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Her eyes widened as she swallowed again. “Asher…”

“Yes?” His voice, soft and caressing, melted over her.

She shook her head.

Asher’s fingers left the collar of the sweatshirt and finger-combed her wet hair away from her face. His touch feathered over her skin as his thumb stroked her cheek. “I was wrong. You don’t look cute.”

She tried not to let his words deflate her. “I don’t?”

He shook his head and drew her close to him. “You look amazing.”

The three whispered words filled her with a longing she couldn’t describe.

Asher cupped her face gently, then brought his lips to hers, softly, gently, caressing. Her arms made their way around his neck as she brought him closer against her.

Being in his embrace was better than she’d imagined.

The tenderness of his touch filled her heart to overflowing.

As the kiss deepened, his hand moved over her back, pressing her against him.

Sadie’s pulse thrummed. Despite what she truly wanted, her arms left his neck as her palms flattened against his chest. She pulled her mouth away from his and forced a little distance between them. “Asher, I…”

Shaking his head, he pressed a finger against her lips. “Don’t say anything.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. She cradled his cheek, her fingers touching the puckered skin at his jaw. She drew back and traced a finger over the left side of his neck. “What happened?”

“I was trapped in a fire and couldn’t get out.”

Suppressing a shiver at the agony he must’ve endured, she sucked in a breath at the pain that shadowed his eyes. “I can’t even imagine that kind of trauma.”

“Something I will never forget.” He covered her hand with his and closed his fingers around hers. Then he opened her hand and pressed a kiss against her palm.

Frowning, his thumb traced the inside of her wrist. “What’s this?”

She glanced at the faded white ink of a feather. Sadie took a step back and pulled her hand out of his grasp. She rubbed a hand over her skin usually covered with her smart watch. “My only impulsive moment.”

“Oh, I sense a story.” A slow grin crawled across his face.

Sadie shook her head. “My sister loved this particular band. She was such a groupie and begged me to get a tattoo of a phoenix.”

“Phoenix?” His voice croaked as he took a step back.

Turning away from him, she nodded. The warmth from their interaction dissipated as memories surfaced and crashed over her. “Yeah, that was the name of the band she loved. Lauren knew someone in the group—J.T. somebody—and started traveling with the band right before she died, hoping to sing backup. She used to share everything with me, but I didn’t even know she was going with them. Five years ago next month, their tour bus was in a horrible accident. Everyone was killed except for the lead musician, Eli Noble. Not very noble, if you ask me.” She scoffed and paced between them.

Asher lifted a hand. “Sadie, there’s something?—”

Her hand shot up, cutting him off. She needed to get the rest off her chest. Her throat thickened and tears warmed his eyes as she remembered the phone call that changed her life. “There were rumors of drugs and alcohol on the tour bus, and it makes me sick to think Lauren wanted to be caught up in that life. He tried to pay off my family, like money could erase our grief and bring my sister back, but my parents refused to take it.”

Chest tight and her emotions battling to be free, Sadie faced him again. Asher stood in front of her, stiff, and stared at her with wide eyes. His skin took on a gray pallor.

“You okay?”

Instead of answering, he dragged a hand over his face. “Why do you think he was trying to pay your family off?”

“What?”

Asher waved a hand in the air. “The musician. Why do you think he was trying to pay you off? Maybe that wasn’t his true intent.”