BWWM Interracial Romance 2: Open Heart (9 page)

For a day or two, Ashley didn’t think anything of the fact that Tony hadn’t responded to her, or that he hadn’t sent her a message of his own. She was so immersed in work that she almost forgot about him; when her day off came, and she woke up in the morning, she realized guiltily that she was neglecting him. But it was strange for him not to reach out to her. Even when she had been ambivalent about giving him a chance at a second date, he had contacted her fairly regularly—not often enough to be annoying, but enough to remind her that he existed, that he was interested in her. And as they had gone on more dates, they usually managed to contact each other at least once a day, even if it was just to explain how busy they were and apologize. So not only had she forgotten him, but he seemed to have forgotten her. That gave Ashley a moment’s pause.

At first she rationalized it. Tony was a busy man; he might have thought he had replied, and then forgotten that he hadn’t. He might have had an emergency that took him out of town, and just not thought about getting in touch with Ashley because he was too immersed in whatever issue had come up. But as the days stretched out into a week, and then another week, Ashley’s rationalizations grew thin and she wasn’t sure what to think. Her confidence in the relationship slipped into a kind of anxiety and neurosis that she couldn’t quite shake. She couldn’t make herself go after him—she was still not sure how serious he thought the relationship was. What if he had just let the acquaintance drop?

She tried to think of their times together before the sudden silence had come up; she racked her brain, trying to remember every nuance of conversation, every incidental thing that might point to him losing interest. She couldn’t think of anything. But maybe, she thought, he was exactly the kind of guy who could just drop someone with no warning. An insecure part of her mind whispered that she had driven him away with her dedication to her job, just as she had driven Kent away—and that he had just decided that she wasn’t worth his time anymore and moved on to greener pastures. Maybe he’d met someone more easygoing than Ashley was, and decided to just let her drop off of his radar, trusting that she’d never notice the difference.

The thing that bothered her the most was that she did notice. Ashley had never intended to let herself get serious about Tony. She had told herself even as she realized that she was developing feelings for him that she wasn’t going to assume she meant anything to the man. She was going to keep her heart carefully guarded, and make sure that he couldn’t hurt her the same way Kent had.

Ashley plunged herself into her work the same way she had in the wake of her divorce, and for a day or two it worked—she didn’t worry about Tony, didn’t think about him—but as the silence between them dragged out for a third week, she couldn’t stand it. It was different with Tony. Ashley couldn’t be sure if she was so upset by his sudden defection because she hadn’t had any inkling of its coming, or if it was because of how strongly she felt for him. But the fact was undeniable: she couldn’t deal with it. Even if she just got an excuse from him about why he had left her behind, why he had forgotten her completely, she needed some kind of closure.

During her break Ashley found a relatively private spot outside of the hospital and finally called him. Her hands were shaking, her heart pounding; she anticipated the call going straight to voicemail, or something of that nature. Instead, after a couple of rings, he picked up.

“Ashley?”

Tony’s voice filled her ear and Ashley trembled all over, a mixture of relief and consternation flooding her.

“Tony.”

She pressed her lips together, feeling her eyes sting and burn with tears welling up. “What did I do to drive you away? It must have been something… I know you don’t owe me an explanation, you can do what you want, but I’d really like to know why you haven’t spoken to me in weeks.”

She heard a sharp intake of breath, but the silence spun out for a long moment. “I think we need to talk. When are you free?”

Ashley considered it. She had to see him as soon as possible. She had been feeling something like withdrawal for over a week; a physical kind of yearning for the man she had developed such strong feelings for. She had work the next day, and her shift wasn’t over yet, but for the sake of seeing him, she would make time.

“I’m off at four,” she replied. “I can meet you somewhere after that.”

Another long silence.

Ashley felt hot tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as her heart pounded.

“How about Sabor? I can be there at four-thirty, give you a chance to change into regular clothes.”

Ashley smiled to herself; he remembered that she needed to change out of scrubs, that she hated being out in public in her work clothes. That had to be promising, didn’t it? She agreed to the meeting and ended the conversation feeling oddly both relieved and more anxious than before.

Ashley finished her shift in a daze, managing to remain focused while she was with a patient but otherwise moving automatically. She changed quickly, barely even taking the trouble to make sure her clothes were properly arranged on her body before she rushed out of the hospital and to her car.

Her heart was pounding the entire drive to the café that Tony had suggested. She wasn’t sure if she was going to a reconciliation or to the final unraveling of the best relationship she could remember having—but Ashley tried to tell herself that either way, something positive would come out of the conversation. At the very least, she would know where things stood.

Tony was sitting outside, to one side of the tiny café, and she saw that in addition to his own cup of coffee, he had one set in front of the other seat; clearly it was for her.

