Chapter 36 Emery
As we’re packing our weekend bags, my phone lights up with a message on the encrypted server.
I’ve thought about work so infrequently in the past few days that the sight of a message from Claire—which once would have sent my brain happily soaring—now makes my stomach sink.
I don’t want to leave my Luca bubble.
I haven’t put in a full day at BioNEX since Luca’s accident, and it hasn’t put a dent in the hundreds of hours of leave I have saved up.
I always thought of our allotted vacation days per year as sort of a perfunctory gesture of goodwill more than time off I would ever actually use.
On the rare instances we did go away, I found it hard to unplug and be fully present.
With perspective, I see that the root of that was an emptiness I’ve carried since my parents died.
I thought having a purpose would fill that void, but there’s a difference between being productive and being happy.
I was right to think that Compound Y was my calling in life. After all, it saved Luca. It did what I needed it to do, and now I can loosen my grip a little bit. I don’t know what that looks like, but for the first time in my career I’m determined to figure it out.
Before I open Claire’s message, I make a silent promise to myself: No matter what she says, I’m not going in to work today. It’s Saturday. We are going out of town.
Good morning, Emery. Leonard has asked whether you are able to come in today for a brief meeting about the BioVIVE project.
My stomach clenches. Does Leonard want to shut it down permanently or start it back up?
I suck in a breath, closing my eyes. No matter what she says, I’m not going into work today, I remind myself, and type out my response:
I’m sorry, Claire. Can you let Leonard know that I’m going to be out of town until mid-next week? We can talk about it then.
Will do. How is Luca feeling?
He’s doing great.
Wonderful. Enjoy your vacation and we’ll see you next week.
I stare at my phone, feeling something unknot in my gut. See? Setting boundaries with work? Easier than I expected. I did it, and no one died.
It’s Saturday, but somehow traffic is horrendous. Still, I honestly don’t give a shit what is happening anywhere outside of this car. We’ve got a playlist blasting, windows down, and nothing but happiness in the air.
We roll into Yosemite after dark, both starving by the time we get to the hotel.
It was being renovated when we were here last, but the refreshed lobby is every bit as warm and inviting as the one I remember.
The ceilings are high and braced by enormous wooden crossbeams, their hewn surfaces brought to life in the glow of iron chandeliers suspended below.
People gather in clusters of mission-style chairs and gleaming end tables with inlay woodwork.
A pair of leather sofas flank a roaring stone fireplace.
The man at the front desk slides a brochure across the counter touting a new pickleball court, an eighteen-foot climbing wall, and the addition of shuttles that will take us right into the heart of the park.
There’s even a new and improved canine play area.
I nod along, but because I am a cauldron of barely contained lust for the man at my side, my attention is only truly snagged by the mention of the remodeled rooms and the brand-new king-sized bed waiting for us upstairs. Say no more!
If it were up to me, we’d grab a couple of protein bars and the largest bottle of electrolytes we can find in the little general store, but the husband has other ideas, laughing knowingly as he steers us to Embers, the hotel restaurant.
To be fair, the steaks are delicious, and Honey has her own dinner and sleeps peacefully on the patio at our feet. With our bellies full, we settle the bill and finally make our way upstairs.
The remodeled room is just as nice, though not as elaborate as the lobby, with a sitting area, a wet bar, and a window overlooking what I’m sure in the morning will be a stunning view of unending pine trees and mammoth rock faces.
The king bed is huge, but now that we’re here and it’s just the two of us, it feels suddenly intimidating.
Luca sets down our overnight bags and looks around, eyes wide. “This place is amazing.”
“It is.” I love his excitement at the smallest of indulgences.
He walks over, setting Honey’s dog bed near the window with a pointed glance in her direction: We are both determined to have the bed to ourselves tonight.
The thought makes me feel oddly fluttery deep in my belly, and honestly, what the hell? I had this man in my mouth yesterday, and yet I somehow feel like a virgin on prom night.
“What do you feel like doing?” he asks, sliding his hands into his pockets, grinning innocently. He’s reading me like a book.
I look at the clock. It’s just after 9:30 p.m., which seems like a totally appropriate time to go to bed on vacation with one’s husband, but it hits me in a hot flush that yes, we’re going to fool around again tonight, but will probably also have sex.
For the first time… again.
I roll my lips between my teeth, trying to quell the excited thrumming in my blood. I know without having to study him very closely that he’s not going to rush anything.
“The pool closes at eleven,” I say, smiling back at him. “Want to go for a swim?”
Though I’d be hard-pressed to explain why, I decide to change in the bathroom.
I come out in an oversized T-shirt over my suit and see he’s wearing one of his new pairs of board shorts.
I’m obsessed with how low they hang on his hips.
This man hasn’t been to the gym in over a week, but one would never know it from looking at his abs. And even better? The bruises are gone.
“Ready?”
My attention jerks from his torso to his grinning face.
I’ve been blatantly ogling him, and I’m so busted.
“Yes,” I say, slightly flustered. “But first.” Reaching into my suitcase, I retrieve a waterproof bandage.
His wound is almost completely healed, but just to be safe.
Kneeling, I open the package and am very thorough making sure the material is smooth across the contour of his thigh.
“Or maybe,” he says, laughing with cocky delight, “you want to keep looking a bit longer.”
Straightening, I feel the flush from my ears all the way down my neck and roll my eyes. “Please.”
“Please what?” he asks, lifting his arms to flex. “Please… hold still, like this?”
Laughing, I say, “You’re hopeless.” I press my hands to my face.
“Maybe this?” When I move my hands and look, he contracts his abs.
I bite my lip, staring.
Luca walks over to me, cupping my hips in his big hands and touching my chin, tilting my face up so he can kiss me. “Why are you nervous right now?” he asks softly.
My answer comes out high as I laugh at myself, “I have no idea. But I am!”
“I think I like this rare, shy Emery.”
“Yeah?”
He hums, nodding. “Makes me want to do wicked, teasing things to you to see when you’ll go back to being bossy.” I laugh, and he sobers slightly. “Emmy. It’s just me.”
“It’s you, but it’s a new you,” I say. “I want to impress you.”
“Woman, you had your ass in my face this morning—you’ve already impressed me.”
I laugh.
“And honestly, Emmy, you don’t need to do anything differently. Just because we’re in a new place, we’re still us.”
“I know.”
“I love this,” he admits. “I know it sounds crazy, but right now? This whole situation is the coolest thing. I feel so calm, because I know that I’m going to remember everything, and I actually want the memories to slow down for this weekend so I can savor doing everything with you for the first time all over again. ”
I look up at him, at his shining blue eyes and playful grin. “Really?”
He nods, humming, “Mm-hmm.”
“Okay.” I reach for the hem of the T-shirt, pulling it up and over my head, tossing it into the open suitcase on the floor. Luca’s eyes span the length of my body from the top of my head to my toes, his ears turning pink. “Let’s go swim.”