Defiant Heir (The Heirs 3)
“Kao,” Fallon whispers, her voice quivering with emotion. She moves her arms around my neck and holds me tightly as the words drift to us.
I wrap her in a tight embrace and press a kiss to the side of her head. “Thank you for standing by me.”
She nods against my chest, and I feel her body jerk.
“Turned out I wasn’t so perfect,” I try to joke, but the moment is too emotionally charged.
Fallon pulls back, and then she presses her mouth to mine. Tasting her tears, I bring my hands to her face, and using my thumbs, I brush them away.
She pulls back and whispers, “You are perfect.”
“Only in your eyes,” I tease. A sense of Deja vu washes over me, sending goosebumps racing over my skin. “Damn, that felt weird, like we’ve done this before.”
“We did,” Fallon says. “Right before we were hit by the truck.”
Not wanting the night to take a turn for the worse, I say, “Guess that means we’re really meant to be.”
“How do you figure that?” she asks, laughter in her voice.
“We didn’t get it right the first time, so fate intervened and gave us a repeat.”
“Like a do-over?” she asks.
“Yeah.”
Just then, the band begins to play Never Enough by Lauren Allred. Their timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Fallon and I move slowly over the floor as the music weaves a spell around us. As the tempo builds, I feel the moment deep in my bones, and it’s incredible.
As the singer utters the last words, I lean down and press a kiss to Fallon’s lips. She leans into my arm as we walk back to the table, and once we’ve taken our seats, she says, “Thank you for an amazing first date.”Chapter 21FALLONEven though things between Kao and me are better than they’ve ever been, I’m anxious about taking him for his follow up appointment today.
It will be our first time together in a car since the accident, and I pray nothing goes wrong.
Taking a deep breath, I walk to the living room and find Kao waiting. He’s sitting on a couch, and I notice his right knee jumping.
He’s nervous as well.
I push my own anxiety down and say, “Let’s go. I’d rather be early than late.”
Kao gets up, and I hold my hand out to him. When our fingers interweave, I give him a squeeze. “I’ll drive slow.”
“I trust you,” he replies, and hearing the sincerity, I frown.
“You seem nervous?”
“I’m just anxious about what the doctor will say.” He gives me an encouraging grin. “Hopefully, it’s all good news.”
“I’m sure it will go well.”
We walk out of the suite, and by the time we reach my car, my stomach is tight with knots.
Kao stops me before I can open the driver's side door, and he wraps me in a hug, pressing a kiss to my mouth. “We’re going to be fine. Okay? You’ve got this.”
I let out an anxious breath and then climb into the car.
When we both have our seat belts on, I suck in a deep breath of air and start the engine.
Please let nothing bad happen.
My heart begins to pound as I steer the vehicle out of the campus gates. It feels like I’m learning to drive all over again, my eyes darting everywhere. I grip the steering wheel hard, painfully ready should another car swerve in our direction.
Suddenly Kao says, “Will you go away with me this coming weekend?”
I quickly wet my dry lips, then asks, “Where?”
“Where it will be just the two of us. Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe?”
“That’s a three-hour drive,” I squeak, far from ready to spend that long in a car.
“I’ll arrange a helicopter.”
My mouth curves up. “You’ve thought about everything, haven’t you?”
“Of course,” he chuckles. “I’ve booked a villa from tomorrow night through to Sunday afternoon.”
“What if I said no,” I tease him.
“I was willing to risk it.”
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” I ask as I pull the car into the parking area outside the medical center.
“Five o'clock?”
“Sounds good,” I grin as I turn off the engine, and then I let out a relieved breath. “We made it.”
“I never doubted you for a second,” Kao murmurs as we climb out of the car.
When we walk into the doctor's office, Kao stops by the reception. “Kao Reed. I have an appointment at ten.”
“Take a seat. Dr. Hodgson will be with you in a minute,” the receptionist says with a sweet smile.
The instant we sit down, I rest my hand on Kao’s thigh. I know I’m being possessive, but the receptionist looked a little too friendly in my opinion.
Kao covers my hand with his own, and he leans into me so he can whisper, “I can’t wait to get this behind me so we can go back to the suite and make out.”
I smile at him, and turning my hand over beneath his, I weave our fingers together. “My hermit. We’ll have to live in the mountains once we’re married.”