Page 13 of Embrace
Grinning from ear to ear, I read the card.
“What does it say?” Zara asked.
I stuffed it back in the envelope. “It’s private.” It readI can’t wait to be inside you.
She grunted thoughtfully. “A neurosurgeon with his own personal driver?” Zara said, reaching for a strawberry. “And it’s so unnecessary in New Orleans, which means he’s pretty loaded. Only the filthy rich spend this much money on frivolous shit.” She bit into the strawberry. “Oh fuck, that’s good.”
Kirk snorted a chuckle, which was even more evidence that he was sweet on Zara. Jake was his employer, and she had just criticized him. The beautiful Zara had stolen his loyalties away from Jake.
“Jake is a strange individual,” I said to pacify her.
“Oh, okay… You’re not engaging, then? Is that it?”
I shrugged. “Engaging in what?”
“His money. How rich is he?”
Zara and I stared at each other until she began laughing.
“You’re so damn good at keeping secrets. I mean, not one person knew I was in DC, only you and Angela, who can keep a secret almost as good as you can.” She polished off the strawberry.
I shifted abruptly in my seat, signaling a welcome change of subject. “Speaking of DC, when are you moving there?”
Kirk was watching her again. Zara looked down at her lap and shrugged.
“What does”—I mimicked her shrug—“mean?”
She looked at me. “What does what mean?”
I showed her the shrug I’d copied from her.
“I don’t know, Pen. Maybe I was too hasty when I left.”
I glanced at Kirk. I didn’t want to mention the other guy as long as they had chemistry flowing between them. But I so very much wanted to know what had happened with that relationship.
“Then you’re ready to be a surgeon again?” I asked.
Zara groaned as she sighed. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“But Zara, you’ve almost completed the program.”
She threw her hands up. “Pen! Because you’re almost done with something doesn’t mean you have to finish it. Especially if you don’t love it, and I hate it.”
My frown gave me a slight headache. To say I was confused was an understatement. “Then what in the hell were you hasty about?”
“Leaving New Orleans?”
“And not quitting your neuro residency?”
“Hell, no. I’m done with that.”
For some reason, the feeling of being stuck in intense crisis mode gripped me. “But it doesn’t make any sense, Zara,” I said, flinging my hands emphatically. “You were almost at the finish line.”
“You said that already.”
“Well, I’m saying it again. It’s right there in front of us, and we’re about to cross it. So why are you quitting now after thousands of dollars and hours spent becoming a surgeon? And you’re a damn good one at that. Why now?”
Zara slumped as she sighed. It was as if she’d blown all the tension out of her body. “You’re right about the thousands of hours and dollars. Sure, I put the time and effort into being a surgeon, but I didn’t do it for me. It’s over. I’m an adult. I’m not a traditionalist like my parents are, and therefore I’m not interested in pleasing them anymore. So as far as I’m concerned, the bill is on them, not me.” She took her phone out of her tiny purse. “I want to show you something.”