Ashley felt herself smiling weakly as she sat down across from him, pointing to at it with a questioning glance.

“It’s your favorite,” Tony assured her. His smile was harsh—not the natural, loving, carefree expression she had grown so used to but something much tenser, more constrained. It didn’t reach up into his bright eyes and she felt a wave of dread. He was going to break up with her formally, she knew it.

“So,” she said, licking her lips. She took a sip of her coffee; it was a sweetened café con leche, absolutely one of her favorite coffee beverages. Part of Ashley thrilled to the fact that he remembered, in spite of her sense of dread.

“Before we fell out of touch, I went to surprise you at the hospital,” Tony said slowly. He glanced at his hands and then back at her face. “I saw you in the lobby at the entrance, talking to a guy rather intently.”

Ashley was confused; who was he talking about?

“What did he look like?” Ashley tried to rack her mind for who Tony could have seen her talking to.

“He was tall, skin a little lighter than yours, with reddish hair and green eyes,” Tony said precisely, starting to cross his arms slightly over his chest.

Ashley’s eyes widened as she realized exactly who he was describing.

“Oh my God,” she said, closing her eyes. It made so much sense. She opened her eyes once more. “That was my ex-husband, Kent,” she explained. “He… I actually was going to call you about him.” She remembered that in a flash—she had wanted to talk to Tony about the very subject. “We got divorced about a year ago now, and for months I didn’t hear from him, I might as well have not existed. But then he started calling me up in the middle of the night and leaving me these messages. It was one or two at first and then it was just constant!”

She shook her head with remembered anger. “I ignored him, but he kept trying to get me to agree to take him back. I don’t even know why! It doesn’t make any sense; he as always so angry with me about my work—he hated the fact that I wouldn’t give him attention, hated how much money I was making, hated everything to do with it.”

Tony’s eyes widened slightly as she made her explanation. “So there’s—there’s nothing between the two of you?” His bright eyes were full of hope.

Ashley shook her head quickly. “No! No, no, no. In fact, that was the day I had him barred from the hospital grounds, and I blocked him from my phone. I told him I never wanted to see him or hear from him again.”

Tony smiled slowly, and extended his hand out to her. Ashley took it and felt the reassuring warmth of his grasp, the slight squeeze he gave her.

“I’m so glad to hear that—I had no idea. I thought maybe you—it’s not worth talking about.”

Ashley returned his smile, her heart beating faster with something other than anxiety and dread; she was happy the air was clear between them, finally.

“I should have told you about him sooner, I know. But I guess I didn’t want you to think I had—baggage.”

Tony nodded, accepting the implicit apology.

“I still can’t understand why he wanted me back. He was actually really—really unpleasant, desperate even. He looked like he was going to try to hurt me.”

Tony’s brows knit together in concern. “You know, I think in spite of the fact that he hated your job and all the money you made… I know why I would want to win you over if I’d lost you—I can think of a dozen reasons easily. But in Kent’s case, I think it’s that he wanted the lifestyle back. You’re doing pretty well for yourself, after all—aren’t you?”

Ashley nodded. She thought of the strange transactions she would see on the banking statements when she and Kent had still been together, the way he would always dodge her questions about what they were about turning accusations onto her, starting fights about something else entirely.

They started to talk about different things, and Ashley began to relax, filled with peace and contentment that what had been so wrong about her life in the past several weeks had become right once more; she was on even footing with the man she loved, and there were no more secrets between them. She knew she should have told Tony about having been married before; it was only fair that he should know, especially when Kent had become more and more persistent in his attempts to convince her to get back together with him.

Ashley and Tony kissed, and promised to meet for a better, “real” date within a few days, when Ashley would have a day off to look forward to. Tony kissed her once more before she left to go home; giving her waist a squeeze that reminded her of just how good it felt to be in his arms. She couldn’t wait to see him again—and she didn’t even question why, or if she should feel that way.

Ever since their conversation, things had been better than ever between Ashley and Tony. She hadn’t even realized the extent to which she had been holding back from him—more than even just the knowledge of her ex-husband, but in subtler ways—until the last secret had been removed. Somehow, in making the decision to fight for the relationship, Ashley had turned the last corner; she no longer questioned Tony’s feelings for her. He might not be ready for anything serious, but he loved her and cared about her. He wanted her to be happy, and he had been genuinely hurt when he thought she was seeing someone else.

Comfortable in his affections, Ashley stopped thinking about which of them was spending money on what, stopped questioning whether or not he was trying to impress her with the expensive gifts he bought.

