“Ahh!” Holly exclaimed with a satisfied smack of her lips. It was Daphne who broke eye contact again, this time to look over at her friend. “I love this kind of beer so much,” Holly said, looking at her glass as if she was admiring the wheat-colored liquid inside. She looked over at Asher with a slight smile on her face. “Asher,” she said.

  “Hmm?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and looking over at Holly.

  Daphne wondered where his eyes had been after she had looked away. Maybe Holly is right and he is into me.

  “Are you a big beer drinker?” Holly asked. “I already know that Daphne isn’t.”

  Daphne felt her face heating up and she looked down at the table underneath her.

  “Beer is alright,” Asher replied. “It’s not my favorite because it usually makes me feel full instead of tipsy.”

  Daphne looked up at Holly’s face as she laughed at Asher’s response. “That’s a fair answer,” she said. “Beer is definitely not for everyone.”

  Asher shifted his weight in his chair, smiling back at Holly. Daphne felt his knee bump into hers, sending sparks through her. She nearly let out a gasp as he did, but somehow, she managed to stifle it just in time. She glanced up at him through her lashes, and it looked as though he was studying her reaction, or lack of one. She felt her stomach flutter, and she looked back at the table, feeling a small shiver go through her. She pressed her hands down onto her thighs, her long plum sleeved shirt suddenly making her feel all too warm and too cold at the same time.

  “You know, Asher,” Holly continued as Daphne looked back up at her friend. She was doing everything she could to pay attention to Holly even though her mind was still preoccupied with the sensation of Asher’s knee. “We’ve worked together for quite a while, and I don’t feel like I’ve ever gotten the opportunity to get to know you all that well.”

  Asher laughed a little, and Daphne got to see his warm smile lighting up his face. She felt her heart soar at the sight, despite the fact that he was laughing at something Holly had said.

  Oh man. I totally thought I had my emotions under control, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. I have it bad for this man. She felt her face heating up rapidly, and looked down at the table again. Her curtain of hair covered her face as she hid her feelings that were openly being displayed on her face.

  “I feel the same way,” Asher answered in his warm timbre. “I’ve always admired your competence. Trevor doesn’t deserve such a hard worker like you.”

  Still hiding in the curtain of her hair, Daphne felt her heart sink. So, his complimenting is not unique to me. She tried to think of a time when Asher had complimented her on something other than the one he’d just paid to Holly, but nothing explicitly came to mind. Her heart panged. What if he’s actually interested in Holly and not me?

  She uncovered her face, looking up at the two of them. “Are you married?” Holly asked. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  Daphne pursued the center of her lips together. So this is why Holly asked me to come today. She must have heard that Asher was planning on coming to the get together. She must be trying to be my wing woman.

  Still, even though Daphne remembered that Asher had told her he had no one in his life before, she found herself waiting for his answer with baited breath on the off chance that something had changed.

  “I don’t,” he confirmed.

  Daphne had to hold back a sigh, but immediately felt her shoulders lose some of the tension that was in them.

  “What about you, Holly?” he asked, not looking over at Daphne.

  She felt the pang in her heart again. Surely, he doesn’t have feelings for Holly and not me. Right? Her stomach churned a little. What a cruel twist of fate that would be.

  Holly lifted her left hand up at the two of them and flashed her wedding ring. “I actually remembered to put it on today,” she said.

  “Ooh!” Daphne exclaimed, grabbing Holly’s hands and bringing it closer so that she could inspect the ring. It was an emerald cut diamond, surrounded by vines and leaves with tiny little dark green stones embedded into them.

  “Oh my gosh,” Daphne murmured. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “Thank you,” Holly said with a little giggle as Daphne let her hand go. “My husband did very well.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “What about you, Daphne?” Asher asked. Daphne’s eyes met his brown ones again. She nearly felt as though she had the wind knocked out of her, hearing her name on his lips again.

  “What about me?” she asked, unable to register what he might be possibly trying to ask her.

  “Did you and your boyfriend end up making up?” Asher asked her.

  Daphne felt Holly gently jabbing Daphne in the ribs. Him asking means nothing. He also just asked about Holly.

  Daphne felt her face starting to boil again, but she couldn’t manage to break her gaze with Asher. “Oh, um…” she paused. “No. We ended breaking up for good.”

  This time it was Asher who broke their connected eyes. She couldn’t help but interpret the look on his face to be that of relief, even if it was perhaps wishful thinking on her part. He bit down on his bottom lip, causing Daphne’s heart to go into overdrive. He smiled a bit, making her stomach flip flop a couple of times.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied. He looked anything but sorry.

  Daphne had to look away, so she picked up her beer mug and took an enormous gulp in an effort to distract herself from her emotions raging inside of her.

