Free White by Aria Cole Page B

subjected to that. I promise you, from this second forward I will do anything I can to help you get them out. Legally or otherwise, I’ll find a way to make your dreams happen,” he whispered fervently, and damn it, I believed him. For the first time, I believed that a man genuinely would help, could actually save me, would be enough to save me from myself.  
    “Asher,” I choked, wiping at a tear that had trailed down my cheek. How had he gotten inside my heart so soon? His hands pressed to my face instantly, and his thumbs were wiping at my tears. Suddenly the levees burst and I was a crying wreck in his strong and protective arms. He held me while I cried for the missed childhood and the discarded opportunities, the hopeless nights alone in that old house, the times I’d had to turn off my emotions to perform for aging, angry men behind a computer screen.  
    I cried for all of it, and God help Asher Strong, he stayed with me. He rubbed my back and whispered soothing sweet nothings in my ear until my tears finally calmed and I slumped against his form, feeling so exhausted and so much lighter.  
    “Let’s go in for a rest. I’ve got some work to get started on, contacting a lawyer friend of mind in child services first, and then I’ve got something special planned for you and me tonight,” he said, his gaze steadying on mine as he wiped away one last errant tear. “You okay, sunshine? I can’t bear it when that smile fades away,” he murmured, his warm eyes melting my insides like warm butter.  
    I nodded, feeling my heart knit back together a little stronger, a little quicker, with his every word. He was right, the longer I was with him, the more he wooed my body and soothed my broken heart, the less able I would be to walk away.  
    He was right all along.

twelve
    Asher
    I twisted my hands anxiously in my lap as I waited for her. I didn’t think she was ready to leave the house and be out with me in public, plus it felt nice to live in this quiet little bubble we’d created since she’d arrived, but I’d still wanted to do something special for her.  
    I didn’t cook, so I’d enlisted Peggy to make a delicious Italian feast, complete with homemade bread and a vintage Merlot for sipping. The wine was for me, not her. I’d need a little liquid courage. Being with her still sent my nerves into overdrive, my thoughts jumbled and desperate for her love.
    “Asher?” her sweet voice called from within the depths of my home. Like an angel, her voice called to me, her energy radiated towards me, like I was stuck in her own personal gravitational pull.  
    “Out here,” I called, taking another drink of my wine before standing to meet her at the French doors that opened on to the wraparound porch.  
    “It’s so beautiful,” Allie said when her eyes landed on the small table for two lit only by a single candle flickering in the corner. The moonlight over the willow was the perfect backdrop for my attempt to show her how I really felt. That she was so much more than a temporary fix.
    “I hope carbonara is okay,” I said when I pulled her chair out for her. She sat delicately, her eyes traveling over the silver utensils and steaming bowl of pasta placed before us.  
    “It looks perfect. Peggy did a fantastic job,” she taunted, and I chuckled.  
    So sassy. I loved that about her. “I’ll have you know, it’s a family recipe,” I offered with a wink.  
    She laughed with a shake of her head. “Thank you for being so kind to me,” she said, suddenly serious. I was instantly sad that she felt like she needed to thank anyone for being kind to her. She’d been surrounded by selfish assholes before now, but that was all in the past. Allie would be treated with nothing with the greatest amount of respect and kindness if I had anything to do with it.  
    “I’m always here for you, for anything.” I squeezed her hand before releasing it and taking another sip of my wine. I wasn’t used to