She wasn't wrong, but marketing was the last thing I felt like talking about.
“Go over there and flirt with him,” she urged me. “Maybe if you make the right connections, he'll cut us a deal.”
I nudged her away. “You flirt with him. You're the one he bought drinks for.”
“All over Grant City, children and their families are living in poverty.” Asher's speech continued. “Without our help, on Christmas, many of those families won't be able to enjoy a real holiday celebration. Your kind generosity can change that.”
Lana seemed to forget about the newsman and turned her attention to Asher, tears in her eyes. She cried extra easily when she was drunk.
“Those poor kids. What does he need our donations for, anyway? He owns a huge company. Why doesn't he buy dinner for all the starving people in the city?”
“Remember, he doesn't exactly 'own' the company. His dad does,” I whispered. “And if he doesn't get hitched in a few weeks...”
“This is our table, jerks! Go play your stupid game someplace else.”
I knew before looking there was big trouble. At a table in a darkened corner of the bar, Cole sat playing cards with two other guys.
Asher's sister, Macy, and her friends seemed to want the table too. She stood there with her arms folded, tapping her foot like an impatient five-year old.
“There was nobody here when we sat down,” Cole said, calmly shuffling his deck.
“That's because we got up to go dancing. Now we're back, so move.”
“There are empty tables over there. Help yourself.”
Cole's calm, cool nature, even under pressure, was getting under her skin. It was, admittedly, pretty amusing to watch Macy on the verge of a temper tantrum.
“I don't want those tables. I want this one.”
“Yeah,” added one of her friends. “If we move, then those cuties won't know where to find us.”
Macy growled and elbowed the girl in the side. “Shut up, Katie.”
Lana and I watched them argue while trying to hold back giggles. Clearly, neither side was giving a inch.
Just then, Rosa came out of the restroom, all of her makeup wiped off and beer still dripping from her hair. She sashayed over to Macy with a scowl.
“Christ, Rosa. What happened to you?” she cried.
“Your brother rejected me,” she wailed. “He turned me down for some... some little slut!”
My face burned. Lana gave me a funny look.
“I'm sure he didn't actually reject you,” Macy tried to comfort her. “He's just fickle. He sees a cute girl, he chases her. Y'know, kind of like a lost puppy. I'm sure he'll call you tomorrow.”
Rosa continued to throw a fit while Macy went back to hassling Cole. Although she yelled, she had an odd twinkle in her eye that said she enjoyed it.
What she didn't know was that, when pushed to his limit, Cole became a very unpleasant person to deal with.
“So move your asses, boys. You shouldn't even be here, anyway. Go hang out in your mother's basement or something.”
Cole's jaw clenched. He slammed his cards down on the table so hard that all the women jumped.
“You're one of the Carringtons, aren't you?” His tone was cold and harsh. “I have news for you: having money and status doesn't give you the right to be such a stuck-up bitch.”
Everybody in the corner was stunned speechless. Macy sputtered and stammered for some kind of witty reply, but came up with nothing.
“Uh-oh,” I whispered to Lana. “I told you to watch him.”
She hurried over to defuse to situation before the two started throwing chairs at each other. About the same time, Asher finished his talk and came to find me.
“I normally loathe public speaking, believe it or not, but that wasn't so bad.” His gaze fell to the bickering group. “Well, look at this motley crew. What has my sister started this time? I swear if she gets us thrown out of another club...”
“To be fair, it was my brother who called her a bitch.”
His eyes widened, then he laughed. “He's got balls, all right. Never tell her I said that.”
“Merry Christmas, y'all!” A guy with a camera dangled a sprig of mistletoe over our heads. “You know the rules. Let's have a good one for the pictures.”
I was horrified, but Asher ate the attention up. His arms wove around me as he pulled me close.
“What are you doing?” I wailed. “We can't – I mean, what if someone sees us?”
“So? I'm not ashamed to be caught kissing a lady as sexy as you.”
I couldn't kiss him. Because if I did...
But he went in for the kill, and I was helpless to resist. His lips were soft, warm, and sweet on my own. The cameraman, the crowd, even our fighting family faded away until all that remained in that moment was the two of us.
The bright flash of a camera interrupted us just as Asher's tongue teased my own. Oh, shit, I bet he wasn't lying about knowing those special tricks...
“Nice one, guys.” The photographer gave us a thumbs-up. “Y'all are an adorable couple. This will look great in our promo materials.”
Asher had a faraway look on his face suddenly. “A couple,” he muttered to himself. “Hmm.”
That's when I knew he'd gotten it. He had thought the same thing I did, didn't he?
We could get married. All our problems would be solved.
“Why don't we go back to my place,” he said softly. “Where we can talk in peace.”
“Talk?”
“Maybe more. I've got all the time in the world for you, Sarah.”
We slipped out of the bar into the freezing winter night.
Chapter 8 - Asher
I sped down the quiet, snowy street, licking my lips with a smile the whole time.
The taste of Sarah remained on
