“With her and Asher, it’s always about sex.” Kimber laughed.
Gloria had confessed to Kimber when she called. She was her best friend. But there was something she’d been keeping from everyone.
“Ace!” Evan called up. “Get in here!”
“I will in a minute!” Charlie called back.
“Just leap off the top deck. I’ll catch you.” Evan grinned, treading water while Lyon swam around in a life vest. He’d argued about putting it on, but Evan argued harder that he should. Lyon was a great swimmer but a rambunctious kid. There was no way to keep eyes on him all the time and Evan knew that.
“You’re crazy!” Charlie smiled.
“Crazy for you, baby,” he said, and winked.
Gloria’s heart turned to mush.
Next to them, Kimber chuckled. “Could he be more full of crap?”
“Doubt it,” Charlie said. “Do you mind if I tend to my husband and son? Unless you need me?”
Gloria waved her off. “Get in the water. Kimber can field this. It’s a Chicago question anyway.”
Charlie made her way down to the lower deck of the boat. When she was gone, Kimber’s green eyes met Gloria’s blue ones.
“Chicago?” she asked.
“Brice McGuire, the music agent?” Gloria said. Kimber nodded, knowing who Glo was talking about. “He offered me a partnership if I move back to Chicago.”
She wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she expected from Kimber, but a frown wasn’t it.
“What?” Glo asked.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I miss you like crazy, but you came here because you wanted a change. You were going to live in a house on the lake like you dreamed, remember?” Without waiting for her to answer, Kimber glanced at Asher and back at her. “And what about whatever you two have?”
“I’m not sure what we have.” She watched Asher lift Hawk out of the water and splash him back into it. God. So cute. Both of them.
“It’s something, though.” Kimber tilted her head.
“He’s going to be in California part-time. It’s not like he’ll live in the beautiful house I wanted for myself.” It’d be empty all winter. Like her, she imagined. Wow. She was downright morose today. “You don’t think I should take Brice’s offer?”
Kimber put a hand on Gloria’s arm. “I think you should give this a chance.”
“This,” Gloria repeated, watching Asher get splashed in the face courtesy of Hawk kicking furiously. “Evergreen Cove? Or Asher?”
“Yes,” Kimber said with a smile.
This time when Glo looked back to Asher, his hands were on Hawk, but his eyes were glued to hers. Even with the distance between them and the people surrounding them, they shared an intimate, quiet moment.
He made a diving gesture and then mouthed the word “Jump.” She gauged the distance from railing to water and bit her lip. When her eyes went back to him, he shouted up at her, “Do it!”
“No!” she shouted back.
He laughed, and she smiled, because wasn’t that just like her? Part of her really, really wanted to. Wanted to just let go, fly off the edge of that boat and land in the water below. Problem was, she didn’t know what was under that murky water. She couldn’t be confident she would land unharmed.
And wasn’t that the metaphor for her life? Gloria only leapt when she was sure she’d land safely. Anything else was too risky. She’d been wrong about Asher when she’d been sure he’d tire of her. He didn’t. And she’d been wrong about herself when she thought she’d be able to let him go without missing him. She had.
Being that wrong messed with a girl’s head.
Chapter 15
Kimber, Evan, Charlie, Gloria, and all three kids were in the water, leaving Asher on deck with Ev’s brother, Landon.
Asher knew Landon, of course, since he’d known Evan, but he’d only met the guy a handful of times. There hadn’t been a lot of opportunity for one-on-one time with him, that was for damn sure. The advertising executive, even dressed down in shorts and a T-shirt, carried himself in a way that made Asher think he didn’t care for him all that much.
Fuck if he cared. Being in the spotlight since forever meant some people didn’t like him and some people did and there wasn’t a lot anyone could do to change their minds.
Which was why it perplexed him so much when he tipped Jack Daniel’s into a glass and held up the bottle in offering. “Whiskey?”
Landon met his eyes through a pair of sunglasses, mouth a flat line. “Sure.”
Well. This should be fun. Asher handed Landon the glass and then poured himself a double.
They each took seats on the upper deck, overlooking the water. Gloria was smiling at something Kimber said, her hands around Hawk. Seeing her helping him splash around in the water made Asher smile. And here he’d been worried about her wanting to meet him.