Page 9 of Take Me Home

A heavy weight pressed down on Ash’s chest. He fought for a nonchalant shrug. “It’s Christmas.”

“You must really like your family.”

That liking one’s family appeared to be an unfamiliar concept to Hazel piqued his curiosity. Even under normal circumstances, he couldn’t imagine a Christmas without his parents, all his sisters, his nieces. But this year, his need to get home went beyond just missing them. It was a melon baller, slowly and methodically scooping out his insides. He needed to be there, to see for himself just how bad things had gotten.

“I won’t contest your terms,” he said, “if we leave today.”

She shook her head. “Tomorrow.”

“Please?”

“NOAA is predicting a big storm for half the state tonight. We’d be better off waiting until morning.”

“Who’s Noah?” he joked. When she opened her mouth to explain like he was a complete idiot, he cut her off. “Or, if we leave soon, we can beat it.”

Hazel pulled out her phone and opened a radar image that he couldn’t immediately interpret, already squaring her shoulders for a fight.

“Please, Hazel.” He tried not to sound too pushy, to keep the desperate edge from his voice, but it came out low and serious. He reached for something true, an explanation that might garner some understanding. “I promised my niece I’d be there tonight. She’s four. I really don’t want to disappoint her.”

The front door of the café opened then, and Elise came in for the midday shift, signaling the end of his own. He could leave any time. He tugged off the rag he’d slung over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows at Hazel.

“IfI say yes, I pick the music,” she countered. “And I getthe chair for the whole semester. You’re right, you have no leverage.”

She bit her lip, but he didn’t protest.

“Okay,” she said.

“We leave today?” he confirmed, hopping up.

She heaved herself out of the chair. “I swear to God, if this makes you so insufferable to me that we can no longer coexist—”

He laughed at her melodrama, already running through what he still needed to pack.

Her hand snagged his elbow, utterly serious. “If anything changes between us, I get it all. The whole building.”

“You want me to…give you the café?”

“The whole building,” she repeated.

“Uh…” The fierce spark in her eyes gave him pause. He worked here. And lived here. He needed some clarification.

“And stop doing that.” She pointedly glared at his hands. He was popping his knuckles.

“Fine. Whatever. Yes. How soon can we go?”

Hazel said she still had to finish packing and gas up but could be back in an hour. Before she left, though, she added, “I’m serious. Nothing can change, Asher.”

This time, he didn’t correct her. Before she could throw in another condition or change her mind altogether, he gave her a quick salute, said, “Wouldn’t dream of it,” and headed for his loft.

Chapter

Three

For all his insistence they hit the road immediately, Ash wasn’t anywhere to be found when Hazel returned to the café. Maybe he expected her to come up to his place? Annoyance flared. She didn’t even have his number, or she’d have texted him to come down. Grumbling that they hadn’t agreed on this white-glove, front door concierge service, she marched up the stairs to his door, through which loud, bassy music thrummed. When she knocked, it swung open from the force of her fist. God, why couldn’t he just be ready? Why did she have to debate whether to let herself in like some nosy creeper or stand awkwardly in the hall until he graced her with his presence?

She pressed her cheek to the doorjamb, peeking into his apartment. His place was small. The music was coming from a wireless speaker on the coffee table. He had a futon, a standing lamp, a tiny TV. A kitchenette occupied the far left corner of the room, and a bed took up the back right. A standing rack partially divided the sleeping area from the living area, all his dress shirts and slacks, as well as his collection of whimsical ties, hanging perfectly spaced. Over the music, she could hear water running behind the only door in the place. The bathroom, she guessed.

“I hope you’re decent because I’m coming in,” she announced, waiting a few seconds before she crossed the threshold.