Once again, Faith was saying goodbye to her little sister. It was bittersweet since they hadn’t seen much of each other during Daphne’s college break. Work, as it often did, had interfered.
Daphne slung her backpack over one shoulder and leaned into the open passenger door of Faith’s Lexus. Her orange-brick dorm at the University of Tennessee towered like a monument behind her. “Thanks for the ride, sis. Give Ash my love when you visit him at UT Med today. You’re taking him home soon, right? Hasn’t he been there for almost a week?”
“Today would be a week. They flew him up last Thursday. I’ll tell Asher you said hello when I see him.”
“Give Ash a kiss for me too.” Daphne winked, laughing when Faith gave her an aggravated look.
Faith watched her sister until she safely entered the dorm. Then she turned the car around and headed back to the main road. She wouldn’t see her baby sister again until next week, when she returned to Knoxville to take her out for pizza at one of the campus hangouts. It was a tradition. Faith did her best never to miss pizza night, although the day of the week they chose depended on both of their schedules.
While Daphne sometimes called Faith her smother-mother instead of her big sister, she was mostly teasing. She understood Faith’s longing to see her only blood relative, especially because Faith’s career, her glimpses of the dark side of humanity, made her worry so much about Daphne’s safety. The only reason Faith hadn’t switched to a job in Knoxville when Daphne decided to go there for school was that Daphne had made her promise not to. Their compromise, in exchange for Faith paying Daphne’s tuition, was that Faith could text her whenever she wanted. What Faith really wanted was to text her sister several times a day to make sure she was okay. But she didn’t want her sister to resent her. So she kept it to one text a day. Most of the time.
The two of them had always been close, and that had only solidified after they’d lost their parents. They’d had no one else to lean on except each other. It was the main reason Faith had given up her career as a police detective in Nashville when the opportunity at Unfinished Business had come along. The move to Gatlinburg had been a smooth transition, since it was like a second home anyway. Their family had vacationed there dozens of times over the years. But mainly she’d made the move because cold cases would be much less dangerous than active homicide investigations. She and Daphne were already, technically, orphans. She didn’t want Daphne having the extra burden of losing her only sibling. Faith wanted to be Daphne’s rock, to be the one person she could always rely on and trust. That was why Faith was struggling with guilt as she drove down the highway. She’d broken that trust by lying about Asher. He wasn’t in the hospital.
He was already home.
He’d been discharged yesterday, Wednesday morning, several days ahead of the doctor’s prediction. Lance had told her that the doctor gave in because he was weary of Asher’s constant requests to go home. Lance had been the one who’d driven Asher back to Gatlinburg.
If it wasn’t for Lance’s updates, she wouldn’t have known what was going on. She hadn’t been brave enough to visit Asher herself, not since that earth-shattering kiss. She hadn’t taken his calls, either, or replied to his texts. She was a coward, avoiding the inevitable, having a face-to-face discussion about what had happened between them. If it was up to her, she’d never have that discussion.
She wanted, needed, the closeness, the friendship that the two of them had always shared. The thought of crossing that line had never even occurred to her until that devastating kiss. Well, it had really first occurred when she’d seen his naked chest. But it was only a fleeting thought at that time and she’d quickly discarded it. Now, having sipped at the well of Asher, she wanted to dive in and let him consume her.
She tightened her hands on the steering wheel. This obsession with him had to end. Yes, they’d crossed the friendship line. And she’d glimpsed something truly amazing on the other side. But she also knew what had happened to several of her friends who’d dated coworkers. Inevitably, if the relationship didn’t work out, things ended awkwardly and they lost the friendships they’d once treasured. One of them would end up transferring to another department to escape the awkwardness of seeing each other every day. There wasn’t another department to transfer to at UB. And even if there was, Faith had no interest in that. She didn’t want to never see Asher again.
She cherished their closeness, the teasing, being able to finish each other’s sentences. She craved it, needed him in her life. And she was terrified that if they pursued...more...she could lose him completely. The idea of him not being around was devastating, unthinkable. That’s why she desperately wanted to repair the damage that had been done. She had to try to put things back the way they used to be.
Tomorrow morning, the entire UB team was having a mandatory meeting at Grayson’s mansion. Their boss had specifically ordered her to be there. He knew she’d hit a brick wall on the case without Asher there to bounce ideas back and forth. And he’d no doubt heard that she’d stopped visiting Asher at the hospital. For the sake of the investigation, he wanted their partnership repaired ASAP.
Their killer was still on the loose. No one had a clue who he was or where he might be. The DNA and fingerprints from the knife had yielded no hits on any law enforcement databases. And even though blasting the composite sketch of the killer across the media had resulted in tons of tips, none of them had panned out so far. It was Grayson’s hope that she and Asher could work their magic, build on their research, and figure out once and for all how to stop the killer. That meant she had to clear the air between the two of them today.
