Page 76 of The Harder You Fall (Rixon Raiders 3)

“I felt like an outsider. Part of me still does. But right from first moment I met you, you made me feel a part of something.”

My chest tightened at her words, emotion clogging my throat. I was falling ass over elbow in love with her, but I didn’t want to say the three little words I knew would be too much for her to hear yet. So I swallowed them down, storing them away for another day.

“Will your parents wonder where you’ve gotten to?” Mya asked, changing the subject.

“Dad will be slumped over a glass of whisky by now, wondering where he went wrong in life to end up with me for his son, and Mom will be crying over the family albums.”

She turned in my arms to face me, her hands pressed against my chest as she gazed up at me. “I hate that you’ve carried this for so long.

“It is what it is.”

“You deserve more though, Asher. You deserve a father who loves you and sees you for what you are. Not for what he wants you to be.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t always get what we want.”

“Sometimes we do.” She smiled, pressing a kiss to my lips. “Sometimes we get given exactly what we need when we didn’t even know it.”

“Are you saying you need me, Hernandez?”

“Maybe, just a little.”

I tucked her against me, determined to make the most of every second we had together. But reality was a cruel bitch and all too soon, Mya was telling me to wake up.

“I really should go,” she said.

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. But everything was so quiet with her. So peaceful.

Around Mya I could breathe. I could forget about all the other bullshit and imagine a future where I got to choose my own path.

Reluctantly, I got up, helping Mya to her feet. Dropping a kiss on the end of her nose I told her to wait while I went back downstairs and gathered up our clothes, yanking on my slacks before helping Mya back into her dress. When we were both dressed, I pulled her into my arms. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”

“I should probably go...”

“Wait, I have something for you.” I’d almost forgotten the small velvet pouch in my pocket. I dug it out and dropped it into her hand. “Merry Christmas, Mya.”

Eyeing me carefully, her brows pulled tight, she pulled open the pouch, tipping the contents into the palm of her hand.

“It’s a bracelet,” I added, nervous energy radiating through me.

“It’s beautiful.” Delicate leather strands weaved together loosely to create a braid that held in place an oval silver charm. “What does it say?” Mya lifted it to her face to get a better look at the tiny engraving.

“Forty-two.” We said in unison, our eyes colliding.

“It’s your number.”

“You didn’t like the idea of wearing my jersey, so I thought maybe this was a good compromise.” When she didn’t say anything, my chest grew tight. I ran a hand down my face and added, “It was supposed to be an inside joke.”

“It’s…”

Fuck. It was too soon.

“Listen, forget it.” I went to snatch it back, but Mya closed her fingers around it.

“Asher, it’s perfect. It’s just… well, I feel bad now. I didn’t get you anything.”

Slipping my arms around her, I pulled her closer. “You gave me everything tonight.” I pecked the end of her nose. “Can I do the honors?” My eyes dropped to the bracelet and she nodded.

It fit her wrist to perfection. I held her hand, smoothing my thumb over the curve of her hand. “You know what this means, right?”