Page 83 of Embrace
I nodded, rubbing his thigh. “Scallops.”
She smiled at him approvingly. “So, what are you two going to do for Pen’s sabbatical?” Bryn had heard Zara call me Pen and decided she would rather refer to me by the informal version of my name, since she was triple-sure I would be around the family for a long time.
Asher flicked his eyebrows up twice. And on cue, Bryn and I rolled our eyes at the same time then chuckled about it.
“Besides that, Ash,” she said.
Asher scratched the back of his neck. “I want to take her somewhere. A place she’s never been.”
Bryn’s eyes lit up. “Good idea. And I have some suggestions.”
Then Bryn, Asher, and I talked about all the places we could go and where we could stay until Zara held out her hand and asked me to cut a rug with her before she left.
And we did.
And we danced.
And we laughed.
And we were happy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Penina Ross
That was the night my life began anew. After Asher and I made it back to the penthouse, we made love until Monday afternoon—no sleep, just kissing, touching, and fucking. He skipped the big staff meeting. He said that Si would handle it. Julia had already spread the rumor that Asher and his brothers purchased the hospital. The report from the chief was that no one was bitter about it. Everyone had bought the story that Asher was pretending to be Jake Sparrow to assess whether he would purchase the hospital. Their sentiments were aided by the fact that EBHI would be part of the hospital’s infrastructure, and fifty percent more nurses, doctors, and surgeons would be hired within the next six months.
* * *
It wasthe last week of September. Asher and I had been traveling together for nearly three months, and the next week, we were due back at the hospital. Our journey had started in New Zealand, where we frolicked in blue pools, hiked over glaciers, searched for waterfalls, and slept under the night skies.
Next, we flew to Norway, where we cruised riverways aboard private superyachts, took long drives through twisty grassy mountains, and gazed over tall cliffs to wonder at the most beautiful landscapes of rocks, grass, and zigzagging streams below.
There was no rhyme or reason for deciding where we chose to go. Asher and I discovered we both had a hankering for marveling at and wallowing in the most beautiful aspects of nature. We both loved connecting with people, too, so we took Bryn’s advice and participated in some of the local food-and-wine festivals in small communities from Portugal to Spain to France to Italy then up to Ireland. We saw a lot of people who, as Bryn had said, didn’t recognize Asher Christmas. It also helped that Asher was multilingual, which surprised the heck out of me. He spoke Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese.
We gave ourselves two days in Japan’s Yoshino-Kumano National Park, where we rowed our boat among clusters of rock formations and walked the Kumano Kodo trail to visit an ancient shrine. All the trails felt surreal, dwarfed by tall trees with mossy barks. With all the illustrious sights we’d seen and ancient ground we had walked, the absolute best part of our travels had been gazing into each other’s eyes over candlelit dinners and cooling our bodies in semi-comfortable beds after making love as Asher used his hands to explain the mineral components of the volcanic soil we’d walked across. He knew a lot about land formations and land use. Whenever we encountered local farmers, he would engage them in long conversations about their crops, even lending them tips at times but mostly reeling with excitement when he learned something new from them. I was in awe of how smart he was, and that endeared him to me even more.
After leaving Japan, we decided it was time for a change of pace, especially since our vacation would soon be over and we didn’t want to return to work exhausted from our time off. We opted to explore the Andaman Sea on a superyacht, replacing hiking with snorkeling and swimming in blue lagoons. We dined on five-star meals whipped up by a private chef and made love in a comfortable bed.
Unlike with Rich, Asher and I never ran out of things to talk about. Over breakfast, we discussed the Expansive Brain Health Institute, which was something we were very excited about. Being surgeons, we showed each other techniques, practicing on melons. We discussed Elizabeth Thomas. I was finally able to feel deep inside what I’d said to Asher. I told him that at the moment—and I could only live in the here and now—she was like a whisper that had been carried away by the wind, although my nostrils tightened and tears pooled in my eyes if I thought about her too long.
“That’s okay, Penina. You love her. Honor that and let it be.”
I beamed at him so brightly that perfect warmth spread across my face. “I will. Thank you.”
Then his expression mirrored mine.
Traveling together had showed us how kind and patient we were with each other. Perhaps it was because we were both brain surgeons that we knew how to listen to each other and those around us. That was why, during our last stop in another superyacht on the Arctic Ocean, I knew without a doubt I was made for him and him for me. We both had been derived from turmoil and ugliness. He had met his mother, and she was still alive, but before, he’d been too angry with his father and ashamed of what happened to her to build any sort of relationship with her. Bryn was in a relationship with their mom, though. He had another sister, and he felt the same way about her too. He asked if I could help him, if I would be his strength as we sat with the two of them, sharing a meal and getting to know them better.
I squeezed his hands and said, “Of course, my love. Anything you want.”
Yes, at some point during our travels, I began to refer to Asher as my love.He is my love.
It was nine p.m. Asher had gone to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of champagne. I was inside the heated glass dome on top of the vessel, naked on the king-sized bed and under a white faux-fur blanket. Not a single cloud blocked the light-green beams and sprays of green light streaking through the atmosphere like clusters of haunting spirits. The colors became more vivid through the telescope glasses we wore to view the phenomenon. Bryn had been right. The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, was the most wonderful spectacle I’d had the privilege to lay eyes on.
I kept thinking about Bryn, recalling the last time I’d seen her and Asher’s family, or at least the people he’d grown up with. It had been two days after our fun night at Bellies. Asher and I had arrived at the mansion at seven p.m. He rang the doorbell three times before opening the door. My dormmate, Nat, used to do the same thing whenever we arrived at her family’s house in Baton Rouge for the holiday. The fact that Asher’s family had the same habit made me feel aglow inside. I was in love with a man who had his own version of Rich’s family, and he was someone I could trust and count on.
After the ringing ended, an excited little girl came to the door. “Daddy!” She spoke gibberish until she said, “Ash here!”