Somehow.
Over an hour later, Faith pulled her Lexus up the familiar, long, winding driveway to a two-story log house teetering on the edge of one of the Smoky Mountains. In the past, she’d looked forward to the view from the two-story glass windows off the back of the house. Today, she dreaded it. But there was no turning back now. Asher was standing at the front picture window, looking out at her, no doubt alerted by his perimeter security system that a car had turned into his driveway.
After cutting the engine, she grabbed her backpack of files on the Parks case. All too soon, she arrived at the nine-foot-tall massive double doors. Before she could knock, one of them opened.
A disheveled, bleary-eyed Asher stood in the opening. He was barefoot, wearing sweatpants, dark blue ones that matched the blue button-up shirt he had on, no doubt because trying to pull a T-shirt over his head would have been too painful.
He hadn’t shaved in days. And it didn’t look as if he’d even brushed his hair this morning. Had she done that to him? Or was he in pain? Goodness knew his body still had a lot of healing to do.
“Faith. Hello.” His deep voice was short, clipped, bordering on cold. He made a show of glancing over her shoulder. “Your wingman, Lance, isn’t with you?”
Her cheeks flushed with heat. “That tattletale. I told him not to let you know that he was feeding me updates. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You could have done that by visiting me yourself. Or at least responding to one of my texts.”
She held her hands out in a placating gesture. “I’m here now.”
Friendly, welcoming, smiling Asher was nowhere to be found. Instead, a stoic stranger blocked the entryway, his expression blank, unreadable.
Her heart seemed to squeeze in her chest as she realized she’d made a terrible mistake. Avoiding him hadn’t salvaged their relationship. It may very well have destroyed it.
Regret had her blinking back threatening tears. “We need to talk.” When he didn’t move or speak, she added, “Please?”
Still nothing. Was he going to shut the door in her face? She waited, hating how awkward things were between them right now. It was an unfamiliar feeling, the exact kind of feeling she’d been trying to avoid by not letting their relationship change.
Clearing her throat, she hoisted the backpack higher on her shoulder. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you at Grayson’s tomorrow. Sorry I didn’t call first. I’ll just—”
He sighed heavily and turned away, heading toward the back of the house. At least he’d left the door open. It was a start.
ASHER STOOD WITH his back to the two-story windows in the great room, watching Faith enter. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to run to her, pull her in for a hug, a kiss, anything to reassure himself that he hadn’t destroyed his chance with her. Because, surely there was a chance, or had been, based on the way she’d responded to his kiss.
He very much wanted her in his life. But he didn’t want to return to the friend zone. Having tasted heaven, he craved it and refused to settle for anything less. He’d already wasted two years pretending, of listening to her chat about her dates with other men as if he was one of her girlfriends. It never seemed to occur to her that there was a reason he never dated, that he didn’t pay attention to any woman but her. All this time he’d been hoping that she’d finally open her eyes to what was right in front of her. Well, he was done with that. He couldn’t live like this anymore. Something had to give.
She set her backpack on the dining table at the far left end of the open room, and glanced around as if she hadn’t been here hundreds of times. The true detective that she was, she noticed the setup of bagels and pastries on the kitchen island that he normally kept empty.
“I know you didn’t set up that pretty display. And I’m pretty sure that fancy cake dome didn’t come from your kitchen. Did Ivy stop by and bring that?”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the stone fireplace. “She came to visit. Everyone from work has come by. Except you.”
Faith winced.
“But,” he continued, “Ivy didn’t bring that over. My mom did.”
Her eyes widened, sparkling emerald green in the sunlight coming in through the back windows. “I thought your parents were in France, visiting some friends.”
“They’d still be there, if it was up to me. I didn’t want to worry them. But Grayson called them. They flew in Monday.”
She glanced around, as if looking for signs of them being there. “They aren’t staying with you?”
“They left an hour ago, heading back to Florida.”
“Tampa, right? Your dad always entertains me with stories about his fishing excursions there and—”
“Why are you here, Faith?”
She winced again then started toward him, stopping a few feet away. He had to admire her for that. He’d been an unwelcoming ass so far and she was facing him head-on. That’s the Faith he was used to, not the one who’d run earlier this week.
“Why are you here?” Asher repeated, not sure what to expect. Was this an official goodbye? Had he scared her so much she was quitting her job, leaving Gatlinburg? Maybe going back to Nashville? The thought of that sent a frisson of fear through him. But he wasn’t backing down. In the few minutes that she’d been here, he’d made his decision. Going backward wasn’t part of it.
She took his right hand in both of hers. “You look tired. Do you feel okay? Any trouble breathing?”
“I’m sure I look as ragged as I feel. The pain’s at a steady four now. But that’s much better than the eight or nine a few days ago. I imagine I’ll live.”
“I’m so sorry you’re hurting. Do you want to sit down? Can I get you some pain meds?”
