Heart of Glass
Page 14
“I think so too,” Asher said, pushing the words past the tightness in his throat.
Zach stepped closer and cupped Asher’s cheek in his palm. “Do you forgive me for being so stupid? All I want to do is love you and make you happy. I promise I’ll never doubt you again.”
Asher slid his arms around Zach’s waist and pulled him closer. “I forgive you.”
Zach released a breath as he wrapped his arms around Asher’s shoulders and held him tight. “Thank you,” he murmured, his lips close to Asher’s ear. “From the bottom of my heart.”
Having Zach back in his arms felt good and right, and Asher wanted to stay there for a while and try to make up for the lonely days spent apart. “You owe me for lost time, you know,” he said. “I had a fabulous reunion planned.”
“I will pay you back with interest,” Zach said fervently. He pressed his lips against Asher’s jaw. “Anything you want. Even if you want to spank me for being naughty.”
“I’d say you deserve it,” Asher said mock sternly. “But later. As much as I’d like to bail on the party, I can’t. But at least it’ll give me the chance to flaunt the man I love in front of the whole firm. I want everyone to know you’re taken—and so am I.”
Zach drew back and gazed at Asher with wide eyes and a joyous smile. “You love me?”
“I gave you my heart, didn’t I?” Asher nodded toward the box on the table. “When it comes to emotions, I’m better at showing than telling. Maybe that was part of the reason you felt insecure. My messages weren’t clear enough.”
“I do tend to focus on the words,” Zach admitted. “But your heart is the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. So I’ll keep on telling you how much I love you, and you can show me how much you love me.”
“I will,” Asher said. He put his ornament in the box with the heart and tucked the box under his arm, and then he grabbed Zach’s hand. “If you need me to prove I’m ready to commit to you, I’ve got just the way to do it.”
With that, he hustled Zach out of the conference room and back into the ballroom, which had filled up while he was gone. It looked like most of the guests had arrived, which was fine with Asher. The more witnesses he had, the better.
He’d spotted a kissing ball hung near the tall Christmas tree, and after a detour to put the box back in Shelley’s care at the gift table, he headed for the kissing ball. He positioned Zach under the ornate ball of mistletoe and ribbons, framed Zach’s face between his hands, and drew him into a leisurely kiss.
Zach stiffened in shock, no doubt because they’d been careful to keep any hint of their relationship from reaching the office grapevine. But Zach’s surprise lasted only a moment, and he melted against Asher, wrapping his arms around Asher and parting his lips with a soft moan.
For several seconds, there was only the two of them, as if the room and its occupants had fallen away. But then applause started, and the sound quickly grew louder as others joined in. Zach pulled back, startled into breathless laughter, and his brown eyes were warm with love as he looked at Asher.
“My, my, Mr. Caldwell, you do know how to make a declaration!” Zach said, even as a flush stole over his cheeks. He lowered his voice. “And I love you for it.”
“Do you need me to show you again?” Asher asked, stroking Zach’s pink cheeks. “Or are you convinced?”
Zach glanced around the room at all the laughing, applauding people. Shelley was beaming at them like a doting parent, while Cal offered a surreptitious thumbs-up. Zach looked back at Asher with a soft smile.
“You can show me as often as you like, with or without witnesses, counselor. I’m especially looking forward to a private conference in chambers as soon as it’s convenient.”
“We have a party to attend first,” Asher said ruefully. He’d never wanted to ditch a work-related obligation more than he did right now, but he couldn’t bail on the holiday party, no matter how much he wanted to. “I have to be a responsible part owner, and you have to make your debut in society as the significant other of Mr. Theodore Asher Caldwell II.”
“Then let’s attend the party,” Zach replied. “I’ve never felt like I’ve had more to celebrate than I do right now.”
“Neither have I.” Asher clasped Zach’s hand again, ready to make the rounds and probably field a lot of questions. For the first time, he looked around at the decorations, the presents, and the people gathered together, and he felt like celebrating.
For the first time, he felt like he had a home for the holidays.
More from Ari McKay
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Perhaps the time has come for Cupid to put in an appearance, and when better to do so than Valentine’s Day?
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Boone Phillips needs a girlfriend—now! If he shows up to the family reunion alone, his mother will throw every woman in sight at him. But the only “woman” Boone trusts enough to ask is Honey, the drag queen alter ego of his best friend, Rob. It’s a crazy idea, but Boone is desperate.
Boone wins Rob over to the idea after first going on a “date” with him as Honey, but everything feels different once the plan is set in motion. Between nosy relatives, illegal moonshine, and the sight of Rob in white lace panties, Boone starts to wonder if he’s as straight as he thought. When an earth-shattering kiss sends Rob running, however, Boone learns some surprising things about both his family and himself. Now he needs to convince Rob to give him another chance, or his first taste of Honey might also be his last.
ARI MCKAY is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full-time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
Visit Ari on:
Website: arimckay.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Ari-Mckay/266185570179748
Twitter: @AriMcKay1
By Ari McKay
Changing the Things You Can
Heart of Stone
Last Leap of the First-Foot
Letters from Cupid
Love’s Cabers Tossed
On the Rocks
The Once and Future Love
A Taste of Honey
BENT OAK SAGA
Finding Forgiveness
The Quality of Mercy
DREAMSPUN BEYOND
ASHEVILLE ARCANA
#1 – Out of the Ashes
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
THE WALKER BOYS
#24 – Striking Sparks
#35 – Breaking Bonds
LAWYERS IN LOVE
Santa’s Naughty Helper
Fortune’s Slings and Cupid’s Arrows
Heart of Glass
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Heart of Glass
© 2018 Ari McKay.
Cover Art
© 2018 Bree Archer.
http://www.breearcher.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63533-583-5
Digital eBook published March 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America