Behind the Curtain - Page 121

Asher shrugged in an “I’m just saying it like it is” gesture.

“But what do you mean you can’t go to Detroit and try to see her?” Jimmy persisted.

Asher scowled. “Don’t you remember what happened in Crescent Bay? I don’t think I’d be making things better for Laila and me by crashing a family gathering.”

“So her parents wouldn’t like you being there.”

“Or her aunts and uncles or fist-happy male cousins,” Asher muttered, taking a sip of whiskey.

“You were pretty fist-happy yourself, if I recall things correctly from that night,” Jimmy reminded him wryly. “What about Laila?”

Asher shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t think she’d appreciate me making a stir.”

“So you definitely are operating under the impression that things are just the same as they were eight years ago?” Asher glanced over at his friend. Jimmy’s expression was that of a seasoned prosecutor teasing out a complicated truth, Asher realized.

“No, things aren’t exactly the same. Of course not,” Asher said.

“Then what’s different?”

“Laila is older, for one. She makes a good living. She owns her own place. She’s not dependent on her parents anymore.”

“She’s not like most women you date, where the idea of a parent’s disapproval rarely, if ever, comes up.”

“She’s not like anyone I’ve ever dated.”

“Yeah. That’s obvious.” Asher glanced over at him. “Even back then, in Crescent Bay, it was crystal clear you were nuts about her. It was like witnessing some kind of rare natural phenomenon occurring, like an erupting volcano or something,” Jimmy said, smiling slightly as he took a sip of his drink. He set his glass down on the bar. “So what are you going to do?” Jimmy asked. “Are you really going to just fly off to London and leave her behind?”

“I don’t have much of a choice, if that’s what she wants.”

“And you know for certain that’s what she’d choose?”

“Well, no . . . but given everything else, I have no reason to believe—”

“You just said she wasn’t the same person as she was back then. Why don’t you just ask her what she wants to do in regard to the two of you?”

“She’s pissed off at me at the moment. Is that a good time to talk about our future?”

“It’s the only time,” Jimmy said, shrugging. “You’re leaving in four days. Do you want to know what I think?”

“I’m not so sure,” Asher said darkly. But of course he did want to hear the unvarnished truth. That was why he’d called Jimmy in the first place.

“I think you’re scared to bring up the topic with her because you’re afraid she’ll do what she did eight years ago. I saw how much her walking away hurt you then. I think you’re scared of being rejected all over again.” Asher didn’t deny or confirm it. It seemed to him Jimmy knew the truth, anyway.

“But just imagine how Laila must be feeling. It sounds to me like she’s as crazy about you as she ever was. You two are in love. She knows that there would be conflict with her family, if you two decided to be together on a permanent basis. Maybe most importantly, she knows you’re leaving in four days. She must be scared to death about being separated again.”

“She doesn’t press me about it,” Asher said gruffly. “If she was that worried, wouldn’t she bring it up?”

“You’re not bringing it up. Maybe she thinks she’s following your preference. She probably feels guilty about hurting you back then. Maybe she doesn’t feel she has the right to ask questions and make demands.”

He considered that for a moment.

“That does kind of sound like Laila,” he said slowly, frowning.

“Just go and talk to her, Ash.”

Something clicked inside him.

Jimmy was right. That old fear of rejection—of loss—was making him behave in ways he normally wouldn’t. It was making him hesitate, when normally, he would have jumped full-out.

Tags: Beth Kery Erotic
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