Love Thy Neighbor (Friend-Zoned)(89)

The closer we get to the house, the more my stomach aches and my hands shake. Suddenly petrified, I blurt out, “I’m scared!”

Ash nods his head without turning to face me. “Well…Stop it.”

My glare is so strong that at any moment I’m expecting a laser beam to pop out of my eyes and burn him. I yell in disbelief, “You can’t just order me to stop being scared, shithead!”

He smirks. “There. Now you’re angry.” Turning to face me, he bites the tip of his tongue cheekily a moment before saying, “Not scared anymore. I win.” And I want to smack him.

Groaning, I run my hands down my face and pretend to sob. Asher chuckles and rubs my shoulder, then he pats the very top of my head with a stiff palm and says robotically, “There, there. There, there.”

I fling his hand off me and he bursts into laughter. I know what he’s doing. He likes it when I get angry. He says it makes me horny. We’ll see about that. Stupid Ash.

I thought I knew who Asher Collins was, but in the past few days, I’ve learnt more about him and I have to say, I love this Asher even more than the last. The old Asher was a mean and somewhat scary man, stuck in an age of nightmares. My Asher…he’s sweet, funny, goofy and hotter than hell. But most importantly, he’s free. Free from his past and looking toward the future. Our future. I’d like to take credit but I can’t. Maybe I helped, but he did most of it on his own. And I’m proud of him.

My thoughts bubble out of my mouth. I tell him, “I’m so proud of you, Ash. I couldn’t be prouder to show everyone that you’re my husband.”

Watching him drive, his brow furrows. He doesn’t respond, just takes my hand in his and links our fingers. He doesn’t need to say a thing.

I get him.

I love him.

When we pull up to Nik and Tina’s, we somehow get the parking spot right out front. Making a funny, I whoop then say, “Oh my God! You just won at life, baby!”

Brow still furrowed, he utters, “Never really been a winner before.”

That makes me sad.

Unsure if anyone is watching us, I keep my eyes forward and say confidently, “All that’s changing, babe. You’ll see.” Sliding my hand over to his thigh, I whisper on a squeeze, “I love you. You’re a winner to me. You always will be. So suck it up. Let’s get in there and show everyone how happy we are.”

His hand covers mine and he squeezes it, saying confidently, “Let’s do it, babe.”

We exit the car barely looking at each other. I approach the front door and enter without knocking, I yell out, “Hey, hey!”

Ceecee spots me down the hall. Wearing a brilliant crooked smile, she wheels herself over to me really damn fast. I chuckle at her enthusiasm and lower myself to my knees to hug the crap out of her. Brushing her auburn hair out of her face, I say, “My God, sweetie. Every time I see you, you’re more and more beautiful.” And I’m being honest too. She’s so pretty. Max is going to have a hard time when she’s older. He’ll have to beat ‘em off with a stick. Scowling at her playfully, I utter, “Stop stealing all the beauty! We old people need it too!”

Covering her mouth with her palm, she giggles. “You’re so silly, Nat.”

Standing back up, I moan tiredly, “I know. I know.”

I follow her into the open lounge slash dining room slash kitchen and see everyone sitting out on the porch. I tell Ceecee, “You mind telling everyone we’re here, honey?”

With another sweet smile, she speeds off towards the backyard. I feel Asher press in behind me and mutter, “Ready?”

Without looking back at him, I nod and walk toward the sliding door. I take a deep breath to steady myself and slide the door open. Everyone looks over at us. I walk out and say, “Hey guys.”

A smiling Max stands first and wraps me up in a flirtatious and very touchy hug. Knowing Ash is probably scowling behind me, I chuckle in embarrassment. When Max’s hand reaches my ass and squeezes, my laughter can no longer be contained. It bursts out of me and I wrap my arms around Max’s neck tightly, knowing this hug will be the last of its kind. Pulling back from Max a little, I peck a kiss to his mouth and tell him, “You know I love you, right?”

Max gifts me a stunning smile. His amber eyes sparkle and he says, “Uh, hell yeah I do. I love you too, boo.”

Letting go of him, I move around the table, hugging and kissing everyone in greeting, even though I just saw Tina not an hour ago, but I love them all so much right now that I need contact with them all. When I reach Nik, his eyes narrow at me suspiciously. Suddenly panicked, I lean down and kiss him full on the mouth. I pull back from him and say a little too loudly, “I love you too, Nik.”

Nik smiles so hard it looks like his dimple might slit his cheek open.

What the f*ck are you doing?

I have no idea, brain. Just roll with it.

Realizing I missed out on Trick, I walk over to him and his eyes widen. I grab his cheeks, pull him forward and smack a kiss on his mouth too. I announce a little dramatically, “I love you all. A lot.”

I turn to Ash and we have a silent conversation.

His eyes narrow. What the f*ck are you doing?

My eyes widen and I play with my wedding ring. Oh god, I’m so bad at this shit.

He slightly nods to his side. Get over here, girl.