Dreams of Eden (Ace of Queens # 4)

CH.20 One of a kind

Rose laughed as the girl climbed to her feet.

"It's true!" Eden said. "I think he was more heart broken when Asher and I broke up in high school."

"I think the whole community expects you two to be together," Rose confessed. "I mean a Heywood and an Argo would make killer babies."

"I don't want to have that jerk's baby."

"Don't worry," Rose laughed again. "Asher has grown since his high school days. I think you might like him more now."

"Why is that?"

"You were looking for tall, dark and handsome, right?"

Eden wanted to shout she had already found her tall, dark, and handsome man.

"The Asher I remember is spoiled, arrogant, and a jerk," Eden rolled her eyes.

"Time can change even the hardest of people," Rose said. "He might surprise you."

Eden didn't respond. She opened her jewelry box and hung the untangled necklace back in its place.

"Come downstairs when you are ready, okay?" Rose turned to leave.

An hour later, Eden dressed with minimal effort as she got ready to go downstairs for dinner. She made sure to put her hair up in a high bun since Asher always complained about it when they were together. She also added bright red lipstick to make sure she irritated him extra hard. Just as she finished slipping on her flats, Jackson's voice called out to her form downstairs.

With a heavy sigh that turned into a groan, Eden stomped downstairs. She tried her best to ignore the one ghost she had encountered as soon as she had entered the house. It wasn't too hard to do. The ghost was an old lady who walked around like a snail.....painfully slow.

As Eden stomped downstairs past the old lady, her ears picked up the voices downstairs. She recognized Marcus's tone right away along with his wife Eve.

Did Asher not come? A part of Eden got excited at the idea.

But her joy was short lived as she moved down the stairs. Eden spotted Marcus and Eve talking to Rose and Jackson as they laughed, shook hairs, and kissed each other's cheeks. Behind them stood a tall figure dressed in a black sweater and some dark jeans. His bark hair, which used to fall into his face, was now pushed back. The intensity of his bright green eyes shocked Eden as she stilled on the stairs.

"There she is," Marcus said gleefully as he spotted Eden. "At last!"

"Come, Eden," Jackson held out his hand.

"Oh look how much you have grown!" Eve said as she rushed forward to kiss Eden's cheeks. "You look just like your mother."

Eden gave her a small smile as she tore her eyes away from the boy standing behind Marcus.

"How are you?" She asked Eve.

"I'm fabulous, sweetheart," Eve laughed. "Come say hi to Asher."

Eden swallowed the dry lump in her throat as Eve dragged her down the rest of the stairs.

"Asher," Marcus turned to the boy behind him.

Eden lifted her gaze as she felt everyone in the room watching them.

"Hello, Eden," A deep voice moved out of Asher's lips as he greeted her.

Eden felt her breath hitch in her throat. She hardly recognized him at all.

"Hello," she stuttered.

Has it really been that long since she had seen him? Two years couldn't have been that long?