .” I grumbled.
He blew out a breath, mussing my hair. “I grew up in a different time, Remy. If I’d met you then, I would’ve called on you for tea. I would’ve courted you with carriage rides through the park and candy and flowers and poetry.”
My head rolled against his shoulder so I could see his face, as I struggled to piece together what he was saying. “You want to court me?”
Raw emotion burned in his voice. “You
deserve
poetry.”
I studied the soft full lips that could kiss me into oblivion, and his eyes that could see into me. I’d never wanted anyone to pursue me—the idea sounded archaic—but Asher changed everything. In truth, he already owned my heart. My head dropped back to his chest, and I breathed in his woodsy scent mixed with my clean one. “Okay,” I said.
“Okay?”
“Hmm. I like daisies.”
“Daisies.” He sounded bemused.
“Yes. And peanut M&Ms.”
“Good to know. I would’ve guessed chocolate-covered espresso beans.”
“Mmm, those, too. Oh, and I’d rather you recited
Peter Pan
than poetry.”
“I’ll remember that.”
I fell asleep listening to the rapid, irregular beat of his heart under my ear, wondering why it made me think of Ben.
By Tuesday morning, I felt human again. My powers had returned, and I’d eradicated the flu. I rushed out the door to drive myself to school in my Mustang for the first time. When I opened the driver’s door, a huge bouquet of cheerful daisies sat on the passenger seat. Lifting them to my face, I inhaled their earthy, green scent. Then, anxious to see Asher, I started the car and jumped when a narrator’s voice blasted from the stereo reading an excerpt from
Peter Pan
. Somehow Asher had snuck the flowers and CD into my car.
He waited for me in the school parking lot and opened my car door. I stuttered, thanking him for the flowers, and he grinned. As had become our routine, he took my bag and walked me to class. He left me at the door with a gentle kiss on my lips.
His courtship continued at lunch when a café mocha waited for me at our table. Asher wore an enigmatic smile and refused to tell me how he’d managed to get the drink from off-campus during school hours. He touched me constantly during the day with a hand in mine, his arm around my shoulders as we walked, or a quick brush of his lips on my cheek. My friends looked shocked to see the unattainable Asher Blackwell smitten, and Lucy shook her head at us with a happy grin. Money traded hands between Brandon and Greg, and I suspected another wager had been placed.
The rest of the week passed in a whirlwind of gifts as Asher wooed me. Peanut M&Ms
and
espresso beans made it onto my lunch tray. Tiny, square love notes hid in secret places for me to discover, including coat pockets, tucked between the pages of my books, and in my locker. A first edition of
Peter Pan
appeared gift-wrapped on my bed—Lucy admitted Asher had drafted her to help deliver that present. I melted each time I read where he’d underlined the description of Mrs. Darling’s hidden kiss.
My phone rang Thursday night while I got ready for bed. There had been no further crank calls since Ben had changed our home number and he’d given me a cell to keep on me at all times. Asher had saved all the Blackwells’ phone numbers in the memory, and I resisted the temptation to leave Lottie a piece of my mind. The more time Asher devoted to me, the ruder she’d become. Instead of sticking to her bedroom during my visits, she now followed Asher and me around like a demented chaperone, never leaving us alone for more than two minutes at a time.
A smile curved my mouth when I remembered Asher’s solution to escaping her earlier that evening. He’d sent Lottie on a made-up errand and tugged me into the pantry off the kitchen. Lottie had found us a couple of minutes later just as the green sparks faded. We’d learned that the sparks sporadically happened with more frequency, even when one or both of us had our guards up. We couldn’t predict when they’d happen, and we’d had to make up odd excuses a couple of times when someone noticed them. We suspected they were connected to the changes in Asher’s body as he became more human. It seemed that my body healed him of his immortality a little at a time, though no one could explain why or how. I sensed Asher felt torn between his desire to be mortal and his need to protect me, but neither of us felt willing to separate to slow the process.
At my breathy hello, Asher said, “Did you find it?”
Laughing at his eagerness, I settled on the bed and asked, “Find what?”
“Check under your pillow.”
Reaching behind me, I shoved aside a mountain of pillows and found a small wrapped box. “Another present? You don’t have to give me gifts, Asher.”
“I’m making up for lost time. Besides, you love them.”
I fingered the black ribbon on the box. I liked that he hadn’t used pink since I’d never been a girly girl. “You see too much.”
“Only what matters,
mo chridhe
.” His deep voice rumbled through the phone. “Did you open it?”
“Just a sec.” I untied the bow and lifted the lid off. Inside was nestled a long silver chain with several charms. Holding it up to the light, I twisted the necklace to study the different trinkets. He’d chosen each one with care. A sister charm for Lucy. A tiny car for my father. A lighthouse for the place we’d had our first date and a little ferryboat for where we’d shared our first kiss. The small ice cream cone reminded me of my mother. My favorite, though, was the tiny thimble like the one Peter Pan had given Wendy when she asked for a kiss.
