Page 12 of Billionaire Unbroken - Asher
“True,” she said with a nod. “If you have your phone, I’ll put in my contact information and text myself so I have your number.”
I pulled my phone out of my bag and handed it to her as I answered, “I hope you have an amazing time in Europe. I’m jealous. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy and France. I’ve never really had the opportunity to travel at all.”
“Don’t be jealous,” she joked. “You’ll get there someday. And I’ll add you to my group thread with Anna, Reese, and Hannah so you can see the pictures.”
“You’re going to be on your honeymoon,” I teased, secretly delighted that she was going to include me in her group of friends.
“I can’t possibly have sex for two months straight,” she replied lightly. “A woman has to talk to her friends once in a while.”
“Okay, then send those pictures,” I encouraged.
“I better go,” Lauren said reluctantly. “Cole will be looking for me.”
I nodded and waited for her to lead the way downstairs.
Lauren didn’t move. She simply handed my phone back to me when she was finished with it. “Can I hug you?” she asked hesitantly. “Maybe this sounds weird, but I feel like we’re already friends.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, but I quickly blinked them back.
Kindness and friendship from another female were things that hadn’t existed for me in a very long time.
“Of course,” I said in a shaky voice before Lauren threw her arms around me and hugged me with enthusiasm.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment and savored the warmth and friendliness of her embrace.
I hugged her back, sensing that this woman was going to be a friend I’d sincerely treasure in the future.
Asher
“Where in the hell did she go?” I asked my brother, Cole, who was sitting calmly at my table, waiting for his new wife to reappear. “It doesn’t take this damn long to use the bathroom.”
“I already told you that she’s chatting with Lauren,” Cole said nonchalantly. “My wife saw Sierra headed for the house and she followed her. I think Lauren really wants to get to know her, and when Lauren sets her mind on something, she gets it done.”
I looked at my watch. “How long can two women talk?”
Cole grinned. “I never realized it until recently, but female conversations can last a really long time. Lauren and Reese can have marathon conversations when they’re on a roll.”
“What do they find to talk about for that long?” I asked, more curious than irritated now.
If Sierra was with Lauren, she was safe and in good hands.
I didn’t know my new sister-in-law well. Hell, I didn’t knowanyonewell except for Cole, but I knew that Lauren was a good person.
She was definitely good for Cole, and that was all I really needed to know.
“I think women have a special talent of just flowing from one subject to another without an issue,” Cole replied. “Having good friends makes Lauren happy, and that makes me happy. I don’tcare if she talks to her friends for hours as long as she eventually finds her way back to me later.”
I shook my head, acknowledging how much my brother had changed.
All of those changes had been good for him.
The bitterness and ugliness of our past were gone, and my little brother had become the man he always should have been. The hard edges and defensiveness that had always been a part of Cole had disappeared over the months he’d had Lauren in his life.
He’d probably smiled more in the last few months than he had in his entire life.
He was settled and exuberant to be with the woman he loved.
It was everything I’d ever wanted for my brother.