“I’ll get them myself once you tell me why you’re here.”
She sighed and gently ran her thumb over the back of his hand. “You know you’re my best friend in the whole world, right?”
That soft slow stroke of her thumb was killing him. He had to force himself not to tighten his grip, pull her to him and seek another taste of heaven.
“I used to think I was your best friend,” Asher said. “Now I’m not sure.”
“My fault. I treated you horribly. It’s unforgivable, really, to leave and not come back. I should have been there for you. That’s what friends do. They take care of each other. I didn’t do that. And I’m sorry, deeply sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?”
“No.”
Faith blinked and tugged her hands free. “No?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. You ran because you were scared. I get that. And I respect, and appreciate, that you finally came back to face me.”
A look of relief crossed her face. “Thank you. I was worried I’d ruined everything. That you wouldn’t want to be around me anymore. Your friendship means everything to me and I don’t want to destroy it because of one moment of insanity between us.” She laughed awkwardly. “I don’t know how it happened. We were both tired, and I know you were in pain and...well, let’s just put that behind us and pretend it didn’t happen. I brought my case files with me and we can—”
Asher stepped closer, forcing her to crane her neck back to look at him. “I refuse to pretend that amazing, scorching, earth-shattering kiss didn’t happen. I’ve been trying to make you see me as more than a friend for almost two years now. We clicked right away, had fun together. I get that you were glad to have someone welcome you and show you the ropes at a brand-new job. But we started off wrong. I was patient, too patient, and never let you know how I really felt. Well, I’m letting you know now. My interest in you has never been just as a friend. I want you, Faith. And I’m not going to pretend anymore that I don’t. I’m done with pretending.”
When she simply stared at him, in obvious shock, he decided not to pull any punches. He laid it all out in the open so there would never be any misunderstandings again.
“While we’re working, I’ll do my best to keep it professional. But when we’re off the clock, or having that downtime you mentioned, we’re just a man and a woman. And this man very much wants to treat you like a woman, in every way. If you can’t deal with that, you can run again, go home. I’ll ask Grayson to assign me another partner to help with the Parks case.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Assign someone else? It’s my case too. I’m not going to stop working on it. You’re not replacing me, not on this investigation.”
“Then you have a choice to make. Work with me, knowing my feelings for you are anything but...tame. Or we let Grayson decide which one of us continues working on the Parks investigation and which one gets reassigned to something else.”
Her hands fisted at her sides. “I don’t want to risk him reassigning me. You don’t play fair.”
He leaned down until their faces were only a few inches apart. “Darlin’, if I played fair, I’d never get what I want. To be perfectly clear, what I want is you. In my bed.”
Her face flushed an even brighter red as she took several steps back. “Well, I can tell you right now. That’s never going to happen. And you’re not kicking me off this case.”
He smiled. “Good to know, about the case. That means we’ll continue to work together day in and day out until we solve this thing. You’ll have plenty of time to realize you’re underestimating yourself.”
Her brows drew down in confusion. “Underestimating myself? What do you mean?”
He moved close again, so close that her breasts brushed against him. “You’ve had a taste, a very small taste, of how good it could be between us. And, like it or not, you’re curious. You’re wondering just how much better, and hotter, it could get. And one day...maybe not today, maybe not for a while yet, you’ll want to scratch that itch.”
Her mouth fell open in astonishment.
“When you reach that point,” Asher continued, “when you decide you’ve wondered enough and are ready to discover just how good it will be between us, all you have to do is crook that pretty finger of yours and I’ll come running.”
Her jaw snapped shut and she smoothed her hands down her jeans. “Well, then. I’ll be careful not to...crook my finger. I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression. Now, if you’re through feeding that tremendous ego, we both have work to do. On the case.”
“Of course. After you.” He motioned in the direction of his office.
She grabbed her backpack from the table, then headed down the hallway.
When the door closed behind her with a loud click, he swore beneath his breath and strode into the kitchen to grab some pain pills. Shaking his head as he popped a couple out of the bottle, he swore again. What had gotten into him? He knew the answer to that. Daphne. Faith’s sister had pushed him, over and over, telling him to be bold, to do something outrageous to let Faith know how he felt. Well he’d done that and more.
He’d been waiting far too long, moving at glacial speed. Either she’d decide she wanted him or she wouldn’t. But he was through spending his life trying to make her notice him. If it was meant to be, great. If not...well, he’d cross that bridge if it came to that. They’d work the case, hopefully solve it. Then it was up to her. If the answer was no, or even to wait longer, he was done.
His bruised ego applauded his decision. But his heart was already mourning the expected end, that Faith would never care about him the way he cared about her.
He glanced down the hallway toward the closed office door. Then he returned to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. He didn’t care that it was technically still morning. As the saying went, it was five o’clock somewhere. He popped the top, grimacing at the pain in his back as he tilted the bottle.