Asher
I wake up with my fiancé in my arms Monday morning, knowing she is cancer free. All is right in the world. There’s just one other thing that would make me happy and that’s to give Willow back her mom. As per our usual, we ride into work together with a kiss and a lunch date, I drop her off on her floor. Heading to my office her mother’s file stares at me. I know I can’t call her again, the next step taken has to come from Willow.
At noon she knocks on my door bringing in lunch that Charlotte has picked up for us. Placing the food out on the table, she takes a seat. Standing, I slide the file across the desk in front of her. I know I could be treading on dangerous ground here, but I think she’s ready. I know her mom wants to talk to her, she wants to see her.
“What’s this?” she says, taking the file in her hand, but not opening it.
“That is the information I got on your mother. I don’t want to push you, but when I talked to her, she told me she had looked for you and she wants to talk to you. She wants to see you. Sweetheart, I know you were afraid of being rejected but by everything she said, it sounds like she has been waiting a long time for this.”
“She did?”
“Yes, sweetheart. She’s remarried and after you left she put herself through college just like you did. She owns her own hair salon. She made me promise I would call her back by the end of last week.” Making my way over to her, I pick up the file and hand it to her.
“I would never give you this if I didn’t think it would end well, think about it please. Let’s eat lunch.”
I can see she’s nervous. “I didn’t tell her anything about you. Only that you were safe and OK.”
“I promise I will think about it, thank you.”
“Alright, let’s talk about something happier. When would you like to get married? I know weddings take a while to plan, but I would like to get married sooner rather than later. What do you think?”
“I would love that, we don’t have to have a large wedding, actually I would rather it be small, just your immediate family. How about this summer? I’ve always dreamed about having a beach wedding.”
“That sounds perfect, you know my mom and sisters will be all over helping us plan it.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Finishing lunch, I kiss her and hand her the file. Walking her to the elevator kissing her one more time, I head back to my office. The rest of the day is filled with busy meetings and conference calls.
Chapter 22
Willow
Heading back to my desk, I poke my head in Amelia’s office. Ava is sitting in a chair across from Amelia.
“Come on in, Willow. How was lunch with Asher?” Amelia asks.
“It was great, thank you.”
“Here, these are for you.” Ava hands me a small box. I take a seat next to Ava placing the box in my lap.
“Asher and I have decided on a summer beach wedding. What do you guys think?”
Ava squeals with glee. “I know the perfect place! Alki Beach is beautiful in the summer. You have to let us help you plan the wedding.”
“I would love that, nothing too big. We want it small, just immediate family.”
“That sounds perfect, I’m going to go right now and make a few phone calls.” Leaning over to whisper in my ear, she says, “In the box, Willow, I picked a few photos that I know mean a lot to Asher. Are you sure you want to see them?”
Smiling up at Ava, I say, “Yes, I really do.” Squeezing her hand, she says her goodbyes.
Getting back to my desk, I place the box on the file Asher gave to me. Opening the lid I pull out the small stack of glossy 8x10 photos, with a smile on my face, I thumb through each of them. There are some that look like they are from prom or homecoming, some candid shots and a few from their wedding. One in particular catches my eye. I gently run my finger over the image. They are so in love, so happy. They are both looking in each other’s eyes with huge smiles on their face. Olivia has on a beautiful wedding gown, and Asher looks handsome in a tux with a yellow tie. Held in her hands is a stunning arrangement of yellow roses wrapped in a silky yellow ribbon. This is the one. This is the photo I want to give to Asher. The one I want him to bring back into his home. Placing the photos back in the box, my mother’s file is calling to me to open it.
Taking the file and opening it, there really isn’t much information there, but the phone number burns a hole in my retinas. Without even thinking, I grab my phone and dial the number.
“Hello?” The familiar voice is soothing in my ear.
With a whisper I wasn’t even sure she could hear, I say, “Mom?”
I hear her gasp and softly crying, “Willow, is that you?”
“Yes, Mom, it’s me.”
We talk on the phone for nearly an hour. Amelia never came out to interrupt me. We talked about everything. About me going to college, being diagnosed with cancer, meeting Asher and finally getting engaged. She tells me about her getting her degree and the salon. She tells me all about her husband and everything in between.
Talking with my mom was easy, and she seems like such a different person. We exchange all our phone numbers and contact information, with the promise to talk again tomorrow. We want to make plans to get together sometime soon. Hanging up the phone, I am so at peace. My heart is completely put back together now, the final piece being that my mom and I are speaking again.
After asking Amelia if I could take the rest of the day off, I text Asher and tell him I will see him at home. Of course, he gave me the third degree calling me instantly on my office phone, making sure I was feeling fine and nothing was wrong. After telling him I called and talked to my mom, and everything was perfect, I just needed to get some errands done. After repeatedly assuring him everything was fine, I grab the box and my purse and head downstairs. Simon takes me to a frame shop, I have a few photos framed, but the one from their wedding, I choose to have put in a crystal frame.
The front door opens with Asher’s worried voice, “Sweetheart, I’m home.”
