Promise Me (Asher Family #1)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

HUDSON

It’s official. I’m buying a new couch.

I sit up with a groan and then rub my lower back.

I hate sleeping during the day, but after I woke up with Sadie, I knew I would be trying to catch up on a few hours as soon as we got back.

I twist to look back at the bedroom. The door is wide open, and from the angle I can see, the bed is made too. The kitchen is empty, and the bathroom light is off.

Sadie isn’t here.

We still need to discuss her plans for staying here, but this morning wasn’t the time.

I already know I’m going to let her stay as long as she wants.

Which is completely nuts.

I chuckle and drop my head to the back of the sofa.

If you had asked two weeks ago—hell, even a week ago—if I ever thought I could be friends with her, I’d have laughed in your face.

Look at us now .

I push to stand. My leg feels stiffer than usual, so I take a couple of minutes to do some stretches. I’m just finishing up when my phone buzzes.

There’s no missing the red circle with a sixteen inside it next to my text messages.

I open it quickly to see a group chat between Linc, Luca, Miles, and myself.

As kids, Linc and I didn’t hang out with Luca and Miles a lot. We are three years apart. But as adults, these are the guys I’d trust with my life.

Linc

Has anyone seen Hudson today?

Miles

Nope. Why?

Luca

He was closing the bar last night. He’s probably still asleep.

Linc

Okay. I just wanted to check in on my sister.

Miles

Why would Hud have that answer?

Luca

Oh shit, you don't know, do you?

Miles

Know what?

Luca

Hud and Sadie are living together.

Miles

… no.

Linc

She’s staying with him because she’s mad at me.

Miles

What is today?

Luca

It’s not April's Fools, bro. It’s a true story.

The rest of the messages are about the same. Their discussion on my personal life. I click over to a thread for just Linc and I.

Linc

How is she today? I’d text her, but I don’t want her on her phone—you know, screens.

I roll my eyes and grin at his lame attempt to hover. I know she can’t use screens, but I don’t think a quick text reply is going to do a whole lot of damage.

Then again, I’m not a doctor, so what do I know?

I shower quickly and head downstairs for some lunch.

Since owning a bar, I rarely eat at home. It doesn’t help that Sadie’s coffee shop is right there, too.

Who knows, maybe I’ll buy a coffee pot when I buy a new couch.

The lunch rush is gone by the time I walk in, so it’s quiet enough for me to hear her laughter from the moment I open the door to the kitchen.

“Hey, Boss,” Mickey, my kitchen manager, says as I walk in .

“Hey, how’s it going in here?”

“Good. It was another busy day.”

“That’s good. Where’s Ian?” I ask. Ian is the other kitchen employee. Together, they are an unmatched duo. I’m lucky to have them working for me.

“On break.”

“Make sure you get one too.”

“I will. What are you having today?”

“Let’s do the crispy chicken salad.”

He smiles and nods. “I just made one for Miss Sadie out there. She’s something else.”

She sure is.

“Good. Make sure she gets anything she wants.”

“You got it,” he says and gets to work.

I make my way to the front, and right there, with a crowd around her, is Sadie. The men sitting on either side of her are my brothers.

“I swear, I had no idea you were this funny,” Miles says.

“I told you. We missed out on so much because of her hate for Huddy.”

“Huddy,” Sadie repeats.

What the hell are these two doing? Hitting on her?

Shit. And Linc was worried about me.

“Don’t you two have something better to do than hang out here every day?” I ask a little louder than normal to make my presence known.

Both of my brothers turn to look at me with giant grins, but it’s Sadie who steals my focus. She’s wearing a light blue summer dress and white shoes, with her hair braided down the back. She smiles at me, the flecks in her gaze drinking me in.

“I thought you’d never wake up.”

“Were you waiting for me? ”

“Yes.”

I step behind the bar and make myself an ice water. When I’m done, I take the seat on the other side of Miles. I want to tell him to get up so I can sit by Sadie, but why do I need to do that? Why do I have this urge to be the one she sits next to?

“You’re not even going to ask her why she was waiting for you?” Luca prods.

I look at Sadie. “Why were you waiting for me?”

“I got you something.”

My left brow rises as I keep my gaze on her. Is this a real gift, or is she going to play a prank on me?

“Stop looking at me like that,” she says, rolling her eyes and getting off her stool. She walks behind my brother and sandwiches herself between us to lean on the bar top.

Her breasts brush against my right biceps, and even though I have to swallow back my next gulp, I pretend I don’t notice.

“It won’t be here till Monday, but do you want to know what it is?”

“Do I?”

Sadie frowns and then looks at my brothers. “Why is his face doing that?”

Luca barks out a laugh while Miles shakes his head.

“I think he’s confused about the ray of sunshine that you are today. He isn’t sure how to respond.”

“Stop, all of you,” I say.

“See,”—Miles points at me—“grump.” He points at Sadie. “Sunshine. He definitely doesn’t know what to do right now.”

Mickey brings me my salad, so I ignore my brothers and take the first bite. Once I swallow, I look at Sadie. “Tell me my surprise.”

“Oh, you just needed food. Noted.”

