Page 38 of Embrace
She took another drink and the strength of the liquor made her cough. “You’re not sleeping, are you?” Her voice was strained.
“How’d you know?”
“We’re triplets. I know every phase of your face.”
I grunted. “Triplets. I’ve been trying to forget that. How is she, anyway?”
She patted my thigh again as her eyes danced. “You know what’s so funny?”
“What?” I didn’t sound amused or as happy as she was. I figured whatever she had to say had to do with our real mother and the extra sister we’d discovered we had.
“Kat thought she saw you in Sydney three years ago. You were on a special surgical unit tasked to operate on some diplomat from Eastern Europe. I told her that man couldn’t possibly be you because I didn’t know you ever had an interest in pursuing medicine, let alone neurosurgery. How did you keep that from me?”
The truth was the first thing that came to my mind, which was why I shifted abruptly, causing the swing to creak.
“Spit it out, Ash. I can handle it. I’m a big girl now.”
I watched her with a lopsided smile. “You sure are.” And I was a big boy. “My interest in medicine belonged to me. I thought if I hid it, no one could take it away from me, not even you.”
She pressed her lips together as she nodded. I’d hurt her feelings, and to console her, I rubbed her thigh just as she had done.
“It’s okay,” she said, choked up, then cleared her throat. “I know I used to be a bitch. We used to do things to hurt and control each other because we had no control over ourselves. We were taught to be that way.” She sat her petite hand on top of mine. “And I’m glad you went out on your hero’s journey. You’re successful, and I heard you were in love too.”
I wasn’t surprised Spencer couldn’t keep my relationship with Penina to himself.
“I am,” I confessed. “What about you? Are you still with Dale?”
“No way. Dale is still chasing tail, cocaine, and pipe dreams.”
“Then you dumped him?”
She sighed. “A long time ago.”
I was waiting for Bryn to ridicule him some more but instead she recounted tales about her recent travels and the people she met along the way. She was about to hop on a flight to Marrakesh when she got the phone call from Spencer about me.
“But I’ve stayed in tents the size of a compact car. And the best thing I’ve ever done was the glass igloo in Kakslauttanen, Finland, falling asleep under the aurora borealis. It was so damn surreal. I never felt so—” She stared thoughtfully at the cemetery across the street. “So here. In existence in God’s great big beautiful world. And I would’ve never seen or experienced any of it if I hadn’t found the courage to finally leave Dale in my dust.”
The way the light caught Bryn’s silvery skin and delicate pink mouth made her appear transformed into an angelic being.Who the fuck is she? What has the angel sitting beside me done to my devilish and neurotic sister?I didn’t miss the old her, but I wished she hadn’t had to be away from me to find that new version of herself.
I watched her face turn brighter as she spoke about the pyramids of Giza and how humbling it was to stand on ancient ground. After Marrakesh, she planned to return to Thailand to join a group of seniors she’d met in Singapore on an ocean-exploration expedition.
I had nearly finished my second glass of bourbon. My head was light, and that meant I’d had enough, although I hadn’t been that relaxed in a while. I sniffed, chuckling as I put my glass on the table. “Hanging with the wise bunch, huh?”
Bryn set her glass next to mine. “All five of them are retired archeologists, and I was so lucky…” Bryn furrowed her eyebrows then quickly scooted back against the bench and shook her head. “I’m talking too much.”
“No, it’s okay. I like listening.”
“Well, I don’t like talking too much about myself. I’m working on ego-speaking. I want to hear about other people more than indulge in myself.”
“It’s okay to indulge in yourself when you’re interesting. And you have become interesting as hell.”
She smiled graciously as her gaze danced around my face. “I can hardly believe I’m sitting here talking to you, Ash. I missed you so much.” She touched her chest and sniffed. “Just…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Don’t ever leave me again, okay?”
I gently caressed her face. “I won’t.”
“You’d better not. So…” She rubbed her hands together and clapped the tips of her fingers twice. “Tell me about your girl. I bet she’s lovely.”
I told her how intelligent my girl was and admitted that it was her beautiful face that inspired me the most.