“In the family room,” I call. Placing his coat and briefcase on the couch, he walks over to me with a hug and a kiss.
“You’re sure you’re OK. It isn’t like you to leave by yourself, your mom didn’t upset you did she?”
“No, I told you everything went perfect. I told her I would call her again tomorrow and we want to make plans to get together.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll make arrangements to fly her and her husband out as soon as they can.”
“Thank you, I can’t wait to see her again, but the reason I came home early is I have something I wanted to give you.” Handing him a wrapped box with a yellow ribbon on it, he takes it with a smile. Sitting on the couch he touches the yellow ribbon. Gently, he opens the box with a small gasp.
“I wanted to bring Olivia back home. This is her home as much as it is yours. She belongs here.”
Holding the crystal frame in both hands, he touches Olivia’s face with a smile on his lips.
“Willow, thank you, I don’t know what to say.”
Taking the photo out of his hands, I place it on the mantle above the fireplace.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Walking back over to him, I wrap him in a tight hug.
There were five in all that I had framed. The crystal one has its rightful place on the mantle, and the other four, I hung on the walls throughout his house.
Asher
Having Willow bring the photos of Olivia back into the house meant so much to me. To know that Willow is confident in our love and to not be upset by my past love with Olivia is beyond anything I ever thought possible. Every day, she surprises me and makes me so proud of her. She took the next step with her mother, and it makes me so happy that she will have her mom back in her life. Pulling out of her hug, I look into her eyes.
“Move in with me?”
“What?” She asks surprised.
“You spend all your time here anywa
y, Lucy loves it here and we’re getting married in a few months. Move in with me.”
“Are you sure? You might not like me anymore after we live together for a while. I might want to get married first, so you can’t get rid of me so easily.”
“Don’t be silly, I grew up with two sisters and my mom, there’s nothing you can do that would make me love you less. Oh wait, does that mean you’ll cook chili with noodles?”
I swat him on the arm and say, “Yes, I would love to move in with you. We would love to move in with you. And yes, I’m still going to cook my chili with noodles.”
“Good, it’s settled, tomorrow we’ll hire movers and get you all moved in.”
“We can wait until next weekend, there’s no rush, and I’ll still stay here in the meantime. It will take me some time to go through my things, most of its trash, but you can help me start to sort through everything this weekend.”
“OK, it’s a plan. Now what’s for dinner, woman? I’m starving.”
After finishing dinner and cleaning up the dishes, I found Willow sleeping on the couch. Gently lifting her, I carried her to bed, to our bed. Covering her, then turning to leave, she whispers, “Asher, don’t go, stay with me.”
I remove my pants and shirt and cuddle up behind her in our ‘night time position’, lacing our fingers together she sighs deeply.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“Absolutely nothing. I was just thinking how quickly my life has changed. I’m cancer free, I have an amazing fiancé, and I have my mom back in my life. And I’m moving in with you. Life just has a way of righting itself. All my life I thought I had the worst luck, turns out all the good was just waiting for this moment in my life. I’m just so happy.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, I feel the same way.” She rolls over, and I tuck her head under my chin and hold her tight. She runs her hand down my chest over my hip bone and down my thigh. Goosebumps break out all over my body. She reaches under my boxers, and takes me in her hand, and I moan. Rolling her onto her back, I take her mouth in a slow tangle of lips and tongue. Lacing her fingers in mine, I bring them to the side of her head. I trail kisses down her neck to her left breast.
The stitches are healing nicely and have started to dissolve. Gently, I kiss on top of them and say, “So beautiful.” Trailing farther down to the scars on her left breast, I whisper, “Every inch of you is so beautiful.” She gasps with pleasure, I love showing her how much I love her, scars and all. She’s mine, so beautiful. Still holding her, fingers laced in mine, I position myself over her and enter her slowly.
She calls out my name as I begin to move slowly, then slightly faster. Lifting her right leg and placing it on my shoulder, she moans with the sensation of the new position. I can see the look on her face, she’s close. Leaning down to take her nipple in my mouth, she shudders and clenches around me with her release. I follow shortly after with my own powerful orgasm.
Carrying her to the shower, I gently wash her beautiful red hair and the rest of her body. She returns the favor massaging my scalp with shampoo and slides her soapy hands all over my body.
Lying in bed in ‘our nighttime position’, we quickly fall asleep pressed together and happily sated.
Chapter 23
TWO MONTHS LATER
Willow
The last two months were crazy with moving and wedding planning. My mom and I have seen each other twice now, and she and I quickly formed a bond that is equal to the bond that Asher’s sisters have with their mother. Her husband is great, I can see they are truly and deeply in love, and I’m so happy for them. I started calling him Dad, and I could tell he was tickled, well, pink by it. Asher and I are stronger than ever, falling more in love each day, if that’s even possible. His home is our home now. Sometimes we have dinners with the family here, I even cooked them my chili with noodles, with most of them saying it was definitely better than without. I’m not sure if they were saying that just to be nice, but I didn’t care. I enjoyed cooking for our family. The last time my mom and dad were here we all got together at Asher’s parents’ house for dinner to introduce them and everyone got along great.