As she spent more and more time at his place, he made sure she had comfortable things to wear; a plush, comfortable bathrobe, a few nighties and sets of pajamas, a small wardrobe of clothes that she could change into at a moment’s notice if they made a spur of the moment decision to go somewhere.

He convinced her to take vacation time and surprised her with a trip down to the Keys, in a sumptuous inn in Key West. They had spent a long weekend wandering through the attractions—visiting the Pirate Museum, snorkeling along the coral reef, taking a ghost tour of the island, and even parasailing. When they weren’t eating delicious, fresh-caught seafood or devouring the local culture, Tony kept her in the room with teasing caresses; they missed breakfast entirely one morning because they simply couldn’t motivate themselves to get out of bed until nearly noon, lost in each other’s embrace. Ashley had almost been ashamed to admit how good it had been to be out of reach of the hospital for a few days; she still loved her job and couldn’t imagine ever leaving it, but the relaxation had been good for her.

They were lost in conversation as they walked up to Ashley’s condo, hand in hand. Ashley was debating Tony on the merits of their respective favorite bands, a topic that they never seemed to be able to exhaust. “No, but you only know their early stuff,” she insisted. “Arctic Monkeys’ later stuff is a lot more experimental. They really started to incorporate a hip-hop feel into their music in an interesting way.”

Tony argued that they sounded no different from a half-dozen bands that came up around the same time, insisting that since The Strokes had been the original band to break through, they had superior merit.

Some sound cut into Ashley’s attention, interrupting her in the middle of her sentence. She turned her head, surprised but not truly alarmed, and out of the bushes surrounding the door to her condo, Kent appeared. She gripped Tony’s hand tighter in shock; she hadn’t even thought of Kent in weeks—not since shortly after her conversation with Tony when she had explained her connection to the other man, and why it wasn’t an issue for them.

“Kent! What the hell are you doing here?” His appearance was so completely unexpected that Ashley wasn’t sure what to think of it. She didn’t know whether she should let go of Tony’s hand or grip it tighter.

“This is the guy you’re seeing? This rich asshole?” Kent was pointing at Tony.

Ashley glanced at her current boyfriend, utterly bewildered. “Yes, this is the man I’m seeing. Why are you here?”

Kent looked at Tony up and down, sizing him up for an instant before he launched himself at the other man, reaching out to either punch him or to try and grapple with him.

Tony let go of Ashley’s hand and for an instant she was so shocked she couldn’t respond to the situation.

“You fucking bitch! You’re not giving me a chance because of this motherfucker?”

Kent tried to grab for Tony, but Tony was just marginally faster. He ducked out from under Kent’s lunge, and Ashley’s shock dissolved. She lurched toward the deranged Kent, not sure what she should do but knowing that she had to take some kind of action. Tony grabbed Kent’s arm and pulled it behind the man’s back.

“Bitch, you don’t even know how good you had it,” Kent was shouting as he struggled. Tony was struggling to get his other arm behind his back. Kent lunged at Ashley and she danced away, adrenaline rushing through her system. She wasn’t shocked anymore—she was angry.

“What the hell is your problem, you asshole?” she shouted at Kent.

She hauled back, pulling her fist behind her ear and launching it at her ex-boyfriend. Being a doctor, Ashley knew the human body well. She didn’t punch Kent in the face. She directed her punch at the back of his neck, just where his skull met his spine. She wanted to incapacitate him, not just injure him. The shock of the blow traveled up her arm and for a moment Ashley felt a flicker of fear that she might have broken bones in her hand—something that would spell disaster for her. But as Kent slumped in Tony’s hold, Ashley flexed her fingers and moved them around, and found that there was no serious swelling—nothing beyond a few bruises.

She reached into her purse and took out her phone; Tony would continue holding Kent, Ashley knew without asking. She called the police and gave them crisp, incisive directions. They waited to see if Kent would wake up—but for the twenty minutes they waited, he continued to sag in unconsciousness, only starting to stir when the police were finally arriving. Ashley explained the situation and they carted him away, explaining that she would have to give a more detailed statement later, but that they had enough to hold him overnight at least.

Kent left Ashley’s life; months passed and she still occasionally had a flash of a bad dream that woke her up in Tony’s arms, but her request for a restraining order had been granted. When the police investigated, they found enough evidence to charge Kent with attempted kidnapping—he’d had rope and other items that suggested that he had had very bad intentions for either Ashley, Tony, or both of them. Ashley had no idea how much Kent knew about her relationship with Tony, but she reasoned he had to have been stalking her. He was put away for about a year, and Ashley’s thoughts about him faded completely as she and Tony continued to get closer and closer. Their relationship only seemed to be growing stronger as they spent more time together; Tony truly respected Ashley’s work and her dedication to her job.