“Oh, Asher. I love it!” I said, around the lump in my throat.
“Go out with me tomorrow night? We could go to dinner and a movie. Maybe even double-date with Lucy and Tim like normal people.”
Turning the chain in the light again to watch the charms dangle and gleam in the light, I beamed. “I would love to go on a date with you.”
On Friday morning, Ben and Laura met Lucy and me in the kitchen. Weeks ago, a friend had offered them a cabin on Cutter Island to use for a second honeymoon. I’d completely forgotten Ben and Laura’s anniversary and felt like a heel. They planned to hit the road before breakfast and wouldn’t be back until Sunday night. On their way out the door, Laura gave us a list of emergency phone numbers and ran through the house rules—no parties, no drinking, no drugs, and no boys in the house. Ben seconded the no-boys-in-the-house rule as the door slammed shut behind them.
Lucy and I rolled our eyes at each other. When the door opened unexpectedly, Ben found us doing a celebration dance in the entryway. He looked worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t go. With the crank calls, I don’t feel right leaving you girls alone.”
Looping an arm around his waist, I reassured him. “Dad, go. Have fun. We haven’t had a single call since you changed our number. Lucy and I will be fine.”
Lucy gave him a cheeky grin. “Besides, Remy and I will be heartbroken if you back out. It’s not often we get the run of the house. You know you can trust us.”
He nodded and we pushed him out the door. “Keep the doors locked and the alarm on. Call us when you get home tonight. If you need anything, we’re less than two hours away.” Finally, he left, and Lucy and I waved until the car disappeared around a corner before resuming our celebration dance.
Later that night, I proudly wore my necklace and let Lucy dress me up, even going so far as to wear heels with my red skirt. We had dinner at La Fleur. Tim seemed pleasant enough, and he obviously cared about Lucy. She practically glowed sitting next to him, and I could have liked him for that alone. After dinner, we all headed next door to the Broderick Theater, the only movie theater in town. The scent of buttered popcorn wafted through the building, making my mouth water. I couldn’t concentrate on the screen with Asher sitting next to me.
We didn’t dare touch in the dark in case sparks flew. It would have been impossible to explain a sudden flare of green light that originated from us. The air between us almost sizzled anyway. At one point he turned to stare at me with the light from the movie screen flickering over his face. He took a deep breath before facing forward, the taut line of his unmoving body belying his tension. I followed his example and hoped the movie wasn’t an epic.
A long time later, the lights came up in the theater. Asher’s hand slipped into mine, and green sparks lit across our skin.
Lucy caught the glow out of the corner of her eye and gasped. “What was that?”
“Static electricity. Asher shocked me. I heard there was a storm coming.”
Lucy and Tim walked out ahead of us, and Asher glanced sideways at me. “Static electricity? That’s the best you can do?”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t hear you offering up an explanation.”
“Fourth of July came early?” His lips quirked.
I snickered. “You really light up my life, Asher.”
He laughed and tossed an arm around my shoulders. “That was awful.”
Lucy turned and shouted, “Hey, you two. Catch up already. Let no man—or sister—get between me and ice cream.”
We walked to Heavenly Ice Cream. Asher ordered me a scoop of Espresso Chip and a Triple Citrus Italian ice for himself. He grinned when I touched his hand so he could taste the dessert. His spoon dipped into my bowl so he could try mine, too.
“Hey! No cross-contamination. Keep your citrus out of my espresso.”
He grinned without apology. In retaliation, I dipped a finger in my ice cream and tapped the tip of his nose, leaving behind a smudge of tan cream. His eyes promised retribution. It wasn’t fair that he could look so gorgeous when anyone else would have looked silly.
Asher leaned forward so only I could hear his whisper. “You’ve got that look you always do when you’re thinking about how handsome I am.”
I scowled at him. “Ego much?”
“Never before you. How can I help liking that you find me attractive? Especially when it’s mutual. Have I told you how beautiful you are in red? Honestly, I don’t think I can stop myself from kissing you.”
I held my breath as he came closer. Instead of aiming for my lips, his nose brushed mine. Amused, I pulled away to wipe the ice cream off my face with a napkin. I swiped it across his face, too, and he laughed, ducking away.
Tim shook his head with a rueful smile. “I thought Lucy and I were bad.”
Lucy smirked. “Told you so. I am a diehard romantic, and Remy and Asher even manage to make me blush.”
Asher and I both threw our napkins at her.
“Says the sister who bet on when we wouldn’t be able to stay away from each other any longer,” I said.
Lucy shrugged. “I seem to remember winning that bet and giving you half the pool the day you two caved.”
Asher’s eyebrows rose as he pieced together what we were talking about. He looked at Lucy with new respect. “Smart woman. Remind me never to bet against you.”