Chapter 246: Penny
thaven’t laughed like this in… I don’t even know how long.
Boomer and Mila are still going at it, tossing jabs back and forth like two people who’ve been roasting each other for years, not hours. Every time I think they’re done, one of them comes up with something even dumber than before, and I’m gone again, laughing so hard my ribs ache.
Asher’s hand is still warm on my knee under the table. It hasn’t moved once.
At grounds me. Anchors me, even as I lean sideways to catch my breath, giggling into his shoulder like I’ve completely lost control. Because, honestly, I kind
of have.
Mila steals one of Boomer’s avocado slices without looking at him. He watches her do it and just… lets her. That alone makes me raise an eyefront.
“Did you just-?” he starts.
“I’m the guest,” she interrupts, popping it in her mouth.
“Actually, Penny invited you,” Boomer says. “So technically you’re her guest, which makes you a-”
“Don’t say it,” Mila warns, holding up her chopsticks like a weapon.
“A plus one,” he finishes with a grin.
*Choke on your miso soup.”
Asher chuckles low beside me, and when I glance up at him, there’s this… look in his eyes. Soft. Easy. Like he’s watching me rather than the conversation. Like this–me laughing, surrounded by people I love, not a trace of fear or sadness in sight–is the only thing he’s ever wanted.
He looks happy. Light in a way he rarely lets himself be.
I squeeze his hand under the table, and he squeezes back.
We fall into a more relaxed rhythm after that. Between bites of seaweed salad and eel nigiri, Mila asks Boomer about Navy life, and he actually answers her questions. Like, sincerely. Asher and I exchange a glance because the way she’s got him talking about training drills and discipline protocols without making him sound like a walking PowerPoint is… impressive.
“You ever been deployed?” Mila asks.
Boomer nods. “Few times. Nothing like Asher’s done, though.”
Mila’s eyes shift to me for half a second, but she doesn’t say what I know she’s thinking. About what happened. About how everything that came before this dinner still lingers in the edges of the room, even if we’re pretending it doesn’t.
I smile at her in silent thanks. She gives me the tiniest wink.
By the time dessert rolls around, Mila has half–convinced Boomer to come see her next ballet performance (“You are a man of culture, right?“), and Asher has leaned fully into teasing me about my “tiny ballerina biceps” while also sneaking bites from my mochi plate.
I should be annoyed, but instead I press my foot gently against his under the table. His eyes flick to mine, and something low and hot curls in my belly when he smirks.
I don’t care that we’re in public. I don’t care that Mila’s watching us with a knowing look.
I feel full–of food, of laughter, of warmth. Like the past week cracked something open inside me and now Asher’s the only one who can reach into it.
We’re heading out, all of us slightly buzzed on sugar and soy sauce and whatever chemical combination exists in restaurants that makes you w for no reason. Mila loops her arm through/mine as we step out into the cool evening air.
giddy
“That was fun,” she says. “We should do that more.‘
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Chapter 246: Penny
“Agreed,” I say,
“I like him,” she whispers, nodding back toward Boomer, who’s holding the door open for an elderly couple. “I mean, I’ll destroy him aventually but is
friendly way.”
I snort. “Be nice.”
She shrugs. “Where’s the fun in that?”
I’m about to make some sarcastic comment about the lighting being ‘perfect for a breakup,” when I hear a tiny squeal:
“Penny!”
I turn just in time to catch the blur of a tiny girl sprinting toward me, arms wide, pigtails flying.
“Piper!” I crouch down immediately, my arms opening just in time for her to fling herself into me.
Her little arms squeeze around my neck so tight I actually teeter back a little. I wrap her up in a hug, burying my nose into the crown of her head. She smells like pink bubblegum and glittery lotion.
Max catches up seconds later, panting like he’s been dragged through a mall. “She saw you through the window. She thinks you live in there now.”
“I might,” I tell him, grinning up from where I’m still crouched. “They keep feeding me.
Piper pulls back just enough to look me in the eye with that intense seven–year–old seriousness. “Are you still gonna dance at the gala?”
“Of course I am.” I reach out and tuck one of her curls behind her ear. “Are you still gonna come watch me?”
She beams. “I already picked my dress. It’s purple and sparkly and it spins when I turn.”
“That’s the only kind of dress worth having.”
She gives me one last squeeze before stepping back, satisfied. Max ruffles her hair before glancing at me. “She’s been practicing her curtsey all week. Prepare for dramatic flair.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less,” I say.
Max gives a chin nod to Boomer, who returns it with his usual laid–back warmth. Mila gives Piper a high five before throwing an arm around Max’s shoulders, whispering something into his ear that makes him groan and shake his head.
“We’re heading home,” Max says, guiding Piper’s hand into his. “Don’t let these two corrupt your soul,” he calls to Boomer and Asher.
“Too late,” I say, waving as they disappear around the corner.
Mila sighs dramatically, rubbing her stomach. “Alright, my sweet, giant chauffeur. Think you can roll me home before I explode?”
Boomer chuckles. “You’re lucky I don’t charge for mileage.”
She loops her arm through his and they peel off in the opposite direction, Mila already launching into some story that includes dramatic hand gestures and the words “eggplant sushi conspiracy.” Boomer just listens, grinning like he actually likes her chaos.
And then it’s just me and Asher. He’s been quiet for the past few minutes, but now I feel the heat of his stare. When I glance up, he’s already looking at me.
What?” I ask, voice soft.
He doesn’t answer right away. Just grabs my hand and leads me toward the car, It’s quiet for a beat as we both slide in the engine.
I fasten m
lt, and he starts
Then, without looking at me, he says, “You’re so good with kids.”
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Chapter 246: Penny
I blink. “Where did that come from?”
He finally looks over at me, eyes dark and steady. “You. On the sidewalk. Talking to Piper like she’s the most important person on the planet.”
I shrug, cheeks heating. “She’s important. She’s the only one who appreciates my pirouettes.”
He chuckles, low and rough. “Watching you with her… it made me think really messed–up things.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Like… what? That you want to adopt a dance studio?”
He reaches over and unclicks my seatbelt without another word, tugging me toward him by the waist. I squeak a little as he lifts me onto his lap, straddling him in the driver’s seat, his hands spreading wide across my thighs.
“No,” he murmurs, voice low, lips brushing just below my jaw. “Like how you’d look holding our kid one day.”
I freeze, breath hitching, heart stuttering wildly.
His mouth moves lower, his hands sliding up my sides, slow and hot and deliberate. “Like how badly I want to mess up this car seat right now.”
I smack his shoulder. “Asher!”
“What?” he says, smirking, voice still low and rough. “You said I could say messed–up things.”
“You’re insane.”
“You’re irresistible.”
I roll my eyes, grinning despite myself, and lean in to kiss him. His hands are still on my thighs, his mouth warm and confident, and the night smells like soy sauce and heat and something dangerously close to forever.
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