She gave him the finger.
Asher’s mouth twitched and then he gave her a level look. “You’ve got two seconds to rethink your decision before I’m putting you in there myself.”
He didn’t bluff. Ever. Asher would deposit her in the bath, dress and all. Years of dating him had taught her that, and truthfully, that was probably the cop in Asher too. All he wanted to do was help, and he knew her better than anyone. Baths put her mind back together every time. Of course, he knew that. Asher thought things out. He didn’t act rashly. He’d probably considered his steps a thousand times before coming into her bedroom today. But that had also been one of their issues back in the day too. He took charge of everything, all the time, including when he decided to move away without including her in that decision.
Regardless that she didn’t want to follow his way, she did want to keep her dignity and realized she had to stop mopping and clear these negative thoughts from her mind. She shoved off the bed and stormed into the bathroom. “I’m doing this for me, not because you told me to, just so we’re clear.”
“We’re all clear, Remy,” he said behind her.
She scowled at how she warmed at hearing her name from his mouth. He said it with all the history they had between them, thousands of memories and moments that linked their souls together. When she reached her small bathroom with a claw-foot bathtub, she realized something. She nearly turned around, but Asher was there, right behind her.
“I’ll help you,” he said gently.
Surely, she should feel nothing, but when his fingers brushed across her back as he began unlacing the corset of her dress, seemingly lingering longer than necessary, heat tingled through her and spiraled low in her belly.
She shut her eyes, forcing herself to forget how warm and safe Asher’s touch had always been. That was what took the longest to get over. No one touched her like Asher. No one kissed her like Asher. No one held her like Asher. No one loved her the way he loved her.
Until he broke her heart into a million pieces, of course.
The memory of that touch remained, even though she knew Damon was the best next choice. Until, again, he wasn’t.
The dress slowly fell away to pool on the floor, revealing her bridle lingerie that was meant for Damon, not Asher. And somehow, as the dress fell, it felt like her guards fell with it. All the walls she’d kept up against Asher since he’d come back home were suddenly gone. She felt bared. As if Asher knew it, he quickly wrapped a towel around her. There was a long pause, and then Asher said softly behind her, “You’re going to be all right, Remy.”
Something came over her then, an emotion she couldn’t really place. She turned around and said before she thought about it, “I know. I’m always all right. That’s what I do. I survive. But I’m so damn tired of surviving. I thought for once I was going to be happy. Truly happy.”
Sadness darkened Asher’s eyes, his expression turning to stone. His second signature move. He never expressed anything. He never said anything. He’d never apologized for breaking her heart. He simply came back.
And then he did his last signature move. The one he excelled at doing. He walked away, shutting the door behind him.
She did what she was good at. She grabbed some banishing bath salts out of the small metal container on the wicker shelf and tossed them into the hot water. She might not have her shop, a husband, or her sanity at the moment, but she’d always have her magic.
Magic never lied, never hurt, and never broke promises.
Chapter 3
The pipes groaned and complained, taking the water from Remy’s bath away, while Asher sat on the end of her bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, staring at the closed bathroom door, trying to not inhale the disgusting aroma coming from the incense on the bedside table. He should feel terrible for what happened yesterday, but he finally felt like he was doing right by Remy. Once, he’d failed her terribly. He’d never fail her again, not if he could help it. He’d made mistakes. Big ones. And he couldn’t help but feel at fault now. He should have never left, should have stayed and not run like some coward. When he realized that, the damage had been done and there was no going back. But watching her fall for someone else this past year made him realize something worse than his own fears. He could lose her. Really lose her.
He had this one chance again to get this all right. He hadn’t helped his mother when she’d most needed him. He’d never let Remy fall into another depression, not if he could help it. Asher was well aware now that one wrong move and Remy would cut him loose permanently, but he wouldn’t make a wrong move. Not this time. Not with her happiness on the line. And not when he knew this woman and what made her heart tick. She’d recover from this, and he’d be there alongside her. Until he’d fixed his mistakes.
He owed Remy that. He owed her so much.
When the bathroom door finally opened, Remy exited wearing a T-shirt and black leggings, her wet hair around her fresh face. He couldn’t find a spot of the black mascara that darkened her eyes when he’d arrived.
Damn.
She looked more beautiful than ever. When he’d left all those years ago, she’d been a girl. When he’d come back home, she’d turned into a woman with curves in all the right places—curves he couldn’t ignore.
“Who called you to come here?” she asked, walking past him with her wedding dress in her arms.
“Who do think?”
Without looking back at him, she said, “Kinsley.”
There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. Of course, he understood. “She’s worried about you, Remy. Everyone is worried about you.”
Remy grabbed a metal garbage bin from next to her vintage whitewashed bedside table and stuffed the wedding dress inside before she took something else out of the drawer. She opened the balcony door and headed out. Confusion racked Asher as he followed her out, leaning against the door frame, studying her as she placed the garbage can on the metal floor. “What are you doing?”
She dodged his question. “Let me guess: Kinsley called in backup to drag my ass out of bed by someone who would literally do it.”