Page 108 of Ashes

His eyes sparkled with amusement. “He did,mon amour.”

I grabbed his hand and brought him outside, weaving usthrough the crowd of people to wait for each of the three top drivers to place their cars in front of their respective signs.

Once they were done with their post-race interviews, they walked back inside and we waited under the balcony where the podiums were for the ceremony to start.

My cheeks hurt from smiling at the end of the celebration.

Jamal’s mouth found mine and pure contentment washed over me.

“I propose we go back home”—he trailed off, lowering his head even more to nuzzle it in my neck—“and have a celebration of our own.”

I grabbed onto the lapels of his suit and shifted onto the balls of my feet. “I like that idea very much,” I whispered before pressing a kiss to his lips. “But first, can we walk the track again before we leave?” I asked, giving him a sweet smile.

Nodding, he grinned at me and the sight titled me off axis.

I’d never forget today.

CHAPTER 29

SIENNA

I went straight backto work after our weekend in London.

It had been by far one of the best weekends of my life, the bestbirthdayI’d ever experienced. Although I would have loved to stay longer, not that Jamal hadn’t tried to convince me to do so, I would lie if I said I hadn’t missed work.

I finished typing my notes and saved it under Mrs. Potter’s lengthy file. She had a habit of coming to the ER for any minor inconvenience, but I didn’t mind. She’d lost her husband a few months ago and had no one else.

I could tell she came here to have some company, so I indulged her.

No one should feel alone and if spending a few minutes with her once in a while when she visited made her life better, then we would happily do it. The staff andresidents had even agreed to rotate who saw her every time she came in so that she wouldn’t think we were onto her.

After locking my profile, I got up, grabbed my water bottle from the station, and headed to the locker room after my twelve-hour shift.

I’d changed my schedule this month so I could work fewer days during the month. I’d still spend a lot of time here, but I selfishly wanted more free time to spend with my husband.

Tonight had been a quiet night—I hadn’t said that during my shift in case I triggered the curse and the emergency room became flooded with patients—and I was glad to go home.

I never cared about working long hours, but when I barely had any patients, the time seemed to drag on longer than it should have.

After changing into my clothes, I sat on the bench in front of the row of lockers where mine was and pulled my phone out of my bag, then dialed my younger sister’s number.

I felt bad for not doing it before, especially after my mother called to ask me for money for her tutoring classes, but that phone call had left me rattled and then Jamal and I had immediately left for England.

I’d sent her and Iris, my youngest sister, a message before my flight and pictures of my trip, asking if they’d wanted anything. Akari had asked for the UK version ofher favorite book while Iris simply had wanted a red telephone booth keychain.

I’d planned on giving it to them when I went back home, but I didn’t know when that would be since I hadn’t gone back since my wedding. Although I wanted to see my sisters, I wasn’t yet ready to face my father.

Akari picked up after the first ring, immediately switching our phone call into a video one. She was at her desk in her room, her headphones on and a pen in her hand.

“Hey, Kiki,” I greeted her, propping my back against the wall behind me.

“Hi, Nana,” she answered. When she was a baby, Akari couldn’t pronounce my full name, only repeating the last syllable, so the nickname stuck since then.

“¿Qué lo que, cómo va todo?” I asked, letting her decide what she wanted to talk about.

My instinct was to ask her about school and how things were going with her new tutor, but I didn’t want to pressure her, especially since I seemed to have caught her in the middle of studying.

“Not much, just busy with school,” she said, her tone sounding a little defeated. She averted her gaze from the camera, twirling her pen between her fingers.