Page 79 of Hidden
“You’ll be handing out the award for best original screenplay. Do you have a favorite?” Ellie smiled and gave a very political answer about how she loved all the nominees. “And after the ceremony, will you be making a night of it?” Andi asked.
Asher’s stomach tightened. They’d talked about this moment. They’d even agreed on how she’d reply. But still, talking about it was one thing. Hearing it live on national television was quite another.
“No big parties for me tonight. My husband and I had to postpone our honeymoon because of the ceremony. I’ll be headed home to bed and leaving early tomorrow. We’ll have two weeks, just the two of us, before I come back and start my next project.”
“Oh, that’s…” Andi paused and drew back, the flash of confusion on her face making Asher smile. She’d been prepared to offer some generic comment to the generic answer she’d anticipated. Asher had to give the reporter credit; it didn’t take her more than two seconds to realize the answer she’dactuallyreceived was far—very far—from what she’d expected.
“Oh my gosh,” Andi all but squealed. No doubt primarily pleased with being the first to get the scoop. “Don’t tell me you went and had a secret wedding?!”
Ellie flashed her an enigmatic smile. “I could tell you that, but it would be a lie.” She held up her left hand, showing Andi the simple art deco band with inlaid diamonds. Harry had helped Asher find the ring—she hadn’t wanted anything flashy, but he’d wanted something unique. And the second he’d spotted it, nestled among other, much larger, diamonds, he’d known he’d found the perfect one.
“Who?” Andi demanded, lifting Ellie’s hand for the cameras to have a better look. “Tell me who the lucky man is.”
“Dr. Asher Warwick,” Ellie said, looking right at the camera. Asher was certain the twinkle in her eye was just for him.
“As in President Warwick’s family?” Andi asked. “Warwick” wasn’t that uncommon a name. But in California, his family was the first most people thought of.
“One of his grandsons,” Ellie confirmed. “He’s a pediatric oncologist, and while you called him the lucky man, I’d argue I’m the one who got lucky.”
All the women in the room “aww’d” and the men tossed out rude comments about getting lucky. Honestly, it was sometimes hard to believe his cousins were adults. Some of them soon-to-be fathers.
Ellie chatted with Andi a little more, giving her just enough detail about the wedding and their life to appease the press but not intrude too much on their privacy. As he listened to her answer what she felt comfortable answering and evade the questions she didn’t want to address, he thought about the changes in their lives—other than their marriage—since the day Jasmine had tried to kill them.
A week after the incident, he’d given the hospital notice that he wanted to step down as the chief medical officer. It hadn’t been an easy conversation. And they’d offered him everything from additional time off to a substantial raise to get him to stay. But it wasn’t about time off or money. He wanted to be back working with the kids in the field he both loved and was good at. He did, however, agree to stay on until they found a new leader. Based on his market research, he anticipated it would take about six months. He didn’t love the idea of staying in the role for that long. But having the light at the end of the tunnel made it manageable.
They’d also decided to make Mystery Lake their permanent home. Just past Sofia and Josh’s place were two parcels of property. One had a decrepit rental on it and the other a lovely, though abandoned, house. They’d negotiated to buy both, and Josh was now in the throes of designing their new home. There’d never really been any question about staying in Mystery Lake. But he liked that they found a piece of lakefront property at the end of a dirt road. And it didn’t hurt that the 1,200 acres HICC owned backed up to their property line. It would be the perfect place for them to relax. A safe place to raise the kids they both wanted.
Ellie said her goodbyes to Andi, then, with a private on-camera wink to him, stepped down from the dais as another actor took her place. She’d have two or three more interviews, especially as news spread about her wedding, but Asher had seen what she’d wanted him to see. He could have seen it in person, and they’d considered the idea of him going with her. But in the end, they opted not to go that route. He wasn’t ready to step into the limelight just yet. And getting an extra seat at the carefully orchestrated event was more hassle than it was worth.
He had promised her, though, that he’d attend other events if she wanted. He didn’t know exactly what it would look like, but balancing her life and his was something they’d figure out as they went along.
Rising from the couch, he made his way into the kitchen. Ricardo had made a huge spread—enough to more than feed their private little party.
“This looks amazing, Ricardo,” Asher said.
The man smiled. “I enjoy cooking for lots of people. I don’t often get to.”
“Well, if you and Harry spend much time in Mystery Lake, I’ll be sure to pull together a few parties. Not a hard thing to do with my family.” Part of the house design included a two-bedroom guest house for Ricardo and Harry. As Ellie had pointed out when working on the design—while they may choose to live in Mystery Lake, she still needed an assistant. And she did. Between juggling travel, events, filming schedules, and everything else she did, living without Harry wasn’t an option. Not if Asher wanted any time alone with his wife.
The rest of the evening was lost to a gluttony of food, drink, and family. Angelica’s website did indeed blow up with orders. Sabina, who’d grown much larger in the past few weeks, was ushered to the guest room early by Chad. And Mitch and Ava settled into a constant stream of bickering about the nominees in each and every category.
By the time the night was over, he was exhausted. And he hadn’t even been the one attending the event.
“Hello, husband,” Ellie said, appearing in the door to their bedroom. He’d heard the car drive up to drop her off but had left Harry and Ricardo to greet her. Selfishly, he wanted her to himself when he said hello.
He smiled at the sight of her. Backlit by the light coming from the closet, she glowed, the edges of her dress translucent in the soft light.
Without a word, he walked to her, slid his hands into her carefully sculpted hair, and tipped her head up for a long, deep kiss. She dropped her clutch and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his as she fell into it. Sliding a hand down her back, he banded an arm around her waist and backed them to the bed.
When his knees hit the mattress, he lowered himself until he sat with her straddling him.
“I’ve been waiting all night to do this,” Asher said as he began plucking combs and hairpins from her hair.
She let out a husky laugh as she dipped her lips and started trailing them along his neck. “It’s a good thing you didn’t. Kerry would have killed you,” she said, referring to her hairstylist.
“I wouldn’t mess up your night anyway,” he said, dragging one of the thin straps of her dress off her shoulder. “But all bets are off now that you’re home.”
“Hhhmm,” she murmured, nipping and kissing his neck and shoulder. “I do like the sound of that.”
