Page 1 of Embrace
Chapter One
Penina Ross
Aunt Christine and I didn’t get around to buying those sugary and fatty coffees since we were determined to find my mother. We had dodged such a devastating bullet with the corpse in the morgue not being Mary, and we heeded the warning from on high. We couldn’t let my mom continue to remain missing. We needed to find her, and fast. I also desperately needed to find out who’d fathered me. So Aunt Christine drove us to the airport. After returning the rental car, she returned to Boston, and I was able to catch a four-thirty flight back to New Orleans.
As I waited for boarding, I tried to use my telephone to access the DNA company that had sent the results of my test. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember my password for their website, and when I tried to reset it, my phone ran out of power. I searched through my purse, trying to find my power adapter, but closed it after remembering that I had packed the adapter in my luggage, which I had checked.
I wanted to scream as I wrung my hands in anguish. It felt as if I couldn’t buy a break, not even with a million bucks. Then boarding began, and that offered some relief as far as making me feel as if I was moving forward.
* * *
Soon I was settledin my seat while the airplane climbed the sky. I focused on the trees and muddy plots of water below. Then, out of the blue, words that had been stuck in my brain for many years revisited me.
Know thyself. Always try to be aware of who you are. It’s not going to be easy, but do it.
I finally remembered Christine had said that to me during one of our sit-downs when I was in medical school. Back then, I was ten times more exhausted than I was now. I was also perpetually depressed simply because of the demands of medical school. And missing my mother but not missing her at the same time compounded my misery. Those meals with my aunt were starting to reshape themselves in my mind. I was the one who was lethargic and barely present. She was empathetic to my state and allowed me to sit silently, be still, and just exist in her presence.
I hadn’t realized how widely I was smiling until I turned and met the gaze of another passenger. It was a man, and he was handsome and clearly interested. I ripped my eyes away from his and stared aimlessly out the window. It was too soon to start another relationship. I still didn’t know what was to come of Jake and me.
I wanted to throttle Jake because I disliked Gina so much. She hadn’t had to be so cruel and cold. She’d made me feel as if I meant nothing to Jake and could never mean anything to him. Also, and I so hoped it wasn’t true, we could be siblings. That thought made my heart feel as heavy as a boulder. Then I wondered whether the stranger’s flirtatious ogling was a sign that I should look elsewhere for love.
No way.
Perhaps.
Maybe one day.
I decidedto avoid looking over at my fellow traveler even when the flight attendant served my coffee and honey-roasted peanuts. Mostly, I continued gazing out the window, trying to figure out how in the world would I ever be able to put space between Jake and me? Gazing at his face felt as familiar as looking at myself in the mirror. It was as if I’d been acquainted with all his curves, lines, and pores my whole life. Were we soulmates? Or was our connection sparked by a blood connection? I clutched my belly as the possibility of the latter made me sick to my stomach.
When the airplane landed,I was still wide awake, and thinking about Jake. The next day, I would report for my shift. When or if I saw Jake, I would know whether he was my brother or not. It was our row’s turn to exit, and the guy who’d been sneaking peeks at me all through the flight stood back to let me out before him.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling tightly but avoiding eye contact. I didn’t want to lead him on.
The guy continued giving me eye service in baggage claim as we waited for our luggage to roll along the conveyer belt. I felt as if I was standing there wasting time. I certainly could’ve packed lighter and just carried a weekender bag onto the plane, but I’d been in such a panic after I spoke to Christine about my mother that I felt as if I were going to some faraway place where reality didn’t exist. That was why I’d packed everything but the kitchen sink—and my computer, which I’d left at home by accident.
I had to admit it, though, I felt as if the whole world had been lifted off my shoulders, knowing my mom was still alive. I couldn’t say for certain that she was, but Christine had said she was going to hire a private investigator to try to find her. I gave her permission to use all the funds that were sent to her from the trust that was set up to pay restitution for everything my mom had been through.
Then Jake came to mind. I didn’t want to avoid him forever—maybe only a week or two. Then I wondered if I could continue engaging in sexual relations with my brother.
Hell no!My life wasn’tGame of Thrones, which happened to be one of the few shows I used to watch with any semblance of regularity. Asher Christmas being my brother would be a game changer. And the two of us perhaps being related almost made perfect sense. Maybe our electric, out-of-this-world, once-in-a-lifetime connection existed because we were family.
“Holy shit,” I groused as I almost missed my suitcase. I snatched it off the conveyer belt just in time not to have to chase it down.
“Do you need help with that?” the guy from our flight asked.
“She doesn’t need help. I got it.”
My body stiffened as my suitcase was carefully taken out of my hand. Then I turned around to see who the stranger was staring daggers at. “Jake?”
Or should I have said, “Asher”?
Chapter Two
Penina Ross
Ialmost refused to follow him to the car. First, I wasn’t sure I was ready to see him yet. Second, seeing his face brought back my anger in spades. But regardless of my tumultuous emotions, we rode in the back seat of his spacious, chauffeured car. The glass separating the front from the back was rolled up as we headed toward the city.
“How was your flight?” Jake asked.
