Always(Time for Love Book 4)(41)

“Wear the same thing you wore today,” he joked.

“Are you kidding me?” she said, opening her eyes and frowning at him.

He smiled, seeing the perfect opportunity to bring up what had been on his mind for some days. “Why don’t you move plenty of clothes here so you’d always have something fresh to wear? In fact, why don’t you move in with me so you won’t have this same problem again?”

Brenna stared at him, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Suddenly, she seemed awake.

“Ash...” she said, her expression turning to uncertainty. She sat up, looking at him uncomfortably.

His heart pounded. Yes, he’d expected her to be a little surprised by his suggestion, but he’d also pictured in his mind that she’d be excited about it. He couldn’t see any good reason why they couldn’t move in together. But did she?

“Honey...” she said tentatively.

His heart dropped to his stomach at the tone of her voice.

“It’s a great idea and I do want to,” she continued. “But I’m so busy with work right now that the thought of moving houses kind of overwhelms me.”

Ash scolded himself. Of course. He should have thought of that, and should have been more considerate of the stresses she was currently going through.

“Hey,” he said, taking her hand. “I understand. There’s no hurry.”

Brenna sighed with relief and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“If you want, though, we could always hire a company which could also pack and unpack everything for you,” he suggested, putting forth a solution for her problem.

Brenna frowned. “They’re expensive. Besides, I don’t think I want anyone else touching my stuff.”

“They’re professionals, Bren. I don’t think you’d need to worry about privacy or security. As to costs, so what? I’ll help you pay for them.”

“Oh, Ash,” she said, putting a hand on her forehead. “I’d really prefer it if we waited.”

He pushed aside the sheer disappointment that hit him, focusing instead on the distress he heard in her voice. “Sure, baby,” he said, rubbing her arm. “You let me know when you’re ready. Just don’t let me wait for too long,” he added teasingly.

To his consternation, Brenna looked even more worried. “I’ll try,” she whispered before leaning down and giving him a kiss. “I have to go.” Then she got out of bed.

*****

Ash settled himself in his office chair after seeing his last patient for the day. He had a couple of personal messages waiting for him. One of them was from Amanda, and the other—which went through reception—was from a name he didn’t recognise. He returned his sister’s call first.

“Hey, sis. How’s everything going?”

“Good. You?”

“Hectic, but good. You rang earlier?”

“Yeah,” Amanda said. “Did you get a phone call from a Jane?”

“Yes. I have a message to call her back. Who is she?”

“Um, she rang me too. She’s Darren’s cousin—one of the daughters of Patty’s sister Sally who looks after her.”

“Right. Why is she ringing us?” he asked curiously.

“Well, she was asking for my email address. She said she’s organising a small get-together that Brenna and Darren don’t know about. Apparently, Patty was the one who instigated it and she wanted the two to turn up on the day without them knowing anything about it beforehand.”

“A surprise party?” he asked with a frown.

“She said I’ll know more when I get her email in a few days. She didn’t want to divulge anything yet until she’s got the email addresses of all the people she wants to contact, and Bren’s family and close friends were included in her list. Apparently, Patty had Bren’s mum’s number from way back, so this Jane person rang Auntie. As you know, Bren’s parents are in Africa, and apparently Auntie got surprised about the news that Bren and Darren were back together. But then again, you know that Bren doesn’t get to talk regularly with her parents. Anyway, Auntie gave Jane our names and phone numbers so we could get the invite to this... surprise get-together.”

“Sounds like Jane really wants to keep this a secret from Bren and Darren,” he said, highly intrigued and more than a little bothered. “Did you get an indication of what this is all about?”

“No,” Amanda said, sounding frustrated. “I tried to get Jane to tell me, but she said I’ll know soon enough. She did beg me not to tell Bren or Darren about it. Apparently, Patty would get really disappointed if the two find out before it happens.”

Ash stared out the window, wondering what to make of this news.

“I’m debating whether to tell Bren, Ash. I’m thinking she’d want to be prepared. But at the same time, if it’s a big thank-you party for her and Darren from Patty, then that might wreck the whole thing for all of them. I’m assuming Bren has told you the latest about Patty’s condition?”

“Yes. It’s not good news if they don’t find a compatible donor for her soon.”

“Yeah. So I don’t know what to do. What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. Let me call Jane back and see what I can find out.”