Ah haha… Daphne felt one of her eyes twitch. What is this? She looked around the crowded sandwich shop that Asher had brought her to. Her heart sunk in her chest. He must really only see me as a co-worker if he asked me to lunch only to take me to a fast-food sandwich shop.

  “Pick whatever you want,” Asher said, the warm smile still on his face. “I’ll buy.”

  “You don’t need to pay for me,” Daphne replied with a tight smile, her stomach swirling.

  Did I read the situation wrong?

  “Well, ladies first, anyway,” Asher said, gesturing for her to step in front of him to order first. She complied, knowing that she probably wouldn’t be able to convince him to go first.

  She walked up to the cashier and placed her order. As she was finishing up, Asher came up behind her and told the cashier to add on his sandwich and that he would pay for both. The cashier did as she was told, and Daphne turned and gave Asher a dirty look. He just smirked back at her.

  I don’t know what to make of him. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met for a brief moment before Asher paid. One thing is for sure though. Asher is not what I expected him to be. She shook her head at herself, sighing as she walked to the area where their orders would come out when they were ready. I shouldn’t even be thinking like this anyway. I need to pay attention to other things!

  Asher walked up and stood next to her. “We’re order number fifty-three,” he said, waving the receipt in front of her. She nodded as she barely caught a glance of the number on the sheet.

  “Thanks for buying me lunch,” she said. “Though, admittedly, I feel like I owe you more than you owe me. I guess that just means I’ll have to buy lunch for you next time.”

  Asher let out a little laugh. “That sounds like an okay deal to me,” he said with a grin brightening his face. “How long do you have for lunch today anyway?” he asked, changing the subject. “You told me you were free, but not for how long, so I picked something that is supposed to be fast so that you would get a chance to sit and eat before you had to go back to the office.”

  Daphne felt her cheeks heating up. Oh. I guess he was thinking of my schedule.

  “I have the full hour,” she replied, looking down at her watch and noticing that it was already a quarter after noon.

  “Oh good,” Asher replied, relief coloring his features. “You’ll get a chance to eat then.” She glanced up at him, and her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. He had a warm smile on his face.

  “I will,” she replied, breaking the eye contact between them. Her stomach flip flopped inside of her.

  Is it possible? Am I truly alone in this attraction, or is it possible he feels the same way?

  “Order number fifty-three!” the server person shouted, and Daphne shuffled up to grab the bag of sandwiches and the two fountain soda cups for their order.

  “Here,” Asher said as she walked back over to him. “I’ll take the sandwiches and you get your soda. Sound good?” he asked.

  “Sounds good,” she replied, handing him the requested items. Her finger grazed his hand, and it sent sparks down her arm. She held her hand steady.

  If I flinch, he’ll know.

  “See you in a moment, then,” Asher said with a nod.

  “Yes,” she replied, walking over to the soda machine. She quickly picked out a fruity drink that sounded good, snapped the lid on her cup, and turned to see that Asher had chosen a cozy little two-person table in the back corner of the restaurant. Her heart skipped a beat and she let out an audible gulp.

  We’ll be so close. And I won’t have a choice but to look at his face. Maybe getting lunch with him was a bad idea… She paused, realizing she couldn’t run away either. It’s not like I can escape this situation. She walked across the space between them, taking sips of her soda and trying to steady her heart.

  He stood up as he saw her coming. She smiled at him as she sat down and he nodded, leaving to go get his own soda.

  Oh my God. She started wringing her hands. I know I said yes to eating lunch with him, but I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through this meal. She gnawed on her bottom lip. What was the reason he asked me to lunch in the first place? Does he have more to tell me about the project?

  She shook her head at herself and began to unwrap the sandwich in front of her. I need to eat food. I’ll probably feel better after I do.

  Asher came up and placed his cup down on the table, and got into his seat, bumping her knee in the process. The sensation sent sparks throughout her whole body, and she had to suppress a shiver.

  “Sorry,” he said with his lopsided smile.

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  “No problem,” she replied, leaning back into her seat and pulling her legs back with her.

  He doesn’t seem fazed at all. She studied his face closely while taking another sip of her soda. Maybe it really is a one-way attraction.

  Daphne cleared her throat, looking down at her sandwich, trying to distract herself from her thoughts. “So, uh,” she said, grabbing her sandwich. “Why did you ask to have lunch with me?” she asked. She put her sandwich and took an enormous bite.

  Realizing what she had done, she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks again. Hopefully he doesn’t think I’m unattractive based on the way I eat.

  “Well,” Asher said, dabbing his lips with a napkin and then meeting her eyes. “I had a question I wanted to ask you.”

  Daphne’s stomach dropped. Oh my god.

  Noticing that she was unable to talk because she was still working through her large bite, he hesitated a bit and then decided to just go forth with the question anyway.

  “Is your mother Kimberly Woods?” he asked.

  Daphne nearly spit out her food at his words, and then swallowed wrong, starting a coughing fit.

  She noticed that Asher’s face went from curious to concerned as she tried to stifle her coughs, and her embarrassment, while simultaneously clearing her throat enough to reply.

  “Are you alright?” Asher asked, as her coughing fit started to decline.

  Daphne nodded at him before grabbing her soda and taking a huge gulp of it to help calm the tickle in her throat.

