Falling for my boyfriend’s Navy brother
Chapter 194: Asher
The dessert was cinnamon pear tart. Flaky, warm, spiced just enough to make the coffee after feel like something earned. Mrs. Vale served it with this, honeyed cream she said was French, but probably wasn’t. Penny loved it anyway I could tell by the way she closed her eyes on the first bite and made that barely–there sound in her throat, the one I only ever get to hear when she’s happy.
We’re in the Vales‘ living room now, the tree still glowing in the corner, coffee cups balanced on knees and coasters, a stack of exchanged gifts building on the low table. Tyler’s got a new hoodie slung over his shoulder. My mom is laughing at something Penny’s dad said about a broken GPS and a moose. Penny’s curled close to me on the couch — just close enough for my knee to touch hers, for her perfume to mess with my concentration.
I lean in, slow and low, until my lips are almost brushing the shell of her ear.
“Your presents are coming later,” I murmur. “After this. Tonight’s just for us.”
She turns, lips parted like she’s about to ask, but her eyes sparkle like she already knows.
And then that smile the real one. Beaming, no hesitation. Full of light.
God, she’s beautiful tonight.
Not just pretty
not just the kind of beautiful that turns heads. The kind that undoes you. The kind that makes you forget why you ever needed to be hard in the first place.
I was pissed when I heard Tyler was coming. Thought maybe I wouldn’t even bother showing up. Thought maybe I’d lose my mind if I had to sit across from him while he made dumb jokes and asked Penny questions like he hadn’t had a chance to keep her already.
But I don’t care anymore.
Because I’m here.
And she’s with me.
And tonight, I get to show him what it looks like to actually love her. To choose her. To protect her. To make her laugh and listen and never let her feel alone again.
They’re all deep in conversation again – something about how long it takes for TSA to ruin a wrapped present – when Penny and Tyler start to argue. It’s quiet at first. Just a murmur. Something about which one of them forgot to pick up the holiday cookies from the bakery last year.
“You said you were going to get them.”
“No, you said you were already there-”
“Because you said you’d ordered them-”
Her voice sharpens. Tyler’s eyes narrow.
I sit up straighter. Not to fight just to shut it down before it gets ugly. My hand is halfway to Penny’s when-
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
I glance down.
LT Ramsey.
My spine goes stiff.
*Excuse me a sec,” I mutter, rising to my feet and stepping toward the hallway. I thumb the green button and bring the phone to my ear.
“Lieutenant. Sir.”
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Chapter 194: Asher
“Hayes, comes the voice. Tired. Tense. “You get the address i sent earlier?”
“Yes, sir. I’m currently out. With family.”
“How fast can you get back?”
I pause. That tone-
clipped and personal means something’s wrong. Not immediate danger, but something.
“Twenty minutes, sir.”
“Make it fifteen. I need to speak to you in person.”
“Understood. Be there soon.”
The call ends.
I turn around, already planning my exit, and find everyone watching me.
Penny’s hands are twisted in her dress. Her mom’s cup is frozen halfway to her lips. Tyler’s face is unreadable, and Mr. Vale looks mildly concerned but not surprised.
I clear my throat.
“I’m sorry. That was my lieutenant. I’ve been asked to report back to base immediately.”
A pause.
Penny’s already on her feet. “Then I’m coming.”
“You don’t have to-”
“I want to.”
Her voice cuts sharper than she means, but I get it. I do.
“Penny,” Tyler says, standing too, reaching for her wrist. “Just–stay, okay?”
She rips her hand back like he burned her. “I don’t care what you want.”
Then softer, but not by much: “I’m going with Asher.”
Her mom looks at her dad. He gives the tiniest shrug – the she’s–going–to–do–it–anyway kind and then her mom nods.
“Just text when you get there,” she says. “Please.”
Penny’s already moving toward the door. I follow.
Outside, the air is cold and clean. My boots crunch on the frost–covered steps. Penny climbs into the passenger seat like she’s done it a hundred times
before.
Because she has.
And I don’t say it out loud, but God, it means everything that she’s coming with me. That even now
after e
–
ing she still chooses this. Me.
Us.
I start the engine.
“Let’s go,” she says quietly.
Chapter 194: Asher
And we do.
The drive is quiet. Penny’s curled slightly toward the window, her breath fogging the glass, arms wrapped around herself like durs kom
- in.
I keep my eyes on the road, but my thoughts won’t stop running.
Lieutenant Ramery doesn’t call without reason. Not like that. Not this time of year, and definitely not when he knows I’m not slated to hurt y My next check–in isn’t for two weeks. Paperwork’s already filed. Christmas is supposed to be a damns buffer.
So why the hell does he want to see me?
And why in person?
Beside me, Penny shifts, tucking her hands under her thighs the way she does when she’s cold or nervous. She hasn’t said anything sites we left, het e presence is so loud I can feel it in my bones.
I glance at her quickly. Then again, slower.
She looks… unreal.
Dark curls falling around her shoulders, the moonlight catching the edge of her cheekbone, her mouth still stained a little from the berries on the art. Me
dress clings in all the right places, soft and graceful, like she stepped out of a painting meant to be guarded behind museum glass.
And I’m taking her onto base.
Military lights. Security checkpoints. Grunts and MPs and eyes that look at her like she doesn’t belong, like they’ve never seen a girl like her
haven’t.
Because they
She’s too beautiful for that place. Too delicate for fluorescent lights and fatigues and the smell of steel and sweat.
I tighten my grip on the wheel.
Maybe I shouldn’t have let her come.
It’s not that I don’t want her there – hell, I want her everywhere – it’s that I don’t trust the way the world looks at her. Like it’s entitled to a piece. Like it can reach for something it doesn’t deserve. And I sure as hell don’t trust what I’ll do if someone tries.
“What is it?” she asks softly, finally turning toward me.
I don’t answer right away.
“Just… thinking,” I say.
Her hand finds my arm
–
soft, warm
–
and stays there. “Is it bad?”
“I don’t know yet.”
She’s quiet a moment. Then: “Should I have stayed home?”
I shake my head. “No. I want you with me.”
That part’s the truth. The only clear thing in my head right now.
She lets out a breath and leans her head back against the seat, her fingers still curled gently into my jacket.
I wish I could say it’s nothing. That Ramsey probably forgot a document or needs me to sign something. But I know him. And I know that tone.
Something’s coming
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Chapter 194: Asher
And if it’s coming for me, then it’s coming for her ton whether she realizes it yet or not.
I drive faster.
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