Then she pulls out her phone .

I groan.

“Your brother would kill me if he knew you’re playing on that thing.”

She leans in close. “Well then, I guess we won’t tell him, will we?” she whispers.

A feeling that I haven’t felt in years sprints through me. It reminds me of when I tested my dad's dog's shock collar with my finger. A zap of electricity brings me back to life. My heart pounds and my dick stirs at the feel of her warm breath against my ear.

“Besides, all I did was look this up and order it.”

She holds her phone out in front of me.

“Why are you showing me a picture of a couch?”

“Because,” she says proudly, “I bought it for you.”

“You bought me a couch?”

I grab the phone from her and examine it, swiping through the pictures. It’s longer than the one I have now, and it pulls out to double the size. It looks easy to switch back and forth from bed to couch. It could totally work if—oh shit.

“How long do you plan on staying with me?”

“That”—she holds her finger up as she sets her phone face down on the counter—“is a very good question. We should talk about that, but that isn’t why I did it. It’s twofold, really. One, your couch sucks, and two, this morning was … it was … really meaningful to me.”

Her eyes start to gloss over just as Luca says, “What did you two do this morning?”

“Yes, do tell,” Miles adds.

Fuck. I’d forgotten they were here.

That anyone was here, really.

“Hudson took me to visit my mom's grave. He knew my brain said today was her funeral, so he took me there to say goodbye. Again, I guess. ”

“No shit,” Luca says.

I take another bite as both brothers watch me.

“Anyway, I’ve been down here long enough. When you're done eating, we can talk about our plan for the next few weeks.”

She hugs Luca and then Miles and heads for the back.

Not one second after the door closes, my brothers start in on me.

“You took her to see her mom?” Luca asks first.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is though,” Miles says.

“It’s not.”

“Hud, look, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you’ve been a selfish prick since you came back.”

Jesus.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Um, yes, you have. We invite you to do things all the time, and the only time you come is if Dad asks. You don’t do anything but work here, work out, and sit in your apartment. You just take care of yourself. Only you.”

“I don’t say no all the time.”

It’s a pathetic response to defend myself, because I know they aren’t wrong. I don’t see the point in having hopes, dreams, or goals anymore. They can vanish in a heartbeat. Keeping to myself means I can’t be disappointed.

“Our opinions stand, but the point is,” Luca says, “you did something for someone else—for Sadie—something extra meaningful.”

I sigh, going back to my lunch.

When did these two get so sappy?

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It might not have been for you, but for her, it was. For us, it is.”

They both stand, tossing some cash onto the bar .

“We’ll talk later,” Miles says, and they leave.

I let their words play over in my mind while I eat.

I care about other people. I do.

I just have a different way of showing it.

I finish my lunch and head back upstairs. Music is playing when I open the door, and Sadie is in the kitchen.

She pauses, turning her focus from inside one of the cupboards to me.

She smiles, and I swear my heart skips at the sight of her greeting me when I get home.

“Hypothetically, if one wanted you to say yes to a question, what kind of baked goods would one need to provide in order for that to happen?”

I chuckle.

“What’s your question?”

She closes the cabinet and walks toward me.

I normally dread her approach, but today, I look forward to hearing what she says.

She sighs. “I really feel like my chances are better if I have treats.”

“Sadie, ask me whatever you want.”

“All right, let's sit, though.”

“Sit? Is it that bad?”

She grabs my hand, pulls me to the couch, and pushes me down to sit. I imagine her crawling over me and sitting on my lap with one leg on each side and pressing her body flush against me, but instead she sits next to me, and the moment is gone.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Can I stay here until … well, until I’m ready to go home?”

“Are we being transparent here?”

“Of course.”

“How long will that be?”

“I don’t know. ”

“If Linc moved out, why won’t you go back home?”

She wrinkles her nose as she thinks over her words.

“They remember the last few years. I don’t. They have pictures, memories, and things that … hurt when I see them. I’ll have to go back eventually, but I need time to come to terms with it. That place seems foreign to me now, and even my room is different.”

“My apartment is unfamiliar to you.”

“Yes, but the difference is that it makes sense why this place is that way.”

“Why did you pick me? You could have gone anywhere else.”

“True. But you don’t make me feel like I just woke in a hospital. You make me feel like you’re not waiting for me to remember everything right this second. Like I can take my time and figure it out on my own.”

Her words hit me hard. I needed that person after my injury. I thought I had her, too, in my girlfriend at the time, but she left. Turns out she wasn’t with me for me—she liked the fame and name that I gave her more.

“You can stay here as long as you need to, Sadie. There’s no rush.”

“Thank you.”

She hesitates.

“Is that all?”

“No.”

“Okay,” I chuckle. “Rip off the Band-Aid.”

“Will you help me get through this and hopefully remember?”

Her question takes me by surprise, so I lean back.

“How?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I nod slowly. Well, this sounds easy. But, like I said, I didn’t have anyone there for me. I won’t saddle Sadie with that same fate.

It hurt too much, and even though our past is nothing but one big fight, I won’t let her go through it alone.

If she wants my help, she’s got it.