  Great. She coughed a few more times after the soda had cleared most of the debris. Not only does he know who my mother is, but I’ve also made a complete fool out of myself in front of him.

  “How do you know?” she asked in her froggy. She coughed a couple more times after asking the question. Her voice box didn’t seem to be ready for her to talk quite yet.

  She grabbed her soda again and took another big gulp, noticing Asher’s eyebrows were still raised at her.

  She gave him a thumbs up and he nodded. “My sister Rose was at the office yesterday visiting Fiona, and she overheard and saw Kimberly Woods coming in and claiming to be your mother,” he said.

  Daphne let out a heavy sigh. I totally forgot Rose is his sister. Of course he would know who my mother is.

  “Yeah, she’s my mom,” Daphne replied, pursing her lips and nodding. “I kept it a secret in the office because it’s not something I like to share.”

  Asher nodded rapidly, his face suggesting he understood where she was coming from. “I thought you might be the same Daphne Woods,” he said.

  Daphne furrowed her brow, unsure what Asher could possibly mean by the comment. “What?” she asked. “Have we met before or something?”

  He nodded with a small smile on his face. “The great gardener Vivian Hawthorne is my mother.”

  Daphne’s eyebrows shot up, probably nearly to her hairline. “What?” she asked, trying to keep her mouth from staying agape.

  Shit. This is…not good.

  “You’re the son of my mother’s arch nemesis?” she asked with a gasp, trying to keep her true feelings under wraps.

  Asher grinned and let out a little laugh. “Yes, that’s right,” he replied. His expression morphed into a smirk. “It’s pretty amazing that both Vivian Hawthorne and Kimberly Woods lived in such a small city…basically in the middle of nowhere.”

  Daphne let out a laugh that even she knew sounded fake. “Yeah, that’s pretty crazy isn’t it?” she asked. Underneath the table, she started wringing her hands together again.

  We literally moved her because mother wanted to be Vivian Hawthorne. It is no coincidence that two great gardeners live here.

  “It really is,” Asher agreed, showing his toothy smile. “I’ve been wondering all this time why you looked so familiar. It must be because I remember seeing you and all of your siblings at all those gardening contests years ago,” he said.

  Daphne’s heart skipped a beat. I’m not sure if I like that he remembers me.

  “Do you remember playing with Rose and I on the playground merry-go-round?” Asher asked.

  Daphne squinted, searching through the memories of her childhood. “Maybe?” she replied.

  “Ah, what a shame,” Asher said with a sad smile. “I figured you would remember that.”

  Daphne wasn’t entirely sure what “that” was but did her best to smile along with Asher anyways.

  Something about Vivian Hawthrone’s family and life tugged at the back of her memory. Kimberly had often gone on obsessive rants about the woman, and how Kimberly herself was doing everything she could for her children so that they could live as well off as the Hawthorne’s.

  Daphne’s eyes widened. “Wait a second,” she said. “If you’re Vivian Hawthorne’s son, doesn’t that mean your dad owns a really big company or somethin—” Her sentence was cut off by Asher putting his hand across her mouth. Daphne’s heart started racing.

  Would he really be able to touch my lips so easily if he was attracted to me?

  “Ssh,” Asher whispered. “Don’t tell anyone that. Ever. Please?” He genuinely looked desperate, the same way that Daphne had been desperate to keep the identity of her mother a secret.

  Daphne nodded, and he removed his hand from her face, the shadow of his touch still causing Daphne’s heart to beat wildly.

  “Swear you won’t tell anyone?” Asher asked, holding out his pinky with a pouty look on his face.

  Daphne took his pinky with her own, interlocking the two together, causing her heart to start pumping even more. “I promise I won’t say anything,” she replied. He released his pinky from hers with a sharp nod. “But,” she added. “You should definitely be careful about how much Rose visits Fiona then. Her behavior and attitude may be what reveals your secret to the whole office.”

  Asher nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’ve been trying to connive her to stop coming to the office so much since Fiona is supposed to be working anyway…” He sighed. “It’s difficult because Fiona is Roses’s best friend. But I know what you mean. Rose is the one who revealed my secret before…” He paused for several beats, collecting his thoughts. Finally, he added, “…before at a previous job, I mean.”

  Daphne’s eyebrows rose again. She felt her head turn slightly to the side, unsure if she should believe Asher or not. Before…?

  “Anyway,” Asher continued, trying to wave off his statement. “I’ll handle my sister to the best of my ability, but I’d appreciate it if I wasn’t in the office, and she did anything particularly egregious, that you’d give me a heads up.”

  “Of course I will,” Daphne replied. She took the final bite of her sandwich and then looked down at her watch. “Oh goodness,” she exclaimed. “Looks like I’ll need to head back.”

  She crumpled up the wrapper for her sandwich and saw Asher nod at her. “Sounds good,” he said. “I probably won’t be too long behind you,” he added, lifting up the small hunk of sandwich he had left.

  Daphne nodded and smiled. “Thank you for lunch,” she said. “We should do this again sometime,” she added.

  He nodded, as she stood up and turned to leave. As she walked out of the sandwich shop, her shoulders loosened, as if a weight had come off them. At least if no one else treats me the same after finding out who my mother is, there’s at least a good chance Asher will. The thought made her feel more lighthearted than she had been in a long time.