The wedding is beautiful, even though Trick and Sophie's dad both drive her crazy by cursing. I think it's adorable how they join together to override the whole objection part of the ceremony. When it's over, I walk beside Asher down the aisle. He's rigid beside me, clearly frustrated.
He growls a couple times, but I ignore him. Once we make it outside, chaos ensues so he doesn't get a chance to say anything to me. By the time we're finished posing for a million pictures, my feet hurt and I'm ready to sit down.
I can't even lie though, cuddling up in Asher's arms like we were a couple didn't suck. He kept me as close to him as he could get me. I loved every second of it even though I'm still annoyed with him.
He makes me ride with him to the reception venue, which doesn't annoy me nearly as much as it should. Neither does the fact that he disconnected my battery. I swear, this man is making me crazy. A normal person would be upset with him for being so over-the-top ridiculous. I find it…endearing that someone like him seems to be struggling through this as much as I am. He's so confident and sexy. The fact that he's unsure what to do is sweet.
He doesn't say much on the drive to the reception venue. He sticks close to my side, glowering at everyone while the DJ introduces the wedding party. As soon as Trick and Sophie are announced, Asher leads me to the table and tells me to sit, and then he goes to find food. He's just as quiet when he comes back with two plates and places one in front of me. It's piled with enough food to feed three of me.
"I wasn't sure what you liked to eat," he says and then takes his seat next to me.
"Thank you." I'm still not thrilled with him about what he said before the wedding, but he makes it awful hard to be mad at him. Besides, he's not the only one who thinks I can't take care of myself. They're all wrong. For most of my life, I've been in charge of keeping Caroline out of trouble. It's not as easy as it sounds. She may have looked out for me, but I looked out for her too. Otherwise, she probably would have driven our parents insane a long time ago. They don't understand her or how big her heart is.
Even though my plan was completely ridiculous, she still agreed to pretend to be me a few days ago at the Halloween Masquerade. We look nothing alike! But I was desperate, and she was too kind to tell me no. Fortunately, no one paid very much attention and neither of us were busted.
I hope Jared knows how amazing she is. She deserves someone who will love her unconditionally. I love our parents, but it makes me sad that they never seem to be able to accept that she is who she is.
"What are you thinking about, angel baby?" Asher asks halfway through dinner, turning my chair to face him at the table. He doesn't even seem to care that it makes a God-awful screeching sound on the floor, nor does he notice all the people who turn to look.
"My sister," I mumble, turning slightly to block everyone else out. A line is forming in front of the table of people wanting to chat with Trick and Sophie. I have a feeling that isn't going to last very long before Trick drags her out of here. He's already glowering at everyone and muttering under his breath.
"Caroline, right?" Asher asks.
I narrow my eyes on him, which just makes one corner of his lips tilt up. The ball on his tongue ring peeps out when he chuckles at me.
"Why aren't you wearing your other piercings?" I asked, reaching up to touch the piercing retainer in his eyebrow. It's barely noticeable unless you're close to him.
"It's a wedding," he says like he did when I asked about his tattoos.
"Trick and Sophie wouldn't have minded."
He shrugs and then turns the subject back to me. "Are you and your sister close?"
"Yes. At least, I thought so," I say and then sigh. "It's…complicated."
"Tell me. Wait." He drags my plate closer to me. "Tell me while you eat."
The whole story spills from my lips between bites. He listens attentively the entire time. When I tell him about the last two months in Jared's class, he growls. He doesn't interrupt though, instead letting me spill all the sordid details about the last few days of my life.
By the time I run out of steam, I've eaten almost everything on my plate. I stare at it in shock, which makes him chuckle.
"You were hungry, angel."
"I guess so."
"You're not mad at your sister."
Even though it's not a question, I shake my head. "Being upset with her for falling in love seems a little ridiculous. Love doesn't ask us if we want to fall. When you're meant to be with someone, it just happens. It doesn't always make sense, and I don't think it's supposed to. It wouldn't be love if it were easily ignored or overcome or explained away. That's part of what makes it so beautiful. It just is. I can't blame her for that."
He stares at me for a minute, his expression intense.
"What?" I wipe my mouth, worried I have food on my face.
"Nothing." He clears his throat and then frowns. "You really believe that?"
"I do," I say, not ashamed of how I feel. Jared may think my view of love is naïve, but it isn't. Love grows where it makes no sense all the time. We can choose to water the seeds and strengthen it. Or we can decide to ignore them and watch it wither. But we don't decide where to plant them. If we did, I think life would be a little less wonderful and exciting.
"Never thought about it before." Asher's tongue ring peeks out. He rolls it back and forth across his bottom lip, thinking. His gray eyes meet mine, gently probing for…something.