Page 94 of Secret Nights and Northern Lights
“Jacklyn, this is Ben Carter.” I make the formal introduction that never took place in my cubicle that god-awful day we met with Calvin. “Ben, this is Jacklyn Spencer. My best friend, roommate,”—brother’s fuck buddy?—“coworker, confidant, swimsuit connoisseur, et cetera, et cetera.”
“Nice to officially meet you, Jacklyn.” Ben reaches out to shake her hand, and Jacklyn allows it, although her cool blue eyes sweep over him in keen assessment.
“Oh, I’ve heardlotsabout you,” Jacklyn says, and my breath hitches in my throat. Jacklyn has never been known for subtlety. “Look, I’m going to give you a chance here because you make my friend happy. However, I’m a hell of a lot meaner than Mona could ever dream of being, so if you hurt her again, just know that I don’t play nice with others.”
“J, I don’t—”
“No, Ems,” Ben cuts me off. “That’s fair.”
“Glad we understand each other,” Jacklyn says, then her stern expression relaxes into a smile and she also pulls Ben in for a hug.
“Okay, well, listen,” I say. “J, do you think you’ll be okay getting back to the city alone tonight? I’m going to stay over at Ben’s.”
I cannot fathom the thought of another night without him sleeping next to me, and while he could come back to the city with us and stay at my apartment, I know from experience how thin our walls are and don’t want to subject Jacklyn to the things she might overhear.
“I’m a big girl,” Jacklyn says as if she’s offended. “I’ll be perfectly fine.”
My gaze shifts to Mason, who nods his head almost imperceptibly, communicating that he’ll make sure she gets home safely. I’m just not sure if it will be our home orhishome she ends up at, but that’s a conundrum for a different day.
“Okay then,” I say. “It’s time for cake.”
Downstairs everyone gathers around the dining room table as my mother carries in a perfectly iced cake with thirty-two candles, but they’re split down the middle so each brother will have his own wish to make. We do the customary singing of the“Happy Birthday” song, the kids raising their voices to drown everyone else out while my father doesn’t contribute at all other than rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Then the twins blow out their respective candles.
It’s funny, it may be my brothers’ birthday, but I’m the one whose wish is coming true as I squeeze Ben’s hand in mine, as I lay my cheek on his shoulder and tuck my opposite hand around the inside of his biceps, as he reflexively leans down and kisses the top of my head.
A ridiculously large smile pulls at my cheeks.
Because it doesn’t matter if Ben and I make it to a hundred more countries or none. As long as we’re together like this.
And as I stand in the warmth of my childhood home, surrounded by a family who may not be perfect but loves me no matter what, a best friend who supports me unconditionally, and now the man I’ve been in love with my entire life, it suddenly dawns on me…Maybe my puzzle piece fits perfectly after all.
Epilogue
8 months later…
“Time to wake up, Ems.”
I ignore the soft-spoken words and the fleeting brush of Ben’s lips against my cheek, opting instead to keep my eyes closed in the pursuit of a few more minutes of rest. Unfortunately, Ben is persistent.
“Breakfast is waiting on the deck,” he calls from across the room now, “and we don’t want to be late for this morning’s safari.”
Finally opening my eyes, I blink against the sunlight and take in the well-appointed room of our lodge. Actually,well-appointedis an understatement. We’re currently staying in an upscale eco-friendly resort in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. One so fancy we even have our own temperature-controlled plunge pool on the deck, and just yesterday I watched a herd of elephants pass by in the distance while taking a late-afternoon swim. Four-year-old Mona with her safari library book could have never imagined this for her future, that’s for sure.
I stir in bed, catching Ben’s attention. He stands over a desk, fidgeting with his camera. “There she is,” he says with a smile, and my heart flutters in response. God, I love this man.
“How was the sunrise shoot?” I ask, sitting up in bed but not ready to climb out and start the day yet. Unlike Ben, who has been up for hours now.
“Really good.” Setting his camera aside, he comes and sits on the bed with me. “Jaylen got an unreal shot of a lion cub drinking from the waterhole. Suki is going to be obsessed when she sees it. You were right about him. He’s really developing his eye, and I think he’s definitely one to watch out for.”
In the past eight months, Ben and I have had to navigate making our assignments work in a way we can be together, something that hasn’t always been easy. A couple of things have helped though. For starters, Suki’s flexibility in allowing remote work (for all employees, not just the Internationals) has given me the ability to tag along with Ben on some of his assignments when I’m not on my own.
Another thing that has helped, and the current reason we’re here in South Africa, is Ben signing another contract withAround the Globe. No, he still isn’t willing to join the company full-time, and that’s perfectly fine with me. However, after our Iceland article was a huge success and sold more issues than any other edition in the past five years, Suki used her persuasive prowess to tap Ben for another type of assignment—mentoringAround the Globe’s youngest photographers. So here we are halfway around the world on another joint assignment, only this time there arethree other photographers here, too, and they’re getting a once-in-a-lifetime master class on wildlife photography fromtheBenjamin Carter.
This is only his second trip as a mentor, but already I can see the positive effect it’s having on Ben. In a lot of ways, I think it brings back memories of his own mentor, Dan, and being able to pass on his knowledge and skills has given him a purpose beyond photography.
“That’s really great,” I say, taking his hand and running my fingers over the map of veins along the back. “How lucky for Jaylen to get to learn from a world-renowned photographer.”
His green eyes spark with amusement. “I believe once upon a time you called me cocky for labeling myselfworld-renowned.”