For her own part, Ashley had noticed—though she didn’t know if it was her influence or simply Tony growing up—that the man she loved was becoming more serious. He still had a carefree air, and he was still happy to be the one in the relationship to come up with fun and creative ideas for things to do. He hadn’t changed utterly, but he was becoming more interested in opportunities to learn new things, rather than spectacular experiences. He donated a few million dollars to the hospital to open up a new pediatric specialty unit and had it named after his niece Amanda, in honor of her bringing him and Ashley together. He was also much more serious about the way that he controlled his business, making sure that he had an integral part of everything and that he was accessible even to customers—though he only responded to customer requests and emails when he thought that it couldn’t be handled better by someone at a lower level.

Ashley was proud of the man that Tony was becoming. He told her about Vince and his epiphany about his friend and mentor’s lifestyle. “You know, if I hadn’t met you, I might still be kicking around with old Vince,” Tony told her one night, lying in bed with his hands roaming all over her body, the creamy gold-tinged skin of his arms streaking over her burnt caramel flesh.

Ashley had always loved the way their bodies looked together, the way their limbs tangled in light and dark lines, contrasting against the bed sheets. She learned to accept that while they may not discuss their relationship in terms of what the future held, she was perfectly content just to be with him.

A year almost to the day since they met, Tony took her out to an incredibly fancy restaurant; he had even bought her a special dress for the occasion. It hadn’t escaped Ashley’s notice that it was their sort-of anniversary, although they hadn’t really become a couple until months later.

As they went through course after course of the incredible meal that Tony had ordered—a seasonal tasting menu, complete with oysters prepared three different ways and locally-sourced produce—she noticed that Tony seemed nervous. Ashley couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with the man she loved. A flicker of insecurity worked through her; maybe he had decided, in his newfound seriousness, that she wasn’t the woman that he saw himself having a future with. Maybe he was just going to celebrate their time together and then, afterwards, he would tell her that he wanted to see other people. In spite of Kent no longer being in her life, a small amount of the insecurity he had caused her continued to persist in Ashley’s mind.

The waiter was bringing the dessert—a truly decadent spectacle of chocolate, flames, alcohol of some kind, and fruit, and Ashley felt the tension increase. What was happening? She looked around and the waiter, even after putting the dessert in front of her, seemed to be waiting expectantly for something.

“What’s going on?” she asked, confused. She looked from the water to Tony, her heart beginning to pound with foreboding.

Tony smiled slightly—still looking tense, but the smile at least reached his bright eyes. “Blow across the flames,” Tony told her.

Ashley, still confused, did as she was told, blowing lightly across the flames to put them out. As she blew, a sheet of some kind of paper blew away with the alcohol flames, and the chocolate shell revealed itself to be empty—except for something glimmering in its depths. Ashley stared down into the shell for a moment, unable to understand what she was seeing.

“Take it out,” Tony prompted her, his voice even tighter, almost hoarse with expectation.

Ashley reached into the shell and her fingers closed on something cold, hard, and small. She extracted it and opened her hand. In her palm was a ring of such proportions that for a moment Ashley couldn’t quite believe what she was looking at. The band was platinum, about a half inch wide, with a woven pattern; it was studded all around with emeralds and sapphires, but those gems didn’t hold a candle to the glimmering fire of the diamond in the center. It was an incredibly expensive recreation of the flashy, gaudy amusement park ring that Tony had gotten her—not quite as huge, but the similarities were not lost on her.

Ashley stared at the ring and then looked at Tony, uncomprehending.

“Will you marry me, Ashley? I knew the second date we had together that I wanted you—and I hoped… I hope that you like the ring.”

Ashley laughed, looking at it and shaking her head. She turned her attention back onto Tony and smiled broadly. “I will absolutely marry you—on one condition.”

Tony’s eyes widened and he smiled, but gestured for her to name her condition.

“There is no way I can wear this magnificent ring at work. It’s just… it’s beautiful, but I deal with a lot of desperate people, and I will never hear the end of it from the nurses. If you will get me another ring—something plain, that I can wear to work—I will marry you tomorrow if you want.”

Tony laughed out loud, reaching out and taking the ring from her. Ashley extended her hand and he put it on her ring finger.

“I think nothing could possibly be better than for you to have two rings. It’s pretty perfect, actually. One ring for the woman you are on the job and the other for your private life.”

Ashley was relieved; she wouldn’t have rejected him if he had refused to get her a second ring, but she appreciated the man she loved all the more for his willingness, his understanding of the fact that her life was divided between professional and private—finally brought into balance, thanks to him. They were the source of each other’s harmony, and Ashley could hardly wait for them to be alone together so she could show him just how much she appreciated his understanding.

The End

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