  Holly looked over at Daphne. “Oh my goodness,” she said. “Don’t forget it’s a Wednesday, Daph,” she said.

  Daphne put her mug down and saw Holly eyeballing her closely. “I haven’t forgotten,” Daphne said.

  Her eyes stung a little. Why does she have to chastise me in front of him?

  “Don’t worry too much about that,” Asher said. “If either of you get too drunk, I’ll make sure you’ll get home safely.”

  Holly laughed. “Ah ha! Thank you for that, Asher,” she said.

  Daphne couldn’t reply, as her emotions were pulling her under again. Her heart sped up at the fact that as he’d said the words, he’d been looking primarily at her.

  I’ll be lucky to survive this get together alive, with how much this man is making my heart race.

  “How long ago was your last relationship?” Holly asked Asher.

  Daphne looked over at him, and she noticed that his ears were turning pink. He was looking down at the table bashfully, almost as if he genuinely did not want to answer Holly’s question.

  “It’s been a while,” he muttered. “I’ve been too busy for a relationship for quite a long time.”

  Daphne felt her eyebrows raise at the classically tall, dark, and handsome man in front of her. How is it possible that this hunk of a man hasn’t had a girlfriend recently? Not only is he nice to look at, but he’s also an absolute catch, too. Any girl in their right mind should have been pursuing him.

  Holly took another big gulp from her own beer mug. “I’ll be right back,” she said, scooting out of her chair. “Bio break.” She got up and walked away, and didn’t look back.

  Daphne looked over at Asher. He was smiling a little at her, and a small smile started growing on her own face. He laughed a little, sounding a bit awkward, and Daphne heard herself doing the same.

  She turned away from him, the smile still on her face, scrambling to come up with something to talk to him about. Every time I look at his face I start to blank. A previous conversation the two of them had popped into her mind. He likes hiking.

  Daphne cleared her throat.

  “Have you gone…” she started to ask.

  At the same time, Asher began to say, “How is your…”

  Her eyes met his again, and they broke out into laughter. “Go ahead,” he told her, gesturing for her to speak first.

  “Have you gone on any hikes lately?” Daphne asked, her amused smile still on her face.

  “Honestly,” he replied, still smiling himself, “I’ve been juggling so many additional things out of work lately that I haven’t had a chance to go on one.”

  “Ah, that’s too bad,” Daphne said with a nod. She then gestured to him. “What were you going to ask?”

  “How is your job search going?” he asked, lowering his voice.

  Daphne shook her head and frowned. “It’s really not going very well,” she murmured.

  Asher looked like he chewed a little bit on the inside of his lower lip. “I know I asked this before, but would you like me to reach out to tht guy I know who may need to hire a project manager soon?”

  Daphne felt conflicted. She remembered Fiona’s words in the bathroom only a couple of days earlier, talking about how she was trying to break Daphne. Then there was the fact that even though she’d managed to get herself out of extra work that had been assigned to her for the first time ever, she’d still ultimately paid a price of Trevor screaming at her for her actions.

  On the other hand, she was finally beginning to fit in with the people at her workplace. She had people she could rely on and ask for help from. Will I be able to stay friends with Holly, Landon, and even Asher if I move on from this job?

  A pit started to grow in her stomach. Either way, I know that how I’m being treated is not sustainable. Plus, if Fiona is keeping tabs on me for my killer…my life could be in danger if I stay. I can do my best to remain friends with them outside of work, she promised herself.

  Asher’s chair scraped across the floor as he scooted closer to her, bumping both of her legs with his own. He stopped moving, and Daphne couldn’t help but notice that his leg rested against hers, just faintly touching her. Her insides started melting at the faint touch.

  “I would really appreciate it if you’d ask him,” she murmured softly. “And let me know if they have a position that I may want to apply to.”

  “I’ll do that, then,” Asher said with a small nod. “I also was…wondering…” He was rubbing the back of his neck.

  Daphne’s heart was thundering in her chest. No way! No way, no way, no way!

  “Would you like to catch a movie with me, maybe this weekend?” Asher asked.

  Daphne’s stomach did flip flops, and her heart felt as though it was coming to a stand still. Does he mean this as a date? Or as friends? She studied his face closely, but honestly couldn’t tell. I’m not bold enough to ask. I don’t want to get shot down.

  Fiona’s voice came to mind again, talking to the person who may be her killer, saying that her killer would be able to steal whatever “loser” boyfriend Daphne may get involved with.

  Do I even really want to start a new relationship?

  Nonetheless, Daphne met Asher’s eyes. “Yes, I’d like that,” she said, her heart feeling hopeful against her better judgement.

  He smiled warmly back at her. “Great!” he said. “I’ll text you the details as we get closer to the weekend, then,” he said.

  “Sounds wonderful,” she replied.

  …whatever this is, between him and I…I hope it grows into something more.