The wedding plans are well under way, and the beach location was a go. I’m so excited, Ava and Amelia agreed to be my maids of honor each standing up with Adrian and Aiden. The big day is only three months away. Everything seemed to be going great, until I started to not feel so well.
I didn’t want to alarm anyone so I kept it to myself, telling everyone I was just tired from the moving and the wedding planning and working. But the fact was I was so tired, and sometimes I was so nauseated I needed to lie down, which was hard, because I didn’t want anyone else to know.
One Saturday I was sleeping in bed in the middle of the day when Asher came in, I felt the bed move as he sat down.
“Sweetheart, are you feeling OK?” he asks concerned.
I knew I couldn’t ignore him or the fact that I wasn’t feeling well anymore.
“I’m just tired, that’s all.”
“You’re not fooling anyone, I’ve seen how tired you have been, you can’t hide anything from me, and I know you haven’t been feeling well. What’s going on?”
“Really I’m fine, just a little tired. That’s all, really.”
“You know I have this business trip scheduled for Monday, I think I should cancel and we should take you to the doctor. This isn’t anything to fool around with, Willow.”
“No, you don’t have to cancel, this is an important meeting and you have to go. I’ll make an appointment Monday, I promise. I’ll even take one of your sisters with me if it makes you feel better.”
“Well, if you’re sure. I don’t feel right about it, but if you promise to take one of my sisters, I’ll still go.”
“I promise. First thing Monday I’ll make an appointment.”
“OK, you rest, I’ll make us dinner and I’ll come get you when it’s ready.” With a kiss on the forehead, which I’m sure was to see if I was running a fever, he went back downstairs.
Lying there wondering what’s wrong with me, of course I’m thinking the worst. The cancer is back.
Asher
Leaving Willow Monday morning was hard to do, but with Ava’s promise that she would take her to her appointment scheduled for later this afternoon, I felt a little more comfortable with it. The business meeting was scheduled a month ago and was important, which was the only reason I was going. I could cut it short from the four days to two, but being away is still hard not knowing what’s going on.
Between texting Ava and Willow every fifteen minutes for updates, I think they’re both ready to kill me. By the time I knew she was in the appointment I couldn’t focus on the meeting at all. Thirty minutes later I was back to texting them both. Repeatedly. Finally I got a call from Willow.
“Sweetheart, how did it go?”
“Asher, you’re going to make your sister want to commit murder. Relax, the doctor said it was probably just the flu all my test results came back fine.”
“Oh thank God, I was thinking…”
“I know what you were thinking, I was thinking the same thing and he assured me it’s not. I’m perfectly healthy.”
Finally being able to relax, I could concentrate on my meeting and the task at hand. I was so worried about her. With the wedding only three months away, I can hardly wait to make her my wife. I can’t wait to see her tomorrow. I’m still cutting my trip short. I need to hold her. I just need to be with her.
Chapter 24
Willow
Sitting in the doctor’s office, I am holding Ava’s hand. I told him all the symptoms I had been experiencing. He took some blood and asked us to wait back in his office. So here we sit holding hands, not saying a word. The clock on the wall is ticking loudly, with each second that passes, it seems to be getting louder. Ava touches my hand, bringing me back to reality. Looking at her face, I can see it looks like she is in pain, she glances down to our hands, so do I. I can see her h
and is turning white because I have been squeezing her hand so hard.
“Sorry, so sorry. I’m just so nervous.”
“It’s OK, but damn woman you’ve got a grip.”
Just then the doctor comes in with a file in his hand. People and their files, they usually only bring bad news. He takes a seat behind his desk.
“Willow, I have all your results back, you are still in remission. The cancer is not back.” I am confused now, then why have I not been feeling good.
“It seems that you are pregnant.”
“What?” I ask, while I suddenly feel light headed. That would explain it.
Ava is now squeezing my hand so tight I think it’s going to leave a permanent bruise.
“I thought I couldn’t get pregnant because of the chemo, and I’ve been on the pill for my heavy periods since I was a teenager.”
“Willow, no one ever told you, you couldn’t get pregnant after chemo. Lots of women go on after chemo and get pregnant, although I wish it were a little longer after your last dose. Your OB/GYN will monitor you closely. As far as we can tell there is no need for concern. Stop taking the pill immediately, here is a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I am recommending this obstetrician that works closely with cancer survivors. Make an appointment right away and, Willow, congratulations.”
I called Asher telling him everything was fine, it was probably just the flu. I didn’t want to tell him this big of news over the phone. He said he was coming home early anyway. Walking, with my hands clasped with Ava’s, we return to the car. “Willow, I’m so happy for you both. How are you going to tell him, we should think of some way special to tell him?”
“I have the perfect idea. I’m going to need your help though.”
“You got it. Tell me what you’re planning.”
After telling Ava my idea, she was all smiles, she dropped me off at home and immediately went into action pulling everything together.
Take A Chance (Running Into Love) Page 13
