Jingle All the Way - Debbie Macomber Page 0,28

Asher felt in desperate need of a heart specialist. “Daisy,” he said, his voice low and full of emotion. “Today.”

“Yes?”

“I…I couldn’t bear not knowing what had happened to you.”

“Well, yes,” she said, making light of his comment. “Losing a passenger wouldn’t look good on your job résumé.”

He frowned. “It’s more than keeping my job. With you, it’s personal.” Unable to resist her a moment longer, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her. He could tell she was surprised at first, because she tensed before she relaxed. Her arms went around his neck and she scooted up to her knees and leaned in to him. He ravaged her mouth, unable to get enough of her, taste enough of her. How long they kissed he didn’t know. When they drew apart, Daisy pressed her forehead to his and released a deep sigh. He closed his eyes and continued to hold her. This woman. He didn’t know what it was about her, but she drew him in unlike anyone he’d ever known.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Everly barely slept. Asher had kissed her, and it had been wonderful. Better than wonderful. It’d been years since she’d felt anything close to what she had when Asher pulled her into his arms. She felt giddy just thinking about it.

Her entire life she’d hated her name. It made her sound like her family had picked her up at a plant nursery. Several times between kisses Asher had softly whispered her name. Even though she’d told him she went by Everly, he continued to call her Daisy. He’d made it sound like one of the most beautiful words in the English language. When he said it in that special way she could almost get to like her given name.

Staring up at the ceiling in her tiny stateroom, Everly closed her eyes and let the memory of the closeness she’d felt toward him wash over her. Now that it was morning, she could barely wait to see him again, barely wait to tell him how much his kisses had meant to her.

By the time the captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker system, announcing it was time to rise for breakfast, Everly was up, dressed, and ever-so-eager to see Asher. She needed to know if he felt the same way she did. They’d sat and talked for hours, then kissed and talked some more.

To her disappointment, Asher wasn’t at breakfast. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet-style. Once she had filled her plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, and an English muffin, she took her seat at an empty table, hoping if Asher did arrive that he would choose to join her.

Janice Brown came to sit with her and was followed by her husband. “We so enjoyed the piano playing last night. You said it had been some time since you’d played, but it didn’t show,” the older woman said after taking a seat and neatly spreading her paper napkin across her lap.

“Yes…I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it. I don’t have a piano in my condo. I played quite a bit growing up. Our family is musical. All my siblings play one instrument or another.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Janice’s comments reminded Everly of the fun she’d had with her musically talented family over the years. It was where she fit in most. She might not be able to compete on a soccer field, but she could race her fingers up and down a keyboard with the best of them. One tradition she’d enjoyed was the Christmas Eve hayride the entire family took through town, singing beloved carols to shut-ins and first responders, along with family and friends. The previous Christmas she’d chosen work over spending time with her siblings. A decision she regretted.

“It’s good to see that you’ve recovered from your adventures from yesterday,” David said.

Everly brightened and sat up straighter. “It was amazing to meet those warriors and get a glimpse of their culture. I believe getting lost in the rainforest might possibly be the highlight of my Amazon adventure.”

“We were all quite worried about you,” Janice said, as she delicately spread strawberry jam across her toast.

“None more than Asher,” her husband added. “He’s quite levelheaded normally, but that went out the window when he realized you were missing.”

Everly felt a chill of excitement race down her spine. Surely Asher would be concerned about any passenger who appeared to be lost in the rainforest, but she couldn’t help but feel that with her it was personal.

“That’s not normally how he responds,